Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
about 11 hours. The return fare from Réunion in low/high season starts at roughly €160/
173 for a berth in a 2nd-class cabin.
Tickets and information are available through travel agents or direct from the Mauritius
Shipping Corporation representative
SCOAM
(
0262 42 19 45; passagers@scoam.fr; 4 av. du
14-Juillet-1789, Le Port)
.
Getting Around
BICYCLE
The traffic, the haste of most motorists and the steep and precarious nature of the moun-
tain roads means that those considering cycling as a form of transport in Réunion should
be prepared for some hair-raising and potentially dangerous situations.
BUS
Réunion's major towns and many of the little ones in between are linked by bus. The is-
land's bus service is knows as
Car Jaune
( 0810 123 974;
www.cg974.fr/index.php/Horaires-des-Cars-
jaunes.html
)
and has distinctive yellow buses. The main
gare routière
(bus station) is on Blvd
Lancastel on the St-Denis seafront.
Buses on most routes run between about 6am and 7pm, with a limited number of ser-
vices on Sunday. You can pay the driver as you board. To get the bus to stop, you ring the
bell or clap your hands twice loudly.
Car Jaune provides regional minibus services for several areas on the island; they run
from St-Benoît, St-Joseph, Ste-Rose, St-Leu and St-Paul. These convoluted local routes
can be fairly confusing, particularly if you don't speak much French. Of most use to trav-
ellers are the buses from St-André to Salazie, Salazie to Hell-Bourg, Grand Îlet and Le
Bélier, and the buses from St-Louis to Cilaos, Îlet à Cordes and Bras-Sec.
CAR
With most attractions located in the hills, we strongly recommend hiring a vehicle.
The road system on the island is excellent and well signposted. Inaugurated in June 2009
after six years of work, the Route des Tamarins is a four-lane expressway that connects
Saint-Paul to Étang-Salé (34km) and branches onto the existing RN1. It creates a direct
route between the two biggest cities, St-Denis in the north and St-Pierre in the south.
Routes
départementales
, whose names begin with the letter D (or RD), are tertiary local
roads, many of them very tortuous (use your horn!)
There are some gorgeous runs, cruising along the island's dramatic roads; heading into the
mountains via the Cirques roads is a magnificent experience. The superbly engineered
