That means it is as French as, say, Normandy. But it’s very different. It has marvelous beaches, spectacular scenery, rainforests, a UNESCO-listed biosphere reserve, an impressive volcano, about 100 waterfalls, natural hot springs to bathe in and delicious food to eat (this is France, after all).
But because it’s France, the euro is its currency and it won’t be friendly to your budget. In fact, hotel rates in Guadeloupe are comparable to mid-range accommodations in mainland France and dining out could be slightly more expensive due in part to the cost of importing goods to the island. It will also be useful if you or someone you’re with speaks a little French.
If you’re going to rent a car, you should know that fuel costs will be slightly higher than in Europe and you might want to budget some funds for boat trips or guided tours because they will help you discover some of the island’s jaw-dropping natural beauty and marine life.
So the first part of this piece will be some advice on how to keep expenses as low as possible.
Guadeloupe on the Cheap (more or less)
- Book accommodations with cooking facilities. Dining out is pretty expensive (see above), so you’ll want to cook as much as possible. To really save, eat out only at lunch and find reliable street food vendors! And if you can travel with two or even three companions/ friends, that will help a lot.
- Do as many free activities as you can, which means swimming, snorkeling, hiking, sight-seeing.
- You’ll probably want to rent a car because there’s so much to see and public transport is limited. Don’t rent a gas-guzzler because gas is pricey there. And start researching early in your trip planning to see what the costs are and how recognize a bargain when you’ll see one. Reserve as early as you can.
- Finally, book a direct flight from Paris to Pointe-à-Pitre and then find the cheapest possible way to get to Paris from wherever you’re coming. (See below as the why.) Oddly, if you book a flight between one and two months before you leave, you’ll save a few euros.
How and When to Go There
Direct round-trip flights from Paris to Pointe-à-Pitre cost as little as €630. Flight time is about 9 hours each way, give or take. From other European cities, you’ll have to deal with at least one stopover, with a few hours more flight time, and pay about €150 more. Just remember, do the research and wait for the best price.
December to April is the peak tourist season because temperatures are around 25-28°C with low humidity and minimal rainfall. Plus, the Guadeloupe Islands Carnival takes place between January and March. That’s three months of music, dancing, feasting, costumes, parades etc.
Temperatures remain more or less the same during the entire year, but rainfall doesn’t. The low – and therefore cheapest – season runs from June to November, when it is slightly hotter, more humid and it rains more – and there’s the risk of a hurricane, which is highest in September. That risk has increased recently for the entire Caribbean because of climate change.
But it rains year-round and August is the sunniest month. So if you don’t mind that a little more rain into your holiday must fall, then there’s really no reason not to go during the ‘wet’ season. Rentals will be much cheaper and beaches will be less crowded.
What to See
On your first visit, you may want to explore the two main islands, Grand-Terre and Basse-Terre. They are completely different, but both have a lot to offer. I will assume that you’re more or less like me and prefer less developed to more developed, dramatic landscape to merely beautiful scenery and less crowded to crowded.
Grand-Terre, to the east, is much more developed, has great white-sand beaches and is therefore home to big resorts, such as Club Med. It also has most of the hotels, lively little towns like Sainte-Anne and Saint-François, plenty of restaurants and a lively nightlife scene. But it’s also really crowded, noiosy and tough to drive through because of frequent traffic jams.
Basse-Terre has all the waterfalls, most of the rainforest, most of the great hiking trails and the volcano, La Grande Soufrière, aka Soufrière. The volcano is active, though the last eruption took place in 1976. But it is the reason some Basse-Terre beaches have black sand. Others have white, gold or pink sand.
Basse-Terre
Swimming
Because many of Basse-Terre’s beaches face the west, they are often free of algae, which is a major problem for Caribbean beaches. Located just north of Deshaies, on the northwest coast of the island, the Plage de Grande-Anse is famous for its picture-postcard beauty. In fact, this is the poster beach for Caribbean beaches. If you’ve been bewitched by a photo of a paradisical beach, with perfect palm trees, chances are that it was the Grand-Anse that ‘posed’ for it.
Because it’s very long, you can always escape the crowds by walking down the beach. The waves can be a little rough, but there’s a spot near the center where it’s okay for kids and the faint of heart. For refreshments etc., check out the parking lot.
The Plage de Malendure is located on the west side of Basse-Terre, in the town of Bouillante. This Caribbean beach is unique and very cool. It’s got black sand and its waters are always calm and clear enough to see below the surface for quite a distance.
It’s a great place to see the sunset and to have a bite on the beach. And there’s music after sunset on Sunday . . . But it can get crowded and, unless you get there early, trying to park there will drive you up a palm tree. It’s still worth the trip and the bother, though!
Also check out the Plage de la Perle and Plage de Petite Anse. The latter is a tiny beach that is protected for swimming and also has some great snorkeling. It might not be marked on your map, so look for the Chez Chantal restaurant, which is right there.
Snorkeling & Diving
The Plage de Malendure is opposite the famous Cousteau Reserve, named for the late, great undersea explorer and preservationist Jacques-Yves Cousteau, who was responsible for its creation. The area is under protection to preserve the seabed and to limit fishing.
The area is teeming with coral reef sponges, turtles, crayfish, eels, seahorses, tropical fish, lobsters, shrimps and sea turtles. At certain times of the year, you can even swim with dolphins or see humpback whales up close.
It will cost you to engage in one of the many activities you can participate in at the Cousteau Reserve to discover the wonders of Caribbean underwater life: diving, snorkeling, renting a kayak or glass-bottom boat. Do whatever your budget allows and you’ll never forget it. It is, in every sense of the word, a trip!
Hiking
The La Soufrière hiking trail is not a walk in the park, but it’s not a backbreaker either. It is considered moderately difficult. The summit trail round-trip takes 3 to 4 hours and you are rewarded with a spectacular view of the island and the Caribbean world beyond it.
Check the weather first and remember to carry sunscreen, hiking shoes, water, a hat and some wet-weather protection because a shower can always spring up and there’s no cover on the trail.
At the beginning (or end) of the hike, there’s the wonderful Bains-Jaunes, a hot pool served by the volcano’s hot springs. Go either early in the day or after your hike, to avoid the crowds.
The Guadeloupe National Park comprises 17,000(!) hectares of rainforest swarming with tropical life and crisscrossed by hiking trails. One of them will take you to one, two or all three of the Carbet Falls (Chutes de Carbet). The hike is also of moderate difficulty and takes 3 to 4 hours round-trip. But, boy, will you see a lot of stunning jungle scenery and come across a lot of animal species.
For Something Different
On the southeastern coast of Basse-Terre, just outside the town of Capesterre-Belle-Eau, you’ll find the chapel of Changy, the largest Hindu place of worship on the island. You can’t go in, but on Sundays, after the ceremony, there is a communal meal of a dish called ‘Colombo.’ Its name is taken from a spice mix made with pepper, saffron, coriander, cumin and garlic and it is eaten with the fingers from a large banana leaf. Ask at the tourist office of Capesterre-Belle-Eau about specifics.
Grand-Terre
Swimming
Anse Accul, on the southern coast of the island, belongs to a hotel but is public – because every beach in Giadeloupe is public! A breakwater keeps the algae away, but not the crowds.
Better is the Plage du Sainte-Anne, which is protected from rough waters by a reef and is fine for snorkeling. The breakwaters on the east end of the beach have created a few cozy lagoons with lots of coconut palms.
This is considered one of the best beaches on the island and is therefore popular with tourists and locals. So get there early. The best thing about it is that you can always find some shade, no matter how crowded it gets. There’s a shower near the parking lot and beach restaurants and food trucks all along the lagoon.
The Plage Anse La Gourde in Saint François, is located in the Pointe des Châteaux nature reserve. It’s gorgeous and a wonderful place to snorkel. After a good swim and/or snorkel, you can take a hike up to the Pointe des Châteaux.
It’s an easy loop trail with minimal climbing that takes you along the coast, past several lovely lagoons. The only climbing will be up to the Morne Pavillion, where you’ll see a beautiful sunrise if you get there early enough. NB: Stay on marked path, particularly by the lagoons. Do not take the banks. The lagoons are a sensitive nesting environment for protected species.
When you return, you can cool off again on the beach or stop at a place called the “Shower”, where the waves of the Atlantic crash against some rocks, sending up big sprays of cool water.
Snorkeling & diving
For the best snorkeling and/or diving on Grande-Terre, the Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin nature reserve, near the town of Port-Louis, is the place to go, if your budget allows. It’s an excellent site with magnificent coral gardens.
A tour will take you to the Caret Island sandbank and the Great Barrier reef. Spectacular sights guaranteed. And the water is very clear, letting you see some truly beautiful fish without working up a sweat.
Much less expensive is diving in the Lagoon of St. François, where you can also take a diving lesson for about €50 for a two-hour “diving baptism.” For the record, you can dive anywhere in Guadeloupe, but there are places like Saint-François and Grand Cul-de-Sac where the waters are particularly rich in marine life!
Paddle Boarding
If you’re looking for a peaceful and cheaper way to take in the scenery and get close to the mangroves, try paddle boarding. Or you can kayak at Sainte-Anne or Le Gosier. From Le Gosier, you can easily reach the tiny and beautiful Îlet du Gosier. But do it early, to avoid the crowds.
From Sainte-Anne you can check out the mangrove swamps at the Plage Anse à la Barque. It’s not a great beach for swimming, but because it’s hard to get to, it’s unusually quiet for Grande-Terre. And the snorkeling is very good.
Guadeloupe Street Food
Repeat after me: Un bokit de thon, s’il vous plait, monsieur (pronounced ehn bow-keet duh tong seal-voo-plait miss-yeu). Which means, “A tuna bokit, please.” Because you might be saying this a lot if you’re out and don’t have time or inclination to return to your accommodation to make dinner.
The bokit is the Guadeloupean street food supreme. It’s also called a Creole burger and consists of two pieces of fried dough or big buns stuffed with everything from lamb, chicken, conch, shrimp, plus cheese, salad and sauces. It’s basically a takeout meal on a big bun and it is so filling and copious you might be able to make two meals out of it.
Accras de morue is usually a starter that you can order in a restaurant, but happily it’s also sold by food trucks and other street vendors. They are balls of cod, vegetables, eggs, flour and spices that are deep-fried. Greasy but incredibly tasty. Make sure the oil it is fried in is clear, rather than murky!
Féroce de vocat, or avocado féroce, is made from avocado, salted cod, hot peppers and mix of local spices and will please those who like their avocados zingy and spicy. It will make you sweat, which is the reason spicy foods are usually served in tropical climes.
And don’t leave Guadeloupe without indulging your inner child with coco sorbet. Coconut is mixed with ice and sometimes lime zest in a special wooden freezer. It is so good it may tempt you to move to the islands.
And finally . . .
Before the last round of inflation hit our lives, you could do Guadeloupe for about €1,000 a week if you followed the suggestions above. I still think that is doable. That’s not including plane tickets, but considering what you get to do and see, I think it’s a very good investment for the return. Because parts of Basse-Terre may be as close to paradise as you can get. (Except you won’t be sharing it only with Adam and Eve.)
If you like beaches, rainforests and exciting hiking trails and you think that the combination of France with Indian, African and Creole cultures would make for an exciting experience (it would! it does!), then Guadeloupe should definitely be in your future plans. Just do all the necessary research well before you go – to get the most out of your visit.