Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Throughout the island, but particularly on the west coast, there are restaurants, bars, op-
erators and accommodation places that make a point of welcoming gays and lesbians.
Certain areas are the focus of the gay and lesbian communities, among them St-Denis, St-
Pierre and La Saline-les-Bains. You'll find some gay-friendly accommodation options on
INTERNET ACCESS
Many midrange and all top-end hotels offer wi-fi access, as do B&Bs, many cafes and
most tourist offices, usually without a charge. In hotels, coverage may be restricted to
public areas.
Internet cafes can be found only in bigger towns and resort areas such as St-Denis, St-
Gilles-les-Bains and St-Pierre. The connection is generally good and rates are fairly stand-
ard at around €9 per hour.
MAPS
Find maps at tourist offices and bookshops. The website fr.mappy.com has online maps
and a journey planner, including petrol costs.
Réunion
map, at a scale of 1:100,000 (1cm = 1km), which covers the island in one sheet,
is perfectly adequate.
The most detailed and accurate maps for hiking are the six-sheet 1:25,000 series published
by IGN.
MONEY
As in France, the unit of currency is the euro (€), which is divided into 100 cents. Euro
coins come in denominations of one, two, five, 10, 20 and 50 cents and one and two
euros. Banknotes are issued in denominations of five, 10, 20, 50 and 100 euros.
ATMs
ATMs are the easiest way to access funds while in Réunion, but banks charge foreign-
transaction fees plus a per-use ATM charge.
Most banks and post offices have an ATM (known as a
guichet automatique de banque
or
gabier
).
Visa and MasterCard are the most widely accepted.
Check with your bank before you leave home to ensure that the card you plan to use to
withdraw cash doesn't have a low daily or weekly limit.
If you're heading off into the Cirques, it's wise to stock up with euros beforehand - Cilaos
and Hell-Bourg have only one ATM each.
Credit Cards
