« 20 Best Surfing Islands

#9. Reunion, France: The sublime tropical island of Réunion has long been on many a surfers’ Bucket List. From the dreamy perfect lefts of St Leu to trekking in the otherworldly cirques of the interior to chilling in the French ambiance of sleepy St Denis with a cold Bourbon beer, Reunion has almost everything. The waves are definitely there, generated by non-stop groundswell during the southern hemisphere winter of April to October. Unfortunately, so are a lot of big sharks, with five people killed so far in 2012 alone. With much local debate about what, if anything, can be done to make surfing and diving in Réunion less risky, local and visiting surfers proceed with caution and more than a little shark paranoia. Image: Callahan/surfEXPLORE