Saint-Philippe and Sainte-Rose: sleeping on either side of the lava flows

In Mare Longue, under 2 km west of the village, a farming family rents out air-conditioned rooms with private shower rooms and terraces, some with a kitchenette. The farm belongs to the Bienvenue à la ferme network, and the hosts reckon the Mare Longue forest, the Jardin des parfums et des épices and the sea are all five minutes away.

Dinner comes straight off the land: palm heart, pandanus, free-range chicken, passion fruit or lychees depending on the season, served as a Creole aperitif, starter, main and dessert cooked over a wood fire. Guests write about a generous family welcome, homemade infused rum, samosas and sweet potato cake, and roomy, spotless bedrooms.

In the middle of the village, Fabienne and Laurent rent out three 3-star classified Creole bungalows in a 6,000 m² garden of fruit trees looking out to sea. Ti Kaz Zépices, the one sold by our partner, sleeps three adults and a baby, with a fitted kitchen and its own garden and barbecue.

Reviewers keep mentioning the infinity pool and the hot tub, especially after a long day on the trails. They also like how clean and quiet it is, the value for money, and hosts who love talking about their plants; in season, you may even see them hand-pollinating the vanilla.

Five air-conditioned rooms with private shower rooms in a quiet corner of Piton Sainte-Rose, about 2 km from Notre-Dame-des-Laves. Loungers line the pool in the shade of coconut palms, and one 14 m² double with a sea view has its own kitchenette. There's also a garden, a terrace and a shared lounge.

Guests describe hosts who take time to chat, big clean rooms, an excellent breakfast, the pool and the view. It only has 6 reviews on Agoda so far; Booking is where its reputation shows, with more than 300 reviews averaging around 8.7 out of 10.

A 50 m² house on the RN2 in Piton Sainte-Rose: two bedrooms and a sofa bed sleep five, with a kitchenette, air conditioning and a garden terrace with a barbecue. Notre-Dame-des-Laves is 900 m away, about ten minutes on foot according to Booking, and Anse des Cascades roughly 2 km in the other direction.

Reviews single out the owner's welcome, the terrace and the garden. Her daughter runs the Rose Café next door, handy for a crêpe or a smoothie with an ocean view. The whole house was €90 a night when we last checked.

Angélique has two ground-floor rooms, a 20 m² family room and a 15 m² double, each with its own shower room. A path lined with tropical flowers leads to the house, and guests share a fitted kitchen, the garden and the terrace. On booking sites, it used to go by "la case créole".

Breakfast, so generous that one guest calls it gargantuan, is eaten with Angélique and the other guests: local specialities, hot dishes, pastries, fruit and juice. People come for that easy, attentive welcome, at €70 a night with breakfast when we last checked.

Listed by Gîtes de France as Villa Géranium, with a 3 épis rating, this three-bedroom house ( two 140 cm beds, one 160 cm ) sleeps six about 500 metres from the centre of Saint-Philippe. A fitted kitchen with a dishwasher, air conditioning, a cot and a high chair make it an easy family base.

Gîtes de France highlights a private spa, while Booking mentions an outdoor pool and a hot tub. Detailed reviews are scarce, but the Agoda score holds up across 46 reviews. At €153 a night when we last checked, the cost splits six ways.

Michel designed this 70 m² house around guests with reduced mobility: ramps, wide doorways, large bedrooms and an accessible shower room. On request, he can provide a patient hoist and medical beds. It's listed in "La Réunion pour tous", a directory of accessible tourism on the island.

There are two bedrooms with double beds, sea views, a garden, a terrace, air conditioning, a washing machine and a dryer. Guests say it feels like home and praise the care Michel takes with wheelchair users. Sainte-Rose village is about 2 km away, and the old suspension bridge over the Rivière de l'Est a little further west.