Best Time to Visit La Réunion

Volcan - Volcano (Grégoire Hervé-bazin)  [flickr.com]  CC BY 
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On this page, you will find information about the climate and the best time to visit La Réunion. We created climate tables and charts for the location of Saint Denis. These contain details about temperatures, precipitation and more.

Furthermore, we analyzed all climate data and provide a recommendation about which months are best to visit La Réunion for your holiday.

Climate Overview

Thermometer Symbol 17 °C to 30 °C
Waves Symbol 23 °C to 27 °C
Rainy Cloud Symbol 1.511.97 in (6 – 16 Days of Rain)
Show temperatures in degree

General & Geography

La Réunion is an island in the Indian Ocean and belongs together with the neighbouring Mauritius and Rodrigues to the Mascarene archipelago. Madagascar, the second largest island state in the world, lies about 450 miles west of Réunion.

Politically, La Réunion is an overseas department of France, making it part of the European Union and the official currency is the euro.

Around 850,000 inhabitants live on an area of almost 1600 square miles. The capital and economic centre of Réunion is Saint-Denis in the north of the island.

La Réunion is of volcanic origin and is crossed by an imposing chain of volcanoes, including the active Piton de la Fournaise and the island’s highest peak (Piton des Neiges) at 3070 metres.

Due to its exceptional natural beauty and spectacular landscapes, La Réunion is particularly popular with active holidaymakers. But besides fantastic hiking routes along crystal clear waterfalls through tropical rainforests there are also paradisiacal sandy beaches and fantastic coral reefs on the island.

Climate on La Réunion

Trou de Fer (Cédric Liénart)  [flickr.com]  CC BY-SA 
License Information available under 'Proof of Image Sources' La Réunion has a tropical climate with pronounced summer humidity, although there can be major regional differences. While the west side of the island has a rather dry steppe climate, the east coast of Réunion in particular is extremely humid and rainy.

Summer on Réunion is between November and the beginning of April, especially between January and March there can be very heavy rainfall. There is also the risk of cyclones.

Winter on La Réunion is from May to August, while the temperatures remain pleasantly mild at around 25 °C during the day and night temperatures of 17 °C to 18 °C. In addition, precipitation is very rare. From September to the end of November, the warmer dry season is considered the main season on La Réunion.

Best Time to Visit La Réunion: Overview

JanuaryJan
Rainy Season
up to 11.65 in of rain, risk of cyclones
FebruaryFeb
Rainy Season
up to 9.13 in of rain, risk of cyclones
MarchMar
Rainy Season
up to 12.36 in of rain, risk of cyclones
AprilApr
Transition Period
mostly Pleasant climate, but wet
MayMay
Best time to traveltime
dry winter time on La Réunion
JuneJun
Best time to traveltime
dry winter time on La Réunion
JulyJul
Best time to traveltime
dry winter time on La Réunion
AugustAug
Best time to traveltime
dry winter time on La Réunion
SeptemberSep
Best time to traveltime
Main Season on La Réunion
OctoberOct
Best time to traveltime
Main Season on La Réunion
NovemberNov
Best time to traveltime
Main Season on La Réunion
DecemberDec
Beginning of Rainy Season
increasingly sticky

When is the best time to travel on La Réunion?


In general, Réunion can be visited all year round, but the summer months from mid-December to the end of March are subject to some restrictions. Due to sometimes torrential rainfalls, hiking trails and roads on the island can be impassable during this travel season, the air is often humid-hot.

From April the weather calms down quickly and usually offers very pleasant conditions until the end of the year. For active holidaymakers, the entire period from April to mid-December is the best travel season, while seaside holidaymakers and families prefer the main season in the travel season from mid-September to early December.

Climate Chart La Réunion

Saint Denis

Climate Chart Saint Denis
Show temperatures in degree

Source of Data: German Weather Service (Offenbach) and Wikipedia

Climate Table La Réunion

In the following, you will find the climate table for La Réunion, containing information about Temperatures, Precipitation, Water Temperatures, and Hours of Sunshine.

Temperatures, Precipitation, Sunshine in Saint Denis (La Réunion)

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day Temperature30°30°29°28°27°26°25°25°25°26°27°29°
Night Temperature23°23°23°21°20°18°17°17°18°19°20°22°
Water Temperature27°27°27°27°26°25°24°23°23°24°25°26°
Precipitation (inch)11.659.1311.976.653.622.83.032.41.811.53.466.22
Rainy days161414119911976712
Hours of Sunshine887787777777
Show temperatures in degree
Temperatures
The annual average temperature in Saint Denis is 23.6 °C.

For comparison: London 11 °C, NYC 12 °C, LA 17.9 °C

Warmest month: February (26.4 °C)
Coldest month: August (20.9 °C)

The maximum water temperature in Saint Denis is 27 °C. You can take a bath at these temperatures.

Months with water temperature of at least 21 °C (adequate for beach vacation):
all months

Precipitation
Overall annual precipitation: 64.25 inch on 125 rainy days

For comparison: London 24.06 in, NYC 41.57 in, LA 12.01 in

Rainy season (months with more than 6.9 in of precipitation): January, February, and March
Overall precipitation in the rainy season: 32.76 in

You cannot expect snow in any month in Saint Denis.

Sunshine
As our climate table shows, January is the sunniest month with an average of 7.7 hours of sunshine per day. Over the year, there are 7.3 hours of sunshine per day on average. For comparison: London has 4.1, NYC has 7 and LA has 8.9 hours of sunshine per day on average.



More information about the best things to do: La Réunion

Current Weather and Forecast

Current Weather in Saint Denis (Station Saint-Denis)
light rain     light rain, 28.1 °C
Clouds: 40 %       Wind: 25 mph ONO
Air Pressure: 1014 hPa       Humidity: 79 %
Last updated: 7th Feb 2023, 11:06 am
The next days …
7th Feb 20238th Feb 20239th Feb 202310th Feb 202311th Feb 202312th Feb 2023
light rain25 °C to 28 °Clight rain25 °C to 28 °Clight rain25 °C to 28 °Clight rain25 °C to 28 °Clight rain25 °C to 28 °Clight rain25 °C to 28 °C
25 °C to 28 °C25 °C to 28 °C25 °C to 28 °C25 °C to 28 °C25 °C to 28 °C25 °C to 28 °C
Clouds: 25 %Clouds: 77 %Clouds: 69 %Clouds: 6 %Clouds: 2 %Clouds: 24 %
0.06 in of rain0.1 in of rain0.03 in of rain0.09 in of rain0.03 in of rain0.07 in of rain
Weather information provided by OpenWeatherMap. (CC BY-SA)
Show temperatures in degree

La Réunion: Experiences of our Visitors

There are 11 reviews for La Réunion holiday already. Average rating is 4 of 5 stars.
  1. Avatar Preview
    Boris, 50 years old was there in January

    Very pleasant climate. Met a lot of nice people. All in all a successful work assignment.

    Weather Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

  2. Avatar Preview
    Silke, 47 years old was there in May

    In the morning the weather was great with blue sky. Around 12 o’clock it got clogged up in the mountains. It was usually very good by the sea.

    Weather Rating: 4 stars – Good

  3. Avatar Preview
    Leni, 32 years old was there in December

    Sunny, very warm on the coast, occasional short showers. In the mountains clear view in the morning, from noon often cloudy and rarely rain. Getting up early is definitely worth it, then great walks are possible.

    Weather Rating: 4 stars – Good

  4. Avatar Preview
    Sandy, 43 years old was there in April

    It was nice and warm on the beach and pleasant to hike in the mountains.

    Weather Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

  5. Avatar Preview
    Sabine, 57 years old was there in February

    Landed in pouring rain and everywhere waterfalls on the slopes, which was very impressive. Unfortunately, some hiking trails are not usable, but there is always (!) an alternative on this versatile island…It is also worth getting up early and seeing fantastic mountain panoramas that cannot even be guessed behind the clouds, all the more gigantic when the wind breaks up the clouds…It was always very warm, even rather humid…in the higher altitudes pleasant… All high peaks were seen several times in the 3 weeks..The sea was pleasant for swimming, diving and snorkelling, clear water…

    Weather Rating: 4 stars – Good

  6. Avatar Preview
    Susi, 42 years old was there in September

    Hello, we had it mostly sunny partly cloudy but always pleasant

    Weather Rating: 3 stars – Mixed

  7. Avatar Preview
    jochen, 64 years old was there in February

    many showers and sunshine alternated but always pleasantly warm

    Weather Rating: 3 stars – Mixed

  8. Avatar Preview
    Gabi, 38 years old was there in January

    warm, sunny occasional rain, sea bath temperature, clear blue water

    Weather Rating: 5 stars – Excellent

  9. Avatar Preview
    Renate, 55 years old was there in November

    From late in the morning it often clammed up. Then it rained in showers every now and then. The temperatures were muggy-hot with about 30 degrees. The mountain peaks were never visible during our stay of 7 days. Unfortunately always cloudy.

    Weather Rating: 3 stars – Mixed

  10. Avatar Preview
    alexandra strnad, 48 years old was there in April

    It was pleasantly warm, but not too hot, unfortunately it rained on some days. Unfortunately, the humidity during the hikes was a little bit too humid.

    Weather Rating: 4 stars – Good

  11. Avatar Preview
    Roger, 70 years old was there in October

    on the west coast nice and warm.in the mountains (cirques) in the morning very nice ,covered in the afternoon light rain east coast

    Weather Rating: 4 stars – Good

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La Réunion

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