Money and payments in Réunion Island

Paying your way around the island

This page is about the mechanics of spending money on Réunion Island day to day, not about what to do for free (that list lives on its own guide to free things to do). It covers the currency, where cards work and where they do not, why some things cost more than you might expect, tipping habits, and mobile data. None of it replaces the full trip-cost breakdown or the budget-trip guide; think of this as the practical layer underneath both.

The short version: Réunion Island runs on euros, cards work almost everywhere along the coast, and the moments where you will actually need cash are predictable and worth planning for before you leave Saint-Gilles-les-Bains or Saint-Denis.

The currency is the euro, because this is France

Réunion Island is a French overseas department and region, fully part of France and the European Union, even though it sits in the Indian Ocean roughly 200 km southwest of Mauritius. That status settles the currency question immediately: it is the euro (EUR), the same notes and coins used in Paris, and the same banking rules that apply anywhere else in the eurozone.

If you are arriving from mainland France or another eurozone country, there is nothing to convert and nothing to plan for on this front. If you are coming from elsewhere, your bank’s usual foreign-transaction and ATM-withdrawal terms apply, exactly as they would for a trip to mainland France; Réunion Island itself adds no separate fee structure or exchange complication. This EU status also affects entry rules, which are covered separately in the entry requirements guide: Réunion Island is in France and the EU but outside the Schengen area, which is a border question, not a currency one.

The one mix-up that actually costs money: Réunion Island is not Mauritius

This is worth stating plainly because it is an easy budgeting mistake. Réunion Island and Mauritius are two separate countries, each with its own government, roughly a 40-minute flight apart. Mauritius is an independent state with its own currency, the Mauritian rupee. Réunion Island is French and uses the euro. If you are combining both islands in one trip, or comparing prices you saw for one while planning the other, keep the currencies and the cost of living separate; they are not interchangeable, and a price quoted in rupees for a Mauritius excursion tells you nothing about the euro cost of the same kind of outing on Réunion Island. The comparison guide goes into the practical differences beyond money.

Where cards work, and where they do not

Along the coast, card payment is the norm. Hotels, car-rental desks, supermarkets, restaurants in Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, l’Hermitage, Saint-Leu, Saint-Pierre, and Saint-Denis, fuel stations, and the great majority of tour and activity operators all take cards without friction, including contactless for smaller amounts. Booking tours and transport online in advance, through a card payment on a platform like GetYourGuide or Viator, is standard practice here and often the more reliable way to secure a spot on a popular outing before you even land.

The exceptions cluster in three places:

• The Hauts and the cirques. Small épiceries, roadside fruit stalls, some family-run tables d’hôtes in Cilaos and Salazie, and parking attendants at trailheads often take cash only, or have card readers that struggle with connectivity in the mountains.
• Markets. The Saint-Pierre market, the Saturday forain market, and smaller communal markets around the island are largely cash-based, even where a stallholder’s card reader technically exists.
• Mafate. This is the firm one. Mafate has no road access at all, only walking trails, and the gîtes that feed and house hikers there are run by families with no reliable connectivity for card terminals. Cash is the only safe assumption for anything you pay for inside the cirque. If you are planning a stay, read the Mafate hiking planning guide before you go, and withdraw what you expect to need while you are still on the coast, ideally in Saint-Denis, Saint-Pierre, or Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, since there are no ATMs inside Mafate.

A practical rule that holds up well: carry enough cash to cover two or three days of Hauts spending whenever you head off the coastal ring road, and always carry more than you think you’ll need for a multi-day Mafate trek, since there is no way to top up once you’re walking. Driving logistics and where ATMs cluster are covered in the guide to renting a car and the driving guide.

Why some things cost a bit more here

It is common for visitors to notice that packaged groceries, imported goods, and fuel run somewhat higher than mainland French prices. The reason is straightforward: Réunion Island is an island roughly 9,300 km from mainland France, and a meaningful share of what fills supermarket shelves, from branded food products to hardware and vehicle parts, arrives by sea or air freight, which adds cost before anything reaches the shelf.

This does not apply evenly. Fresh produce grown locally, seafood, rum, vanilla, and meals built around Creole cooking, carri, rougail saucisse, samoussas, bouchons, tend to sit closer to mainland prices, sometimes below what the same style of meal would cost in a French city, especially away from the most touristy stretches of Saint-Gilles-les-Bains. Restaurant meals, market produce, and locally distilled rum are generally where your euro goes furthest; imported packaged goods and anything flown in are where it goes the least far.

This guide deliberately does not print specific price ranges here, because they shift through the year and a printed figure ages badly. For a fuller breakdown across accommodation, food, transport, and activities, see the trip-cost guide and the budget-trip guide; for the exact current price of a specific activity, the right source is always the live listing.

Tipping: not expected, still appreciated

Service is included by law in French restaurant and bar pricing, and that applies on Réunion Island exactly as it does in mainland France. No one expects a tip on top of the bill, and waitstaff will not chase you for one. The same goes for taxis, hotel staff, and most guided activities: tipping is not a built-in part of the cost structure here the way it is in some other tourist economies.

That said, a small gesture for a guide who clearly went beyond the basics, on a canyoning outing, a boat trip out of Saint-Gilles-les-Bains looking for whales and dolphins, or a long day in the Hauts, is genuinely appreciated and reads as generous rather than obligatory. There is no percentage convention to follow; round up, or leave a few euros, entirely at your discretion.

Booking and paying for tours in advance

A large share of Réunion Island’s best outings, scenic flights, boat trips, guided hikes into terrain you should not attempt solo, benefit from being booked and paid for online before you arrive, both to secure a place and because weather-dependent activities often fill or shift schedules at short notice. Paying by card through a platform like GetYourGuide or Viator is standard here and works the same way it would for any other trip.

A helicopter flight over the cirques and the volcano is one of the clearer examples of something worth pre-booking rather than trying to arrange on the ground: an island tour by helicopter departing from Saint-Gilles-les-Bains depends on clear morning skies and fills up during whale season and school holidays. A boat trip out to open water, such as a sea cruise tour, works the same way, since operators cap the number of passengers per departure.

For a first overview of the island that pulls together several regions in one paid outing, a guided tour covering the island in thirteen stops is a way to see a broad cross-section without renting a car for every leg of it. Inland, away from the coast, a quad biking and buggy outing above Saint-Gilles-les-Hauts is a paid, bookable alternative to driving yourself over rough tracks.

In every case, this guide intentionally avoids quoting a number for what these cost. Prices change across the year and by season, and the only figure worth trusting is the one on the current listing at the time you book, on GetYourGuide, Viator, or the operator’s own site, not a number printed on a page that may be months old by the time you read it.

Phones, data, and paying digitally

If your mobile plan is from an EU carrier and includes EU roaming, it works on Réunion Island the same way it works in mainland France: no roaming surcharge, no separate SIM needed, same data allowance as at home, because Réunion Island counts as EU territory for these purposes. That makes contactless payment, mobile banking apps, and booking confirmations on your phone just as usable here as anywhere else in France.

Visitors from outside the EU should check their own carrier’s international roaming terms separately, since those depend entirely on the carrier and the visitor’s home plan, not on any rule specific to Réunion Island. The phone and internet guide covers connectivity in more detail, including where signal thins out in the Hauts and inside the cirques.

A short before-you-go checklist

Situation	What to plan
Coastal towns (Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, Saint-Pierre, Saint-Denis)	Card covers almost everything
Markets and small stalls	Cash, small notes and coins
Cilaos, Salazie, other Hauts villages	Mix of card and cash; withdraw before you climb
Mafate gîtes and any Mafate spending	Cash only, withdrawn on the coast beforehand
Booking tours in advance	Card, via the operator’s platform, before travel dates fill
Restaurants and guides	No tip expected; a small gesture for exceptional service is fine
Mobile data, EU plans	Works as in mainland France under EU roaming

For the wider picture of where this fits into total trip spending, the trip-cost guide and budget guide are the next stops, and the entry-requirements guide covers the EU-but-outside-Schengen status that sometimes trips up the same visitors who assume Réunion Island shares Mauritius’s currency.

Money and payments in Réunion Island: your questions answered

What currency is used in Réunion Island?

The euro (EUR), the same currency as mainland France. Réunion Island is a French overseas department and region, so there is no separate local currency and no exchange rate to think about if you are coming from the eurozone.

Can I use my euro cash or card from mainland France directly?

Yes. Euro banknotes and coins from anywhere in the eurozone work exactly as they do in Paris or Lyon, and bank cards issued in the EU work the same way, subject to your own bank’s foreign-transaction terms, which are unrelated to Réunion Island itself.

Is Réunion Island cheaper or more expensive than mainland France?

Many everyday products cost a bit more than in mainland France, because a share of what is sold on the island, from packaged food to fuel and imported goods, arrives by sea or air freight. Fresh local produce, seafood, and meals built around Creole cooking are often closer to mainland prices.

Do I need cash, or is card enough?

Card is enough for most of the coastal trip: hotels, supermarkets, restaurants in Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, Saint-Pierre, or Saint-Denis, and most tour operators. Keep cash on hand for the Hauts, small roadside stalls, market vendors, some gîtes in Cilaos and Salazie, and every gîte in Mafate, where card connectivity is not guaranteed.

Is Réunion Island the same as Mauritius, currency-wise?

No. Réunion Island and Mauritius are two separate countries roughly 40 minutes apart by plane. Réunion Island is French and uses the euro; Mauritius is an independent state with its own currency, the Mauritian rupee. Do not budget for one trip assuming the other’s prices or currency.

Is tipping expected in restaurants and for tour guides?

No. Service is included in restaurant and bar prices by law, as in mainland France, so no tip is expected. A small tip for a guide who went out of their way, on a hike or a boat trip, is appreciated but never assumed or requested.

Will my European mobile plan work normally on Réunion Island?

If your plan includes EU roaming, yes: Réunion Island is a French overseas region and part of the EU, so calls, texts, and data behave as they do in mainland France under the same roaming rules. Non-EU visitors should check their own carrier’s policy separately, since it depends on the carrier, not on Réunion Island.

Where do I find the exact price of a tour or activity?

This guide deliberately avoids naming precise figures, since prices move throughout the year. Check the current price directly on the GetYourGuide or Viator listing for the activity, or on the operator’s own site, before you budget your trip.