Reunion Island with kids: a five-day family itinerary

Why this route suits families

This is a lagoon-and-easy-nature version of Réunion, built around swimming, a turtle nursery, a volcanic plateau you can walk on flat ground, and one green, slow night in the mountains. It is not a hiking itinerary: if your group wants multi-day trekking, Seven days hiking Réunion: Mafate, Cilaos, Salazie and the volcano is the one built for experienced walkers, and if you want the same West Coast base plus a sunrise at the Maïdo belvedere, Whale season in Réunion: a 4-day easy itinerary covers that combination instead. Here, the longest walk on any day is under an hour, and every swim stop is inside the lagoon or a supervised pool — never in open water, where swimming and water sports outside the lagoon and protected zones are banned by prefectural order because of shark risk.

You’ll need a rental car: distances on the map are short, but mountain roads are slow, and this itinerary says so honestly on the two days it matters (the road to the volcano and the road to Salazie). See Driving in Réunion Island: what the roads are actually like before you book.

Day 1: Saint-Gilles-les-Bains and l’Hermitage

Base yourself in Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, the easiest West Coast town for families: flat streets, a marina, supermarkets, and a protected lagoon a short walk from most accommodation. Spend the first afternoon at l’Hermitage beach, where the reef breaks the swell and the water stays calm and shallow well out from shore — good for kids who are still finding their feet in the sea.

If the swell is up or the little ones want something other than sand, the Aquarium de La Réunion in Saint-Gilles is an easy rainy-day fallback. For an on-the-water introduction without anyone getting in a wetsuit, a short boat trip out of the marina works well with young children: a glass-bottom and dolphin-watching boat trip from the Saint-Gilles marina stays close to the coast and rarely runs more than two hours.

Evening: walk the marina, eat early (most restaurants serve from 7pm), and let the kids run off the flight on the sand before bed. For lagoon snorkeling logistics and gear rental, Snorkeling and kayaking in the Hermitage lagoon has the practical detail.

Day 2: Saint-Leu and l’Étang-Salé — Kélonia and a black-sand afternoon

Drive south along the coast to Saint-Leu, about 25 minutes from Saint-Gilles with normal traffic. The morning stop is Kélonia, the sea turtle observatory: kids can watch green and hawksbill turtles at close range in open-air pools, and the visit is self-paced, shaded, and rarely more than 90 minutes. It’s one of the few Réunion attractions built specifically for young children.

Saint-Leu’s own lagoon is smaller and quieter than Saint-Gilles’s, good for a picnic lunch. If anyone in the family is a confident young swimmer and wants a supervised first snorkel outside the immediate shallows, Scuba diving in Saint-Leu and L’Étang-Salé lists operators who run short introductory sessions for kids from around age 8, always inside the reef.

In the afternoon, continue 15 minutes south to l’Étang-Salé, whose black volcanic sand and shaded filao forest make a good change of scene — it’s warmer underfoot than the white-sand beaches, so bring sandals. Return to Saint-Gilles for the night, or stay one night in Saint-Leu if your accommodation is there.

Day 3: an easy look at Piton de la Fournaise

This is the longest drive of the trip: reckon on 2 to 2.5 hours from Saint-Gilles to the Pas de Bellecombe car park via Bourg-Murat, not the roughly 70 km the map suggests. Leave early — fog regularly rolls in over the Piton de la Fournaise plateau from late morning, and the view is best in clear early light.

Families don’t need to attempt the volcano hike itself. The Plaine des Sables, a flat, otherworldly expanse of volcanic ash and rock you drive straight across, is the highlight for younger kids — it looks like nothing else on the island and needs no walking at all. At Pas de Bellecombe, a short, flat path leads to the viewpoint over the Enclos Fouque and the Formica Léo crater; check the current access status before you go, since the prefecture closes the enclos during eruptions or alerts, and don’t promise your kids they’ll see lava. The Cité du Volcan museum in Bourg-Murat is a solid rainy-day or plan-B stop, with interactive, kid-friendly exhibits on Réunion’s volcanism.

If anyone wants an easier, guaranteed view of the volcano without the long approach walk, a scenic helicopter flight over the Piton de la Fournaise is a genuine family alternative — it’s short, weather-dependent, and best booked for the first clear morning of your stay rather than a fixed date. Bring a warm layer regardless: it’s noticeably cooler up here than on the coast. Details on the drive and the route options are in Piton de la Fournaise: a day trip from Saint-Gilles.

Drive back to the coast for the night, or push on toward Salazie if daylight allows — otherwise sleep in Saint-Gilles or Saint-Pierre and start Day 4 fresh.

Day 4: Salazie and Hell-Bourg

Salazie is the greenest, easiest cirque to reach, and the road in from Saint-André is more manageable than the road to Cilaos, though still mountain driving: allow about an hour from the coast, with plenty of hairpin bends. Stop along the way at the Voile de la Mariée waterfall viewpoint, a five-minute roadside look that kids enjoy.

Base the day around Hell-Bourg, a village of creole houses recognized as one of France’s most beautiful villages, small enough to explore on foot in an hour or two. There’s no strenuous hiking required here — a short, flat walk to a nearby waterfall or a wander through the village streets is enough for one afternoon. If the weather is clear and older kids want a proper walk, a guided family-paced trail from Hell-Bourg is possible, but this itinerary keeps it optional rather than scheduled.

Stay the night in or near Hell-Bourg if you want to slow the pace further; otherwise return to the coast before dark, since the mountain road is harder to judge at night. For the fuller range of things to see in this cirque, see Salazie and Hell-Bourg day trip from Saint-Gilles.

Day 5: Saint-Pierre — market and front de mer

Drive south to Saint-Pierre, about 1 to 1.5 hours from the west coast depending on your start point. If your dates land on a Saturday, the weekly market is the day’s centerpiece — a lively, easy-to-browse mix of produce, spices, and street food that works well with kids in tow, even if you’re only there to look and snack.

Spend the rest of the day on Saint-Pierre’s front de mer: a wide, shaded seafront promenade with play areas, ice cream stands, and calm water nearby for a final swim, always within the marked and supervised zone. For families flying home from the south, this also sets you up well for Pierrefonds airport; for those returning north, it’s a straightforward final night before the drive back to Saint-Gilles or on to Roland-Garros. Practical details on the town are in Things to do in Saint-Pierre, Réunion Island.

If your budget stretches to one splurge and everyone in the family is comfortable in the air, an island tour by helicopter departing from Saint-Pierre is a way to see the cirques, waterfalls, and the volcano from above in under an hour — a genuine option for a family that skipped the longer hikes on the ground. It depends entirely on clear weather, so treat it as a same-trip opportunity rather than a fixed booking.

What this itinerary deliberately leaves out

• No Mafate. There’s no road into the cirque — access is on foot only, over multiple days, and it isn’t suited to young children on this kind of trip.
• No summit hike. Neither Piton de la Fournaise’s crater trail nor Piton des Neiges is included; both are long, exposed, and exhausting for kids under about 12.
• No open-water swimming. Every swim stop above is inside the lagoon or a supervised zone. If you want whale-watching season timed into a similar route, see Whale season in Réunion: a 4-day easy itinerary, which adds the Maïdo viewpoint instead of the volcano and Salazie stops used here.

Budget and pace, day by day

Day	Base	Drive time	Pace
1	Saint-Gilles-les-Bains	—	Beach, marina, no driving
2	Saint-Leu / l’Étang-Salé	~25–40 min each way	Kélonia, black-sand beach
3	Piton de la Fournaise (day trip)	~2–2.5 hr each way	Long drive, easy walking
4	Salazie / Hell-Bourg	~1 hr each way	Village, short walks
5	Saint-Pierre	~1–1.5 hr	Market, seafront

Rough family budget (2 adults, 2 kids, mid-range) runs from around €130 to €220 per day including a rental car, self-catered or simple meals, and one or two paid activities such as Kélonia entry or a boat trip — full detail in Reunion Island trip cost: a budget breakdown. For where to sleep on this route, Where to stay in Réunion Island: choosing your base breaks down the west coast versus Saint-Pierre for families.

FAQ: Réunion Island with kids over five days

Is Réunion safe for a family trip?

Yes, for the areas and activities in this itinerary. The main safety rule to know in advance is that swimming is restricted to the lagoon and supervised zones because of shark risk — see Is Reunion Island safe for tourists? for the fuller picture.

Can we swim in the sea anywhere we like?

No. Swimming and water sports outside the lagoon and designated supervised or protected zones are banned by prefectural order. Stick to the beaches named in this itinerary — Saint-Gilles/l’Hermitage, Saint-Leu, and l’Étang-Salé — or Saint-Pierre’s supervised front de mer.

Do we need a Schengen visa for Réunion?

Réunion is French and part of the EU but sits outside the Schengen area. EU/EEA citizens enter with a valid ID card or passport; other nationalities should check Réunion’s own entry rules on france-visas.gouv.fr rather than assume a Schengen visa covers it. See Entry requirements for Réunion Island: visas, ID and the Schengen trap.

Will young kids manage the volcano day?

Yes, if you keep to the Plaine des Sables and the flat viewpoint path at Pas de Bellecombe rather than the crater hike. Budget the full drive time — roughly 2 to 2.5 hours each way from the west coast — and leave early to beat the midday fog.

Is a rental car essential for this route?

Effectively yes. Public transport (Car Jaune) links the coastal towns but doesn’t reach Hell-Bourg or the volcano car park on a workable schedule for a family day trip. See Renting a car in Réunion Island.

What if it rains for part of the trip?

The Cité du Volcan museum, the Aquarium in Saint-Gilles, and Kélonia’s covered areas all work as rainy-day options within this route. The east side of the cirques (Salazie) gets noticeably more rain than the west coast, so a wet Day 4 is more likely than a wet Day 1 or 2.

Should we do this trip in the cyclone season?

The itinerary works year-round, but November to April is the cyclone season, with a higher chance of heavy rain and last-minute schedule changes, especially around the volcano and Salazie. May to October (the austral winter) is drier and easier for driving. Keep bookings flexible either way — see Réunion Island cyclone season: a booking and safety guide.

Can we see whales during this trip?

Only if your dates fall roughly between June and October, when humpback whales are present off the west coast; sightings are never guaranteed. If whale season is a priority, Whale season in Réunion: a 4-day easy itinerary is built specifically around it.