Has anyone been to Le Port, Reunion??

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Has anyone here been to  Le Port, Reunion before??

if so I was wondering what did you do here on your visit??

Any information or advise is welcome 😊

[mispi]

use this link and use google translator

https://www.wasserurlaub.info/forum/thread/45593-la-réunion/

there are some advices for individual trips

[G.M.T.]

In Le Port, there is nothing todo, it is just an industrial port. Reunion is expensive, as it is part of metropolitan France and use the Euro. When we were there they were buidling an autobahn between Le Port and St. Denise - all with EU money. We had looked for local tour operators, but they seemed few and far between and expensive. So we did the ships tours, we had an overnight in Le Port.

 

The first day tour took us first a bit into the mountains and the waterfalls, then a very interesting visit to a vanilla plantation (the vanilla rum there served - flowed like honey and I winged my way back to the bus like a bee). Then onto St. Denis where we had a guided tour and free time to look around and shop. St. Denis is a quaint colonial style town, very nice.

 

Next day we went deep and up high into the mountains, fabulous views. Then had time at a seaside town.

 

The visit was enjoyable. The other countries on our cruise, Mauritius, Seychelles were fabulous, Madagascar, once seen is enough.

 

If you need more information about Le Port or the other countries, just let me know.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

 

 

[bronte2]

We were there in 2014 and really loved it but you do need to do a tour.

At the time we went, we had previously tried to organise a private tour but had no success so we went on a ship's tour which turned out to be fantastic.

We travelled up into the mountains (views amazing!) to Piton de la Fournaise (excuse spelling but I would have to dig out my paperwork for correct spelling).

This area is volcanic and the scenery is like what you would imagine on Mars.

 

On the return trip the scenery was more like Europe with lovely gardens and cute houses.  We were dropped off in St Denis for an hour or so before returning to the port.

 

Those guests who didn't do a tour and instead just got the shuttle to St Denis were disappointed.  We were a bit fortunate as we had seen a documentary on Reunion a couple of years before we went so had some idea of what the island had to offer.

 

Taxis are very expensive too so that's another reason to go with the ship on this occasion.

 

I would definitely recommend a trip to the volcano area.

 

I hope you have a great day there!

[2snowbirds]

On 10/17/2019 at 8:36 PM, Kiwi_cruiser said:

Has anyone here been to  Le Port, Reunion before??

if so I was wondering what did you do here on your visit??

Any information or advise is welcome 😊

Here is the response to me from a guide in Reunion:

"Hi Joe,
Thanks for contacting me.

I am available that day.

The tours I propose are very different one from each other.
We can go to the dry and colorful volcano (2h30 to get there), with nice other lookouts on the way.
Or the "cirque de Salazie", which is a beautiful green and old crater and visit the waterfalls and village of Hell Bourg inside (1h30 to get there). We can mix this one with a visit to the vanilla plantation (5€/pers).
We can also go to the "cirque de Cilaos", which is another old big crater and visit the village (2h to get there with 400 turns in the mountains).
Or we can go around the wild south, where we can see waterfall, splashing waves on volcanic cliffs, old lava flows, nice churches, all along the coast.
We can also go to the "Maïdo", which is a point of view over the "cirque de Mafate", there are no road inside (1h mountain turns drive).
Tell me your preferences, and I can help you with the tour. The price is 70€/person, lunch not included from 4 to 8 people.

Each tour lasts from around 8am to 4pm. but we can adapt with your ship time. 

You can pay cash on the day.

In any case, we can go to a typical creole restaurant to taste local food (20€/pers), or just buy a snack on the way (at you own expenses).
We pick you up and drop you off at the cruise ship terminal. Once you ship docks, you'll have to take a one minute shuttle to the place where the tourism information welcomes you. I will also be there with a sign with your name on. 
Looking forwards to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Heloise

 

[mary1508]

On 10/22/2019 at 3:49 PM, 2snowbirds said:

Here is the response to me from a guide in Reunion:

"Hi Joe,
Thanks for contacting me.

I am available that day.

The tours I propose are very different one from each other.
We can go to the dry and colorful volcano (2h30 to get there), with nice other lookouts on the way.
Or the "cirque de Salazie", which is a beautiful green and old crater and visit the waterfalls and village of Hell Bourg inside (1h30 to get there). We can mix this one with a visit to the vanilla plantation (5€/pers).
We can also go to the "cirque de Cilaos", which is another old big crater and visit the village (2h to get there with 400 turns in the mountains).
Or we can go around the wild south, where we can see waterfall, splashing waves on volcanic cliffs, old lava flows, nice churches, all along the coast.
We can also go to the "Maïdo", which is a point of view over the "cirque de Mafate", there are no road inside (1h mountain turns drive).
Tell me your preferences, and I can help you with the tour. The price is 70€/person, lunch not included from 4 to 8 people.

Each tour lasts from around 8am to 4pm. but we can adapt with your ship time. 

You can pay cash on the day.

In any case, we can go to a typical creole restaurant to taste local food (20€/pers), or just buy a snack on the way (at you own expenses).
We pick you up and drop you off at the cruise ship terminal. Once you ship docks, you'll have to take a one minute shuttle to the place where the tourism information welcomes you. I will also be there with a sign with your name on. 
Looking forwards to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Heloise

 

How do I get in touch with this local guide please.  Thanks

[tring]

We were there  in November about 3 years ago.  We were booked on a trip to a turtle place and a tour of a nearby town, but decided to cancel and just take the ship's free shuttle to St Denis, which we did not think they would offer as it is quite a distance for a free transfer. Our day in St Denis was OK, but nothing special.

 

We had originally looked at trips to the mountainous region which does look impressive, but had also read that it can be misty so we may not have seen much.  Those tours were also very expensive so did not go for that.

 

Just giving you our experiences/thoughts, but do not specifically suggest anything - your choice entirely.  We did find it a difficult one to research.

Edited November 11, 2019 by tring

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Thank You everyone for your replays and information, very helpfully 😊

 

We had a great day there, we went to a Hermitage Beach and went snorkelling!