The best sunset beaches in Reunion

Reunion has one truly generous gift for the sunset chaser, a leeward west coast that faces the dropping sun along almost its whole length. The same shore that holds the calm reef lagoons looks straight out over the Indian Ocean to the west, so every evening the sun goes down over the water and the reef line catches the last of the light. This is the reliable, repeatable part of the island for the photographer and the romantic alike, and the only real decision is which stretch of that coast to take it from.

We have ranked the beaches below for the quality of the sunset and the comfort of watching it, weighing how cleanly the sun meets the sea, what frames it, and whether you can settle in with a drink or a quiet patch of sand. The differences are matters of composition rather than whether the sun shows up, because on the west coast it always does. We have favoured the beaches where the light has something to play against, the pines at L'Hermitage, the terraces at Boucan Canot, the town front at Saint Leu, over a flat empty horizon.

If you take one line from this page, take this. The sunset is the easy part on this coast, so spend your effort on the hour and the frame, not the search. Arrive a full hour before the sun touches the sea, pick the beach for what it puts between you and the horizon, and let the light do the rest. Take any late swim only in daylight inside the reef or the netted zones and be out by dusk, and Reunion gives you a sea facing golden hour almost every evening of the year.

The good news is that there is almost no wrong choice here, which is rarer than it sounds. Because the entire west coast faces the setting sun, the question is not whether you will get a sea facing sunset but what you want around it, and that is a far happier problem than most islands offer. The mistake travellers make is the opposite of usual, chasing a single famous spot when a quiet stretch of the same coast would have given the same sun with none of the crowd.

So choose by frame and by company rather than by reputation. Want the picture, take L'Hermitage and the pines. Want the drink and the dinner, take Boucan Canot. Want the town and the walk to supper, take Saint Leu. Want it to yourself, take Cap Homard on a weekday. The light is the constant, and arriving a full hour early is the single move that turns a glance at a sunset into an evening worth remembering, as the colour builds across the reef and the pines go to silhouette.

The only caution is the water, and it is the same one that runs through this whole coast. A late swim is fine in daylight inside the reef lagoon or the netted zones, but be out before dusk, because the open sea is closed for the island's shark safety, the light is failing and the tide is turning. Conditions are typical and never guaranteed and there is no promise of a safe swim, so take the sunset from the sand or the terrace, not the open water, and the west coast of Reunion will reward you almost every evening of the year.

The sunset on Reunion is best paired with a terrace rather than a daybed, and the west coast keeps plenty within reach. Boucan Canot has the most polished bar and restaurant fronts for a sundowner, L'Hermitage holds beach restaurants under the pines, and Saint Leu and Saint Gilles offer town front cafes that face the light. We never invent a venue, a minimum spend or an opening status, so anything we cannot confirm is marked to be confirmed. Browse the directory, send one enquiry to check your date and party size, and book a sunset table early in season.