In Reunion Island, the traffic jams are legendary and this will be the case as long as the Tamarinds road is inaccessible (so at least until the end of 2008). It is a factor which needs to be taken into account when one moves around. Particularly, when one has an early flight in the morning from the Roland-Garros airport (anciently known as “Gillot”), located in the north of the island, when one is staying in the west or south of the island. The coastline road is blocked from 5 30am onwards! To avoid the traffic jams, some people who come from the south of the island, take the road known as “Route des Plaines.” It passes through Le Tampon, La Plaine des Palmistes, then Saint Benoit. But this road is windy and sometimes in the mist. Some travelers decide to leave from Pierrefonds airport, near Saint Pierre in the south of the island. More and more flights leave from this airport, which is, however, less developed than the one in the north.
The best solution to avoid this kind of stress is to spend a night in Saint Denis, which is located a few kilometers west of the airport. It will only take you fifteen minutes to reach Roland-Garros in the morning.
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