What a tandem paragliding flight is
A tandem flight means you fly with an instructor who keeps the controls from start to finish. Nothing to fly, nothing to prepare, no experience needed. In Saint-Leu, take-off is at Les Colimaçons, 800 m above the lagoon.
Leaving the ground takes a few running steps, never a jump. The wing lifts the pair after three or four strides and the ground drops away smoothly. You stay on your feet until the instructor invites you to sit back into the harness. Most passengers are surprised by how gentle that moment is, having expected it to be abrupt.
Who it is for
A tandem flight suits anyone in good health, with no physical preparation required. We fly passengers from age 4 and 20 kg, up to 120 kg, with a guardian’s consent for minors. There is no upper age limit: passengers over 80 have flown with us.
A fear of heights is not an obstacle. Vertigo is triggered by seeing the ground from a fixed point, and the paraglider leaves that behind within the first few steps. Anyone pregnant, recently operated on or following heart treatment should tell us before booking.
How long, and how much
Two packages serve as a way in. The Discovery Flight holds fifteen to twenty minutes in the air, at €90 per person. The Long Flight holds twenty-five to thirty, at €100. Those figures count time spent flying: on site, allow one hour to two and a half hours depending on the package, preparation and transfer included.
Where, and with whom
We meet near Kélonia, at the northern entrance to Saint-Leu, fifteen minutes before the agreed time. Parking is free and lines 30, 31 and 37 of the Kar’ouest network serve the area. The shuttle waits at the meeting point and climbs to the take-off in about ten minutes on the mountain road: this site asks for no walk-in — you land back in the same place.
The flight crosses the sugar cane fields and the Mascarin botanical gardens, then reaches the lagoon and its coral reefs. You land at the water’s edge, a few hundred metres from Kélonia.
All our instructors are state-certified (Brevet d’État), the only qualification that allows paid tandem flying in France. The wings meet the EN 926-1 and EN 926-2 standards, the seats the EN 1651 standard, and the equipment is checked every morning before the first flight. Helmet, harness and seat are provided when we meet.
What to plan for
- Closed shoes and comfortable clothes, with a light jacket for the altitude.
- A booking ahead of time, as early as you can: slots go all year round. Morning slots go first: the air is calmest and the lagoon reads best. Compare the five flights, and see the questions we are asked most.
- Some slack in your day. If the instructor has any doubt about conditions, the flight is postponed at no charge and moved to another slot.
