What's on in Saint-Denis (Reunion), Réunion through the year

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Cyclone season (15 Nov – 30 Apr)

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Cyclone season (15 Nov – 30 Apr)

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Cyclone season (15 Nov – 30 Apr)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Cyclone season (15 Nov – 30 Apr)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Walking season in the cirques

  1 May – 15 NovTrail seasonBook early

  The dry southern winter is when the paths into Mafate and up Piton des Neiges are walkable and the gîtes are worth booking. In the wet half the ravines flood and sections close without much notice.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Humpbacks off the coast

  15 Jun – 31 Oct · usuallyWhale season

  Humpbacks come up from the Antarctic to calve off Réunion in the austral winter and are watched from the coast road as often as from a boat. Approach distances are set by a local charter that the operators sign. Source ↗

Still on: Walking season in the cirques (1 May – 15 Nov)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Walking season in the cirques (1 May – 15 Nov), Humpbacks off the coast (15 Jun – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Walking season in the cirques (1 May – 15 Nov), Humpbacks off the coast (15 Jun – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Walking season in the cirques (1 May – 15 Nov), Humpbacks off the coast (15 Jun – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — Grand Raid, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Grand Raid

  14–27 Oct · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The Diagonale des Fous crosses the island end to end over the volcano and the cirques and finishes in Saint-Denis, where the stadium stays open through the night for people still coming in two days later. Source ↗

Still on: Walking season in the cirques (1 May – 15 Nov), Humpbacks off the coast (15 Jun – 31 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Cyclone season

  15 Nov – 30 AprClosures

  The south-west Indian Ocean season runs from mid-November to the end of April. Réunion has a colour-coded alert system that everyone follows: at red, nobody leaves the house and nothing on the island is open. Source ↗

Still on: Walking season in the cirques (1 May – 15 Nov)

Busy — Fèt Kaf, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Fèt Kaf

  20 DecNational holidayClosures

  20 December marks the abolition of slavery in 1848 and is the island's own holiday rather than a French one — kabar drumming, maloya into the night, and everything closed. It matters more here than 14 July. Source ↗

Still on: Cyclone season (15 Nov – 30 Apr)