• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

ZigZagonEarth

Plan unforgettable road trips!

  • FRANCE
    • CORSICA
    • NORMANDY
    • PARIS
  • EUROPE
    • ANDALUCIA
    • CANARY ISLANDS
    • CRETE
    • ICELAND
    • ICELAND WINTER
    • MADEIRA
    • MALLORCA
    • PORTUGAL
    • SANTORINI
    • SCOTLAND
    • SLOVENIA
  • REST OF WORLD
    • NEW ZEALAND
    • OMAN
  • TIPS
  • EBOOKS
  • SHOP
  • ABOUT

Planning your trip to Guadeloupe

Last updated on August 28, 2016 by Claire / this article contains affiliate links (Info)

Planning a trip to Guadeloupe? Wondering when to go, what there is to see and how to plan your time. This collection of beautiful islands in the Caribbeans sure has a lot to offer, so here is a guide to help you plan you visit.

Guide - Planning your trip to Guadeloupe islands caribbean
Content
OVERVIEW OF THE GUADELOUPE ISLANDS
BEST TIME TO VISIT GUADELOUPE
TIME NEEDED TO TRAVEL AROUND
TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS
ACCOMODATION ON THE ISLANDS
GETTING READY
Want to see MORE of GUADELOUPE?

OVERVIEW OF THE GUADELOUPE ISLANDS

Guadeloupe is one of the many group of islands in the Caribbeans. It is located between Barbuda and Dominica. Its islands include:

Grande Terre

Grande Terre is the east wing of the butterfly. It is a flat land, great for sugar cane plantations.
Its beaches are mostly white sand with beautiful turquoise waters. 
Grande Terre is rich in hotels and restaurant as well as entertainement facilities.
Its is also home to famous natural sites such as Castles Headland

Map overview islands Guadeloupe

Basse Terre

Basse-Terre is a montainous island which culminates at 1467 meters, at the top of the volcano La Soufrière. It is the west wing of the butterfly.
This island is mostly covered by tropical rainforest with many hiking options, especially to the Carbet falls (and no poisonous animals...)
Beaches comes in various shapes and colors: pebbles, sand, white, black, ocher, pink...
It is a nature lover paradise with, among others, the Cousteau reserve and the 'Parc des mamelles'.

Les Saintes

Famous for its beautiful bays with turquoise water, Les Saintes are small islands where you can enjoy a leisury stroll or hike, the history or the fishing heritage.
Many ferries from Basse Terre

Petite Terre

Small islands that can only be visited during the day, a nature reserve home of iguanas, turtles, baby lemon sharks and much more marine fauna was well as a great diversty in the fauna.
Group or private day tours via catamaran or speed boat.

Marie Galante

43km from Pointe-à-Pitre is Marie-Galante (Aïchi). It is a 158 km2 rond island famous for its sugar cane and windmills. A great place to be transported back to older farming times or enjoy some of the best white sand beaches in the Carribeans.
Many ferries from Basse Terre and Pointe A Pitre

La Désirade

8km from the Castle's Headlands is the 11km long island of La Désirade where you can enjoy calm, simplicity and authenticity. Swimmers will enjoy beautiful white sand beaches protected by coral reefs. This islands remains mostly wild and is another nature lover paradise
Via ferry from Saint François (45min) or via plane from the airport (15min)

Find out more about many Guadeloupe destinations on the online travel guide: with many photos, info and tips!


BEST TIME TO VISIT GUADELOUPE

Most tourists invade Guadeloupe during the dry season. And as most visitors come from France they all try escaping the mainland winter between December and March.

December - January - February - March - April  ****

Pros

  • Best weather - dry season, not too hot
  • February has the carneval

Cons

  • Touristic months - some beaches are crowded
  • Expansive period

May & November

Pros

  • Cheaper shoulder season
  • Less tourist

Cons

  • Some rain and humidity

July - August - September-October-November

Pros

  • Far less tourists
  • Cheap

Cons

  • Wet season - hurricanes
Threatening clouds in Guadeloupe

TIME NEEDED TO TRAVEL AROUND

Below are some notions to consider before planning all the activities of your trip

  • Distances / Transportation time: The islands look small but driving around actually takes a lot of time as the main roads have only one lane in each directions. Everyone go through the bottleneck of Pointe-à-pitre between both islands. Before 9am and after 5pm expect the worst traffic jams
  • To reduce transportation time I recommend staying part of your holiday in Basse Terre and another part in Grande Terre and do the activities and locations on each side when you are there
  • Daylight: sunset is at roughly 6:30PM in May and as early as 17:30 in November. So days are shorts!

TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS

Self-drive

This is the most common options. Many companies have new and used cars. And most resorts have even a rental office in their building at some hours.
Driving and navigation is not too complex. Driving is on the right side like in France.
There are pros and cons and good and bad reviews of many renters. I let you review and choose.  I used Hertz from our hotel in Gosier and was satisfied.

Driving in a banana plantation, organised tour, Guadeloupe

Do not worry, this is not a typical road, our tour guide took us through a banana plantation. Main roads are in good conditions 🙂

Organised tour

There are so many day tours to choose from. Book in advance or check on arrival at your hotel or at the Tourist office. This could easily fill in all your time there but then you need a bigger budget.

Public transportation​

Good luck...  schedules are flexible 🙂

Taxi

Should you decide to use taxis to go around, considered shared minivans to reduce the costs. But in anycase, book it in advance. There are not that many and they stop early. We almost got stuck in Saint François after coming back from our catamaran trip to Petite Terre.

Ferries

To visit Marie-Galante or Les Saintes, you can either take a ferry (for example ValFerry) or an organised tour.


ACCOMODATION ON THE ISLANDS

 Full on resort or rentals, many options are available. It really depends on your travel style
No campsite but wild camping is tolerated

Nothing special to mention here. Except as I said earlier, I recommend booking part of your time in a place on Basse Terre and the rest of your trip in a place on Grande Terre

Resort life Guadeloupe

GETTING READY

When it is getting closer to leave for your amazing trip, you can also check my post on preparing and packing for a trip to Guadeloupe!


Want to see MORE of GUADELOUPE?

Discover more things to do with planning information and photos in my online Guadeloupe Travel Guide.

PREVIOUS LOCATION: 

BEST BEACHES GUADELOUPE

NEXT ARTICLE: 

PREPARE FOR GUADELOUPE 

Guadeloupe destination guide travel planning addict

Leave a comment if you have any question

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. KHearn says

    March 5, 2016 at 11:19 AM

    This is helpful information. The only thing I’d address is the fact that multiple accommodation booking may incur multiple deposits. Some of them are pretty hefty. This may be a deal breaker for some.

    Reply
    • Bev Campbell says

      January 11, 2017 at 4:19 PM

      What’s the best option to get from the PTP airport to Relais du Moulin Hotel near St Anne? Are taxi’s freely available at the airport on arrival, if so how much approximately in Euro’s should the fare cost??
      Many many thanks.

      Reply
      • Claire Robinson says

        January 11, 2017 at 6:52 PM

        Hi Bev
        There are taxis at the Point-à-Pitre Airport. I think the cost would be between 40 et 50 euros.
        But have you talked to your hotel? A lot of them have mini-bus picking up customers at the airport or can arrange something. It is great to be sure someone is waiting for you at arrival.
        Have a great trip!

        Reply
  2. Natasha says

    July 30, 2016 at 5:18 PM

    How do you get from Grande-terre to Basse-terre from the airport?

    Reply
    • Claire Robinson says

      July 31, 2016 at 9:58 AM

      Hi Natasha
      The airport is on Grande Terre near road N11 which goes to Basse Terre.
      2 main roads cross between both Islands. Have a look at Google maps for more details.

      Reply
  3. Sarah says

    November 17, 2019 at 8:35 AM

    Hi Claire,
    Would you advise it is generally safe/unsafe for wild camping? You said it is tolerated.. do you know if that is still the case?
    In early December, with the tail end of the wet season.. does the rain come in short bursts with heat in between? Or more like two three day storms?

    Reply
    • Claire, the Travel Planning Geek says

      November 17, 2019 at 8:53 PM

      Hi Sarah
      Sorry but I have not been to Guadeloupe in a few years.
      During the wet season, normally rains are heavy but short.
      I wish you a wonderful trip!
      Claire

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search my ZigZags

Hi! I’m Claire

ZigZag On Earth photo

I am the Travel Planning Geek behind the ZigZag Travel Guides. My goal is to provide you with clear and practical information to help you plan unforgettable trips! Read more

Footer

CONTACT ME

Search

Follow ZigZag on Facebook

Follow ZigZag on Pinterest

Website in French: ZigZagvoyages.fr

Website in German: ZigZagreisen.de

Website in Spanish: ZigZagviajes.com

And discover the French regions:

Normandielovers.fr

LoireLovers.fr

CorsicaLovers.fr

 

Privacy / Terms of Use / Disclosure Policies / Refund policy

Become an affiliate for the ZigZag road trip guides

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. ZigZagOnEarth.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, Amazon.uk and Amazon.ca

Copyright © 2023 ZigZag On Earth · Log in

If you continue browsing this site you agree with the use of cookies in this website.OkRead more