6 Days in Reunion: The First-Timer Itinerary
Six days is where this itinerary stops touring Reunion Island and starts earning it. You get the lagoon, both drivable cirques, and the active volcano exactly as in the 5-day version, then trade its wild-south flex day for the two hardest, most rewarding days available here: the hike up to a 2,478m mountain refuge and a pre-dawn push to the highest point in the Indian Ocean. Do this one properly and you’ll understand why people fly here just for Piton des Neiges.
Getting around Reunion in 6 days
The car you rent at Roland Garros carries you through the coast, Cilaos, and the volcano; Piton des Neiges itself is on foot from Cilaos, no vehicle involved once you start climbing. Book your car through Discover Cars before the trip, rates roughly double between June’s low season and the October peak.
Route summary: Saint-Denis to Saint-Gilles (35-40 min), Cilaos (1h15-2h), the volcano at Pas de Bellecombe (2-2.5h), Salazie and Hell-Bourg, then two days climbing Piton des Neiges from Cilaos. Coming from the 5-day plan ? This is that trip with the summit swapped in. Add one more day for a helicopter flight over Mafate with the 7-day itinerary . The places page ranks the rest of the island’s sights.
Book these before you go:
- Lagoon-side rooms: Saint-Gilles-les-Bains hotels
- A night in Cilaos: search Cilaos stays
- A guided caldera hike: Piton de la Fournaise volcano tour
- Your rental car: Discover Cars at Roland Garros
Day 1: Saint-Denis and the Saint-Gilles lagoon
Land at Roland Garros, collect the car, and give Saint-Denis an hour at Le Barachois and the Rue de Paris mansions (listed here ). Drive 35-40 minutes to Saint-Gilles-les-Bains and swim the protected lagoon, the one stretch of the west coast the 2013 shark-attack ban never touched.
Day 2: Cilaos, up the 400 bends
More than 400 hairpins climb into a real spa town with 19th-century thermal baths, Reunion’s only wine region, and the small pale lentils of Ilet a Cordes. Cilaos sits inside the Parc national de La Réunion . Overnight here for both the volcano drive and the mountain hike ahead.
Day 3: Piton de la Fournaise, the active volcano
Drive 2-2.5 hours to Pas de Bellecombe (2,311m). This is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, erupted into 12 April 2026, and back to the baseline “Vigilance” level by the OVPF’s latest bulletin , verify current status before you go. Hike the Enclos Fouqué toward the crater rim (about 4 hours one way) or take the Cité du Volcan museum instead if the trail’s closed that day.
Day 4: Salazie and Hell-Bourg
North to Hell-Bourg, one of France’s “Plus Beaux Villages,” Creole houses with carved lambrequins, and the Voile de la Mariée waterfall a short walk from town. Loop back toward Cilaos in the afternoon to reset for the mountain.
Day 5: Piton des Neiges, the climb up
This is the big one. From Cilaos, hike roughly 8h41 one way with 1,736m of elevation gain to the Gîte de la Caverne Dufour at 2,478m. It’s a genuine mountain refuge, not a hotel: cash only, around EUR 20 for the bunk, EUR 27 for dinner, EUR 7 for breakfast, and meals need booking 48 hours ahead. Pack warm, waterproof layers regardless of the tropical forecast at sea level; it gets properly cold up there.
Day 6: Sunrise over three cirques
Up well before dawn for the final push to the 3,070m summit, the highest point in the Indian Ocean and an entirely separate, extinct volcanic massif from the still-active Fournaise. On a clear morning you see all three cirques laid out below, with the Fournaise itself visible in the distance. Descend the same route back to Cilaos, a long day, then a short drive back to the coast.
| Day | Focus | Drive/hike time |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Saint-Denis + Saint-Gilles lagoon | ~35-40 min drive |
| Day 2 | Cilaos cirque, overnight | ~1h15-2h drive |
| Day 3 | Piton de la Fournaise volcano | ~2-2.5h drive, 4h+ hike |
| Day 4 | Salazie + Hell-Bourg | ~2-3h drive |
| Day 5 | Piton des Neiges, hike to the gite | ~8h41 hike |
| Day 6 | Summit sunrise + descend to Cilaos | ~8h41 hike down |
Is the Piton des Neiges summit hike hard?
Yes, genuinely. The one-way hike to the gite alone runs about 8h41 with 1,736m of elevation gain, before any summit push the next morning. Fit, prepared hikers who specifically want the sunrise-over-three-cirques view get real value from it; anyone who would rather not rough it in a basic cash-only refuge should pick the Maido viewpoint or a helicopter flight instead for a lower-effort version of a similar panorama.
Do I need to book the mountain refuge in advance?
Yes, by phone, not through a normal booking site. The Gîte de la Caverne Dufour takes cash only and needs meals reserved 48 hours ahead; treat it as fixed logistics you lock in before you leave home, not something you improvise from the trailhead.
Book the Cilaos room and the volcano tour before you land, then reserve the gite by phone the moment your dates are firm; all three genuinely sell out around the July-August, December-January, and mid-October Grand Raid peaks.