2020 Biennial Itinerary

2020 IPS Biennial Program Itinerary: 

IPS 2020 Biennial Reunion BOURBON TOURISME TO SEE TO DO +HIKING for registrants

 

Registration is closed. 

The registration pricing for the biennial at both hotels the Lux and Recif Hotels remains current until the 13th February. Please be aware that after 13th February the registration price noted will be approximate only. Members are still welcome to register after this date but be aware that both price and hotel availability must be confirmed on each registration. That means that if you register after 13thFebruary you may be asked to pay an additional sum if our service providers cannot maintain current pricing, you may also not be able to get the hotel of your choice. The only way forward will be to register based on your preferred hotel, and pay at the initial price on the website, that will trigger a request for the IPS’s service providers to confirm, the IPS will then notify you if there is an additional sum to pay, and which hotel can be provided. Please not that this DOES NOT apply to the FREE DAY TOURS or to the PRE & POST TOURS which will remain available for booking at the price on the website up to 2 months prior to the biennial.”

 

Tour Operator: Bourbon Tourisme – refer separate Bourbon Tourisme Terms and Conditions and to IPS Participant Agreement which must both be signed and returned to the IPS to participate in the Reunion Biennial.

Passport : You are advised to check passport validity requirements

Health : Check with your travel health professional, remember to bring a first aid kit with your usual medications.

Day 0 – Friday, May 22nd: Early arrivals

Board members (and early arrivals) arrive in Reunion and transfer on your own to the hotels in Saint Gilles (Lux and Recif hotels). Dinner on your own.

Note this night is NOT included in the Biennial Package or the Pre Tour packages and must be separately booked by participants either direct through the hotel, or through your travel agent or on line booking service.

Day 1 – Saturday, May 23th: Welcome to Reunion

This is the arrival day for most members and is the Board Meeting day for Directors, welcome dinner.

You will be met at the airport of Saint-Denis de la Reunion and transferred by bus to your hotel. The 2 selected hotels (Lux and Recif hotels) are located beachfront in the seaside resort of Saint-Gilles Les Bains on the west coast of the island. You can sit quietly at your hotel and enjoy the free time at the beach (many opportunities for water activities in the lagoon) or take time in the tourist village of Saint-Gilles Les Bains nearby (bars and restaurants along the harbor, shopping, aquarium …). A welcoming evening will be offered in one of the 2 hotels (welcome speech, presentation of the program and also Palms of Reunion, gourmet buffet).

Day 2 – Sunday May 24th: The volcano and the forest of Bélouve

Breakfast at your hotel for a 7am departure. Participants will be split into 2 groups for 2 half day tours meeting up at Creole restaurant in La Plaine des Caffres for lunch. Dinner on your own

  • The volcano la Fournaise:

You will reach the center of the island by bus and discover the fantastic landscapes of the Piton de la Fournaise: old vertiginous craters, lunar landscapes and finally a breathtaking view from a promontory on the volcano. You will observe a shrub vegetation very specific to this type of environment. The Piton de la Fournaise is one of the most active volcanoes on the planet due to the frequency of new eruptions (on average one every nine months in the last ten years). With a little luck, you can see an eruption and the lava flows that made it famous.

  • The forest of Bélouve:

You will reach by bus the highlands of Reunion where you will discover a “forests of mists” typical of high altitude, composed of tamarins (Acacia heterophylla), tree ferns, lichens, many species of orchids… At Bélouve, the final destination of this trip, you can observe one of the last populations of Black palmist of the highlands (Acanthophoenix crinita) and from there, a vertiginous point of view on the circus of Salazie below. From Bélouve, different options of walks will be proposed to you according to your desires and your physical condition of the moment, the most motivated ones will reach an incredible point of view on the impressive waterfall “the hole of iron”.

Day 3 – Monday, May 25th: private gardens of Reunion island & a tour of the island by east coast

Breakfast at your hotel for a 9am departure. The participants will be divided into 3 groups, groups 1 and 2 will spend the day visiting 2 private gardens in rotation, and group 3 will take a tour of the island by east coast. Lunch included. Dinner on your own.

  • The private gardens of Reunion:

This day will be devoted to the visit of 2 private gardens belonging to 2 collectors of palm trees, Thierry HUBERT, honorary president of Palmeraie-Union Society, and Serge HOAREAU. During these visits you will enjoy the charm of the Creole gardens and the beautiful typical house of la Reunion and you will be impressed by the rich botanical collections of these gardens: A moment of relaxation and conviviality to meet Reunion enthusiasts people who will be delighted to show you their property and share with you their passion for gardens and palm trees.

  • The tour of the island by east coast:

Departing from St Gilles, you will take a bus for a tour of the island, passing first by the east coast, with stops on some of the classical tourist attractions of Reunion Island in Ste Anne’s Cathedral and East River’s bridge. You will enjoy the beautiful landscapes of sugarcane plantations on the east coast, the wettest coast of the island. Arriving to the south, in the commune of Sainte Rose, you will begin to see the first lava flows then you will make a stop at a remarkable place called “L’Anse des cascades” where you will have lunch into an impressive and very old plantation of red palmists (Acanthophoenix rubra). Following the tour of the island will take us to travel the wild south coast and its many lava flows that have created over time very impressive landscapes where the vegetation gradually reborn. This day of visits will take us to see one of the last wild populations of red latan (Latania lontaroides) on the sea cliffs and will finish with a moment of relaxation on the huge beach of Grand-Anse to enjoy the sunset sun on the Indian Ocean. Back to St Gilles by west Coast.

Day 4 – Tuesday, May 26th: private gardens of Reunion island & the tour of the island by east coast in rotation

Breakfast at your hotel for a 9am departure. The participants will be divided into 3 groups, groups 1 and 2 will take the tour of the island by east coast as above, and group 3 will spend the day visiting the 2 private gardens as above. Lunch included. Dinner included.

Day 5 – Wednesday, May 27th: Free day

Breakfast at your hotel. This is a free day, book your choice of optional activities. Lunch and dinner on your own. For Directors a further Board Meeting at 7:30pm if required.

During this free day, you will have the choice between staying at the hotel and enjoying a well-deserved relaxation at the pool or at the beach, markets or shopping, or choose from many opportunities for optional sightseeing or activities which will be offered, please book these with your biennial registration: Lava flows excursion, Canoe/Rafting, Volcan Piton de la Fournaise tour, Salazie excursion, Diving Experience, visit Private Gardens of members of Palmeraie -Union, Helicopter tour of the island, refer to the Optional Free Day Tours. 

Click here to read about the Free Day Tour Options.

Day 6 – Thursday, May 28th: The Tampon Palm Park

Breakfast at your hotel for staged departure in groups for the 10 minute drive to the park, lunch at the park (in association with la commune du Tampon). Dinner on your own.

During this day, you will enjoy the Palm Park at le Tampon, a vast landscaped park of nearly 10 hectares which presents a unique collection of palm trees of about 40 000 subjects gathering more than 1000 different species, which makes it a world-class botanical garden. This ambitious project initiated in the 90’s continues its development with the aim of reaching a surface of 20 ha. You will enjoy all day long the visit of the park and its nursery and you will appreciate the remarkable collections of palms gathered there for many years. The country meal that will be offered to you into the heart of the Palm Park will surely be one of the highlights of this biennale. Finally, in small groups, you will be transferred not far from there for the visit of the only known population of Palmists Roussel (Acanthophoenix rousselii), an endemic species described only in 2006 and which there are only a few dozen individuals left into the wild.

Day 7 – Friday, May 29th: The Wild South

Breakfast at your hotel for 8am departure in 3 or 4 groups. For this last day of your visit, direction to the wild south of the island where several visits will be proposed to you. For the included lunch at a typical creole restaurant, a typical menu will be proposed to you based on heart palms where you will enjoy the Reunion palmists but also other palms grown for their consumption: the Roystonea column palms and the pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes). Gala evening with talks and dinner at the Lux Hotel is included.

  • The garden of perfumes and spices:

You will discover in this public garden the wonders of Creole garden: a multitude of aromatic plants, four-spice, pepper, nutmeg, cloves at the foot of enormous centenarian mango and litchis trees, and also a rich collection of endemic plants , ferns, orchids, and palm trees of course. All around the garden, you can admire the traditional plantations of vanilla in undergrowth forest.

  • The Mare-Longue Forest:

Not far from the garden of perfumes and spices, a small stroll will be proposed to you to discover one of the last vestiges of lowland tropical moist forest, locally called “forest of colored woods”. This is one of the richest areas of the island biodiversity that has a significant number of endemic species of trees, ferns, orchids, … In this beautiful forest, you will meet the poisonous palmist Hyophorbe indica in its natural environment.

  • Plantation of red palmists:

The wild south is the region of the island where are cultivated large plantations of red palmists (Acanthophoenix rubra). A visit will be offered to you in one of these plantations of red palmists in a breathtaking landscape between sea and mountains.

For lunch, a typical menu will be proposed to you based on heart palms where you will enjoy the Reunion palmists but also other palms grown for their consumption: the Roystonea column palms and the pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes).

In the evening, back to the hotel, you will enjoy a gala evening: conferences, gala dinner and dance party that will end remarkably this magnificent stay in Reunion.

Day 8 – Saturday, May 30th Departure Day

Breakfast at your hotel.

Transfers will be organized to the airport of Saint Denis according to your departure flight schedule.

Photo of Palm