France
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
2,512km²
Area
199km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
3,070m
Highest point
Piton des Neiges
889,679
People
28°C
Warmest sea
February
1,634km
To the mainland
When to go to Réunion
Best for the beach from October to February.
The sea is warmest in February (28 °C) and coolest in August (23 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Overseas department of France in the Indian Ocean
Réunion is an island in France. It belongs to Mascarene Islands. It covers 2,512 km², with 199 km of coastline. Its highest point, Piton des Neiges, rises to 3,070 m. About 889,679 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,634 km away.
Getting there
- Roland Garros Airport (RUN)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at RUN airport (Sainte-Marie)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries2 ferry terminals on the island
- 1,634 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From October to Februarybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Réunion.
- 12beachesAnse des Cascades, Plage de Sainte-Clotilde, Plage du Tremblet and 9 more
- 385viewpointsPiton Dugain, Morne Langevin, Nez de Boeuf and 382 more
- 3lighthousesPhare de Bel-Air
- 2ferry terminalsGare Maritime
- 5marinasMaperine, Port de plaisance, Darse de plaisance Titan and 2 more
- 347named peaksGros Morne, le Grand Bénare, Piton Chisny and 344 more
- 4volcanoesPiton des Neiges, Piton de la Fournaise, Éruption du 13 février 2026 and 1 more
- 139waterfallsCascade de Bras Rouge, Cascade Maniquet, Trois Roches Fall and 136 more
- 4castles and fortsPropriété Appavoupoulle, Propriété Camalon, Propriété High Hall and 1 more
- 17ruins and archaeological sitesLa Glacière, Maison Rouge, Abri en ruines and 14 more
- 5dive centresLe Vieux Plongeur Réunion, Gloria Maris, Plongée Péï and 2 more
- 42waymarked walking routesbassin des hirondelles, sentier de Takamaka, Boucle des Margosiers and 39 more
- 65campsitesCamping Chez Julien, Gîte et camping Les Filaos, Camping Entre 2 Songes and 62 more
- 420hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 828restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Réunion in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Réunion, each with its own numbers.
2beaches and covesCoastya
25waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
700m
Bras d'Annette Falls
according to Cascadyas
Beach with the warmest sea
27.9°C
Anse du Sac
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
25 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Bras d'Annette Falls700m
- Cascade Blanche640m
- cascade du Chaudron500m
- Cascade Biberon250m
- Cascade du Chien150m
- Trou de Fer
- Grand Galet Falls
- Bridal Veil Falls (Salazie)
17 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 846 m above the sea. 22 % of it is below 200 m.
- 12 %0–50 m
- 10 %50–200 m
- 16 %200–500 m
- 23 %500–1,000 m
- 33 %1,000–2,000 m
- 6 %> 2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Saint-Denis154,765 people
- Saint-Paul105,240 people
- Le Tampon81,943 people
- Saint-André57,150 people
- Saint-Louis53,935 people
- Saint-Benoît37,023 people
- La Possession35,245 people
- Saint-Leu34,893 people
- Sainte-Marie34,344 people
- Le Port33,336 people
- Piton Saint-Leu29,278 people
- Sainte-Suzanne24,293 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 26 |
| Night low (°C) | 22 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 21 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 27 |
| Rain (mm) | 140 | 114 | 143 | 76 | 53 | 37 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 34 | 46 | 55 |
| Wet days | 19 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 |
| Sun h/day | 8.7 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 7.8 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 9.4 | 9.8 | 10.1 | 10.1 |
| Wind (km/h) | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 17 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.6 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | −0.3 | −0.5 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.1 | +0.4 | −0.3 | −0.3 |
| 2021 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | −0.7 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.1 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.4 | +0.1 | −0.2 |
| 2023 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.4 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +1.3 |
| 2024 | +0.4 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.3 |
| 2025 | +0.8 | +1.4 | +1.2 | +1.3 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
MauritiusAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q17070) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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