• Experienced local leader
• Airport transfers to start and end hotels
• Accommodation as described
• Meals as per the Meal Plan
• All land transport involved in the itinerary

• Travel insurance
• Meals as per the Meal Plan
• Miscellaneous expenses - drinks and souvenirs etc

On arrival, all clients arriving into St Denis Airport (except during the night between 2100 and 0430) will receive a transfer to the group hotel in St Denis. The group briefing with the guide takes place at 18.00, so you should arrive before 17.00 so that you can join this briefing.

On departure all clients will receive a transfer from St Gilles (except during the night between 2100 and 0430) to the airport in time for their flight.

Both transfers are 'tourist transfers' - which is a tourist bus which drops off people at different hotels. The transfer to the hotel in St Denis is approximately 15mins from the airport, and from St Gilles is 45mins - 1hr.

If you are arriving or departing between 2100 and 0430 you will need a private transfer, and we can provide this at an additional cost. Private transfers during the day are also available if you do not wish to take the shared tourist transfer.Taxis are also available.

Hotel contact details and an emergency number will be provided with your booking confirmation.

All breakfasts and 5 dinners are included in the holiday price. All lunches and evening meals on 5 days will need to be purchased directly. Some lunches will involve buying snack items for a picnic lunch and some will be taken in a café, restaurant or other food outlet. Meal prices on Reunion Island are similar to those in the UK. Allow €10 - €15 for each lunch and approximately €30 for each evening meal. A total of €300 will be sufficient to cover these meals.

Water from the taps may not be drinkable in all locations on this trip - please check with your guide. We recommend taking water purification tablets and a reusable bottle with a filter such as Water-to-Go, which can both be used to help make safe other water sources. Please note that we do not encourage the purchase of single use plastic bottles.

The plethora of races and nationalities has contributed to the integration of cuisines from India, China, France, Madagascar and the African mainland making the local food, interesting and exotic. Eating is one of the favourite activities of Reunionese and mealtimes are family occasions. The regional specialty is 'cari', a truly Creole dish in which many ingredients are simmered together. The cari is made using Indian spices and local ingredients like meat, poultry, fish or seafood and contains garlic, onion, plenty of tomatoes, turmeric, cloves and ginger. Caris are best eaten with boiled rice. The favourite special dishes of the islanders are carri bichique, carri tangue and wasp larvae served in a dish called rougail. Traditional Indian, Chinese and French food is available at the many restaurants and cafes in Reunion that also serve good local and French wines. However, essentially being a part of France much of the food is based on the French food including baguette at breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Of course one must not forget the beer "bourbon" which is more often called 'dodo'. Our packed/picnic lunches we need to purchase at the local shops and the tour leader will point you in the right direction for this.

During this holiday the group will spend 1 night in a colonial style hotel with small swimming pool, centrally located in St Denis on the arrival night. We have 5 nights accommodation will be in a variety of mountain houses, gites and refuges, which usually have dormitory-style rooms and shared bathroom facilities. Bedding and pillows are provided at the refuges, except for Caverne Dufour refuge where we can not guarantee there will be bedding or blankets provided. We recommend you take a sheet sleeping bag and a sleeping bag for this night. In Cilaos, in the middle of the trip, we have 2 nights in a small hotel with swimming pool. And the last 2 nights of the holiday are in a resort style hotel in St Gilles with swimming pool and access to the beach. However swimming is not recommended in the sea due to the sharks!

If you are travelling by yourself, you will be paired up with another single client of the same sex for the hotel nights (5 nights). Single hotel rooms are available for a supplementary cost. If you are planning on extending your holiday additional nights at the group hotel are available on request.

The group will be led by a professional and qualified tour leader.

This holiday involves going to moderately high altitude.  During the course of your trip you will reach altitudes in excess of 2500 metres.  Most people will have no difficulty with this level of altitude but before coming on the holiday, we recommend you read the advice on trekking at high altitude.  You can also talk to one of our trekking experts if you have any concerns about altitude.

Approximately €400 (Or equivalent in GBP or USD) should be allowed for should be allowed for tips, soft drinks, snacks, non-included meals and miscellaneous expenses. Alcoholic drinks, souvenirs and optional activities are additional so you may wish to budget for these. 

When staying in St Gilles and St Denis (3 nights total) there is a hotel tax of 0.92 Euros per person per night that you have to pay the hotel directly.

The currency is Euros and if you are taking cash you should bring euros as money changing facilities are limitied. There are ATM’s in St Denis, Cilaos and St Gilles. Credit cards are useful and it is a good idea to carry one in case of emergency.

Optional Activities:

Whale-watching or Dolphin Tour, St Gilles. There are a few different options ranging from €20 for a 1 hr trip, €30 for 2 hrs and €60 for 4 hrs, and packages which including drinks and meals.

Dolphins tours are all year around, Whale-watching is Jun-Oct.You should speak with your guide on arrival to book a tour. 

Tipping is the accepted way of saying ‘thank you’ to your leader and local team. Tipping is entirely voluntary and should be dependent on good service. We recommend that you decide levels of tipping and give any tips as a group rather than from individual group members. As a rough guide we recommend €30 per person for your guide.

Our holidays are normally designed with minimal 'down time' at the start of the trip, but having a day or two at the beginning will have the additional benefit of allowing you time to get over the stress of a long journey or travelling across time zones, leaving you refreshed and ready for your holiday. We can easily arrange for you to have additional nights and airport transfers.

For this holiday you should take one piece of luggage and a daypack. During the 3-day trek from Salazie to Cilaos and during the 4 days from Cilaos back to St Gilles, you will carry your personal equipment in your daypack. In practice, you should not need to carry more than about 8 kg. It is possible to leave other items not required on these trekking days at the hotel which will be transferred to the next accessible accommodation. Luggage with wheels is considered useful for this holiday. For international flights please check your baggage allowance with your airline.

For each holiday there is a minimum number of participants required to enable it to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to run'. You can check the trip status for each departure in the ‘Dates and Prices’ table. Other than in exceptional circumstances, we will not cancel a trip once it has achieved this guaranteed to run status so you are free to proceed with your international flight booking and other travel arrangements.