Reunion in 6 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)

Six Days on Reunion Island: Two Cirques on a Real Budget

Six days extends the 4-day itinerary with a second cirque, Salazie, plus a spare day for the one genuine splurge on this island: a helicopter flight over Mafate. Days 1-4 stay the same coast-volcano-Cilaos spine; Days 5-6 add Salazie’s waterfalls and a choice between resting or spending EUR 300-380 on the flight. Rental car, one or two gite nights, and that optional helicopter are the whole budget story here.

Book these before you go

Day 1: Saint-Denis Arrival and the Free Lagoon at Saint-Gilles

Land at Roland Garros, collect your rental car, and drive roughly 35-40 minutes to Saint-Gilles-les-Bains. The lagoon here, inside the Reunion Marine Nature Reserve, is free and safe to swim; most of the rest of the open west coast has been under a shark-related swimming ban since 2013, so stay inside the marked zone. Reunion runs on the euro and drives on the right, as French territory in the EU (outside Schengen).

Day 2: Piton de la Fournaise on a Budget

Drive about 1.5-2 hours to Pas de Bellecombe for the volcano. Piton de la Fournaise erupted in three phases between February and April 2026, and caldera access still opens and closes with the alert level, so check reunion-parcnational.fr or fournaise.info first. Open trail means a roughly 4-hour hike each way to the rim; closed means the Cite du Volcan museum (EUR 9 adult, EUR 6 child) is the fallback. This is not the same peak as Piton des Neiges, the separate extinct 3,070m summit. Check Meteo France’s local forecast before this drive and before Cilaos too; both sit above 2,000m where conditions turn fast.

Day 3: Into Cirque de Cilaos

Drive roughly 1h15-2h into Cirque de Cilaos on the numbered hairpin road. Spend the afternoon at the thermal baths, a wine tasting (Reunion’s only wine region), or browsing the local pale lentils, then stay the night in a gite for a fraction of a coastal hotel rate.

Day 4: Cilaos to the Maido Viewpoint

Drive back out of Cilaos toward the coast, detouring up to the Maido viewpoint (about 1 hour from Saint-Paul, best before 8am before cloud rolls in) for a free look down into Cirque de Mafate. Mafate has no road at all, foot or helicopter only, so this viewpoint is the budget way to see it. Continue to the coast for the night.

Day 5: Cirque de Salazie and Hell-Bourg

Drive to Cirque de Salazie and the village of Hell-Bourg, listed among France’s most beautiful villages for its Creole houses with carved wooden trim. Walk out to the Voile de la Mariee waterfall, a multi-tiered cascade visible without a serious hike, then stay the night nearby or back on the coast.

Day 6: Rest Day or the Helicopter Splurge

This is the spare day where the budget either stays flat or takes its one real hit. A rest day on the Saint-Gilles lagoon costs nothing beyond what you’ve already spent. The alternative is a roughly 45-55 minute helicopter circuit over Mafate, the volcano, and the Trou de Fer waterfall, running about EUR 300-380 per person with operators like Corail Helicopteres or Helilagon; it’s the only way most visitors will see Trou de Fer or Mafate’s interior without a multi-day hike, and it’s worth the cost specifically for that reason.

Day Focus Drive/hike time Cost note
1 Saint-Denis arrival, Saint-Gilles lagoon ~35-40 min drive Free lagoon swim
2 Piton de la Fournaise volcano ~1.5-2h drive, ~4h hike if open EUR 9 museum if closed
3 Drive to Cirque de Cilaos ~1h15-2h drive Gite night ~EUR 20-40
4 Cilaos to Maido viewpoint, coast ~1h drive up, ~1h15-2h out Free viewpoint
5 Cirque de Salazie, Hell-Bourg ~1h drive from coast (verify) Free waterfall walk
6 Rest day or helicopter splurge 45-55 min flight if booked EUR 0 or EUR 300-380

Is the Piton des Neiges overnight worth adding to this budget?

Only if you have a spare day and want the sunrise-over-three-cirques view; it isn’t in this 6-day plan. The Gite de la Caverne Dufour runs about EUR 20 a bed, EUR 27 for dinner, and EUR 7 for breakfast, cash only, with meals booked 48 hours ahead. It’s a genuine basic mountain refuge, not a hotel, so budget-wise it’s cheap, but it demands a fit hiker and an extra day this itinerary doesn’t have.

Do you need cash on Reunion Island?

Yes, for the mountain legs specifically. Cards are widely accepted on the coast, but gites in Cilaos and Salazie, and especially the Piton des Neiges refuge, often run cash-only with meals booked in advance. Carry enough euros for two nights of lodging and meals before you leave the coast.

For the version that adds the wild south and a full week, see the 7-day itinerary , or check the Reunion Island sights rundown for a ranked list beyond this route. Decide on the Day 6 helicopter before you land; flights book out around the Grand Raid week in mid-October.