Most people drive straight through Sainte-Suzanne on the way from Saint-Denis to Saint-Benoît. Stop, and you'll find a waterfall a few steps from the car park, the island's first lighthouse (1846), a family-friendly canyon at Bassin Bœuf, an old railway tunnel, and the place where vanilla history was made. The quiet side of the north-east.
Sainte-Suzanne stretches from the sea up into the hills, on some of the first land to be settled on the island. It's one of Reunion Island's oldest towns, with a low-key but genuine heritage of sugar, railways and churches, and it's more rural and quieter than Saint-Denis, 25 minutes away by car. Sitting just down the N2 from Roland-Garros airport, Sainte-Suzanne works well as a first stop for a van or car trip: reserve a hire car for your arrival day.
Five stops mixing nature, heritage and a coastal walk, easy to string together into a full day.
On the Sainte-Suzanne river, less than 2km from the town centre, the water drops 25m down a basalt cliff into an emerald pool where you can swim except when the river is in flood. It's just 30 metres from the car park, with a picnic area that's popular with local families on Sundays. In the morning, a rainbow often forms in the spray.
Full Niagara Waterfall guide
First lit in 1846, working ever since and automated in 1991, this listed 20.25m red and white tower stands on a wooded headland by the sea. You can't go inside any more, but the grounds are made for a stroll, with a garden, a viewpoint indicator and the start of the coastal path. Lovely at sunset.
A flat greenway linking the town centre with several seaside hamlets as far as Quartier Français. There are no hills, so it's fine for pushchairs and bikes, and it passes old sugar mills, railway bridges and shelters. Great for families, and one of the most pleasant walks on the windward (east) coast.
A former tunnel on the old coastal railway (the CFR, which ran from 1882 to 1956). Today it's a shady footpath with fern-covered arches and a timeless feel. The flat route between Sainte-Suzanne and Bagatelle suits families, passing the remains of sugar mills and old railway bridges along the way.
Upstream from Niagara Waterfall, about 5km inland, this is a swimming spot with clear, cool water and one of the island's easiest canyons for beginners (jumps you can choose to skip, natural slides, few abseils). The best season is June to November. Guided trips from age 12, sometimes 10 depending on the operator.
Sainte-Suzanne is one of the birthplaces of Bourbon vanilla: it was here, in 1841, that Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old enslaved boy, invented hand pollination, the technique that made large-scale vanilla growing possible. Four places that tell the story, past and present.
A listed Creole mansion from 1832, 5km from the town centre, with a vanilla garden and an exhibition on the hand pollination technique discovered by Edmond Albius in 1841. Guided tour of 30-45 minutes, tasting and shop, €8 per person. Pairs well with a morning at Niagara.
One of the island's best-known distilleries, 5km towards Saint-André. Guided tour and tasting from €15, award-winning rhum agricole (the barrel-aged Lontan range) and a shop. It produces rum on a large scale as well as fine aged rums. Booking recommended.
Near the town centre, smaller than the big coastal markets but authentic: vegetables, tropical fruit in season (lychees, mangoes, longans), local herbal teas, samosas, cooperative-grown vanilla and vacoa (screwpine) basketwork. Follow it with a coffee near the Quartier Français chapel.
Several modest, charming country chapels (Quartier Français, Bagatelle, Bel Air), built in 19th-century Creole style from wood and painted corrugated iron. Sainte-Suzanne's parish church, with its shady forecourt, stands in the heart of the town.
Checked partner activities in and around Sainte-Suzanne (Saint-André, Saint-Denis, Salazie, Saint-Benoît).
★ 4.8(101)Whitewater rafting on the Marsouins River in Saint-Benoît from €35 with Manawa. 4.7/5 from 75 verified reviews.
A guided tour plus tasting at the Savanna rum distillery (Sainte-Suzanne, founded 1948), from €15 with Ceetiz. Agricole and traditional rum, aged Lontan vintages.
A visit to a Bourbon vanilla farm in Reunion Island, included in the full-day excursion to the Cirque de Salazie. €75 per person with Ceetiz.
★ 5(1)A full-day horseback ride to Bassin Bœuf in Sainte-Suzanne with the Ferme équestre du Grand Étang (Manawa), from €150 per person.
2 ways to discover Saint-Denis: a guided van tour with Manawa (€99, a full day) or an audio-guided walking tour with Viator (€4.72 for 2 h 30, 19 points of interest).
A guided tour of the Maryen Peroumal Tamil temple in Saint-André, one of Reunion Island's largest Hindu temples. €12 per person with Ceetiz.
★ 4.8(17)A combo day excursion to the Cirque de Salazie and a traditional vanilla farm, €75 per person with Ceetiz. Hell-Bourg, Voile de la Mariée, Mare à Poule d'Eau.
★ 5(5)The island's most popular family-introduction canyon, on the Rivière Sainte-Suzanne (Bassin Bœuf). 2 Manawa listings from €55, 5/5 from 5 verified reviews.
Roland-Garros airport is 25 minutes from Sainte-Suzanne, and several companies run helicopter flights from there over the three cirques, Piton des Neiges and Trou de Fer on the east side. If you're starting your trip in the north, it's the perfect overview on day one.
From Sainte-Suzanne, you can easily follow a morning flight with an afternoon at Niagara Waterfall and the lighthouse. Flights last 30-55 minutes and cost €205-345 depending on the company and length, with group rates from 4 people.
Sainte-Suzanne, Saint-André, Bras-Panon, Saint-Benoît: the windward coast is made for a campervan road trip, with short hops, easy-to-reach natural sights, little traffic and so few places to stay that being self-sufficient really pays off. Yescapa puts local owners in touch with travellers, with far more choice than a rental chain and delivery to Roland-Garros airport possible. Overnight parking is tolerated in a few coastal spots.
Rent a Yescapa campervan
In 1841, on his master Ferréol Bellier-Beaumont's plantation at the Domaine du Grand Hazier, a 12-year-old enslaved boy named Edmond Albius worked out how to pollinate the vanilla flower by hand. His discovery made it possible to grow vanilla outside Mexico, where until then it had only been pollinated by a single native bee.
Without Albius, there would be no Bourbon vanilla, and no vanilla industry in Reunion Island or Madagascar. The technique hasn't changed: a sliver of bamboo lifts the rostellum aside and a thumb presses the pollen onto the stigma, one flower at a time, early in the morning. At the Grand Hazier you can see the vines growing and buy a few pods straight from the producer.
To find out more, book a guided vanilla plantation tour or a Creole cooking class with locals, or buy at the Tuesday market. Sainte-Suzanne's Bourbon vanilla is among the most fragrant in the world and has protected designation of origin status.
Sainte-Suzanne sits halfway between Saint-Denis and Saint-Benoît. Here are six half-day or full-day trips from the town.
Last updated: 29 October 2026.