Visiting Reunion in the Indian Ocean

The island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean is often overlooked by those who wish to travel to one of the Indian Ocean's amazing islands. It is in fact not difficult to see the causes of this unfortunate situation. Reunion, while ideally located in the Indian Ocean too, lacks the more amazing characteristics features of its famous neighbors.

It does not have a staggering number of fabulous beaches, its lagoons are not of the deep blue found in Seychelles or the Maldives, and, most of all, it does not seem to care much about its tourism industry.

This last point too is understandable. Reunion is part of the French territory and is thus not wholly dependent on tourism for revenue. Consequently, it is also a cheaper destination than other islands such as Mauritius and Seychelles. A Seychelles holiday would require lots of searching around and just the hotel would cost a lot, while traveling to Reunion can be easily done even on small budgets.

Make no mistake about the island's worth though as Reunion is definitely worth traveling to. As a matter of fact, putting the consideration of beaches aside, Reunion actually has even more tourist attractions than any other Indian Ocean island. These attractions include picturesque villages like Petite Ile and huge bays like the Grand Anse, along with a large number of museums and parks.

It is obviously most famous for being the home to one of the world's most active volcanoes, the Peak of the Furnace (its French name is the "Piton de la Fournaise") and a most unique attraction in the world. It is obviously the first attraction to visit in Reunion and is thus always packed with visitors, including tourists and locals. The Peak of the Furnace even erupted during the last days of 2010, and is officially considered as one of the most active volcanoes on the planet.

As mentioned earlier, the Grand Anse is another popular attraction in Reunion. The Grand Anse is actually a quite large area that includes a beach, a great lagoon protected by coral reefs (which give it a pretty unique feel), and a forest, among lesser attractions. The Grand Anse beach is widely considered as the finest one in Reunion.

In fact, most postcards of Reunion actually feature the Grand Anse when they portray beaches, so you must probably have seen pictures of it before. The forest is also an amazing destination due to its lush environment and it is an ideal location for romantic walls as well as picnics. In fact, you will very likely bump into most of the population of the neighboring towns if you go there during the weekend.

If you further wish to know about the culture and lifestyle of Reunion, you can also check out its fantastic villages, the most popular of which are Petite Ile and Saint Denis. You will definitely need to go through Petite Ile since it is as the center of many attractions. It is also well-known for its weekly events and also boasts AJ Petite Ile, the best soccer team in the island. Saint Denis is the capital of Reunion where all the main museums, such as the Natural History Museum and the Leon-Dierx Museum, are located.