The best things to do in Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean
The best things to do in Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean
Discover the best things to do in Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean, with highlights from Grand-Terre and Basse-Terre including beautiful beaches, waterfalls, rum distilleries and jungle hikes.
Boulangeries selling croissants right next to market stalls selling tropical fruit. Boules players on the beach alongside stands selling homemade coconut sorbet. Guadeloupe is a real hybrid – a picture-postcard Caribbean island with a Gallic twist.
Guadeloupe is actually an overseas department governed by France, so it’s part of Europe and you’ll hear French spoken and spend euros. But there’s a spicy side to the island too, with Creole dishes, an annual spring carnival and plenty of rum.
This France-meets-the-Caribbean feel makes it a favourite with French visitors. But beyond France it’s not that well known – until BBC TV series Death in Paradise starting using it as a filming location, which is how I first heard of it. So I headed to the island to explore its two different sides and discover the best things to do in Guadeloupe.
Along with French neighbour Martinique, Guadeloupe is one of the Eastern Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles islands. It is made up of six inhabited islands – with the two largest Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre coming together to form a butterfly shape.
We split our time between the two and found each ‘wing’ had a different feel and landscape, from sandy beaches to jagged peaks. Even the weather can go from sunshine on one side of the island to tropical downpours on the other. But it’s this diversity and unique French-Creole culture that made it such a great place to visit (the sunshine helped too).
So if you’re planning a Caribbean escape and fancy something a bit different, here’s my island guide featuring the best things to do in Guadeloupe (other than feasting on pastries and ti’ punch rum cocktails of course – that’s a given).
Grande-Terre
Grande-Terre (which is actually smaller than Basse-Terre) is the beachy side of Guadeloupe, with a flatter, drier landscape and plenty of sunshine. It’s where you find most of the beach resorts, especially around Le Gosier. There are lots of sheltered bays with calm waters for sailing and swimming, and plenty of white sand for lazing on with a book.
So if you’re looking for a sunny Caribbean beach break this is where to come. But if you head to the east or north and Grande-Terre you’ll find its less developed side, with small villages, rocky wild coastline and good surfing around Le Moule.
Things to do in Guadeloupe: Grande-Terre
Relax in Sainte-Anne
Sainte-Anne was the base for the first part of our trip and has one of the island’s most popular beaches, with classic Caribbean-style palm trees and powdery sand. Grande-Terre’s south coast is protected by an offshore reef, so the water here is calm and clear.
A mile out of town, Caravelle Beach is home to a Club Med hotel but the beach is also open to non-residents too. Sainte-Anne has its own small beach too, with a market running along the waterfront where you can buy crafts, spices, fresh fruit and homemade rum punch made with pineapple, guava or passion fruit – which come with quite a kick.
Soak up the views at Pointe des Châteaux
In the far south-east of Grande-Terre, the Pointe des Châteaux is a peninsula where sandy beaches meet crashing waves and dramatic rocks. The sea currents make it dangerous to swim, but you can wander along the shore – look out for fossilised shells in the rocks.
Pointe des Châteaux translates as Castle Point, but there’s a definite absence of castles. There is a 10-metre high cross on top of a hill though, which takes 15 minutes to walk to. From the top you can look across the islands and out to neighbouring La Désirade.
Explore Point-à-Pitre’s history
Pointe-à-Pitre is Guadeloupe’s largest city – and most people just pass through on their way to or from the airport. It’s not the most inviting part of the island, but if you do stop off then there are some pretty French colonial buildings to explore as well as the Cathédrale de St-Pierre et St-Paul, the Place de la Victoire and shopping at the covered market.
Point-à-Pitre’s also the home to the modern Mémorial ACTe museum, which opened in 2015 and traces the history of slavery and the slave trade. It’s a moving place, set in an incredible steel structure built on the site of an old sugar factory on the waterfront.
Rum tasting at Damoiseau distillery
Or should that be rhum? Guadeloupe’s boozy local speciality is rhum agricole, a type of rum which is made with sugar cane juice instead of the usual molasses. You can find out how it’s made (including a tasting session of course) on a self-guided tour of the Damoiseau distillery in Le Moule, one of the biggest distilleries on the island.
There’s more to see during the cane harvest from February to June, but you can wander around the estate any time of year and see its historic machinery, including the windmill originally used to crush the sugar cane. You can also try and buy their rum, ranging from white to dark golden rum aged in oak barrels, as well as rum punches.
Basse-Terre
Where Grande-Terre is beachy and flat, Basse-Terre is Guadeloupe’s more dramatic, mountainous side (though the name is another confusing one as it means low land). The peaks of the Parc National de la Guadeloupe fill the centre of the island, and mean a few more tropical downpours.
But all that rain makes it incredibly lush and green, with thick jungle, giant ferns, waterfalls and plenty of bird and animal life. It’s the place to come if you love hiking, with hundreds of miles of paths. And the coast has great diving and a mix of gold and black sand beaches.
Things to do in Guadeloupe: Basse-Terre
Drive the Route de la Traversée
Because the centre of Basse-Terre is so mountainous, there’s only one road which travels across the middle of the island – but it’s a beauty. Route de la Traversée (less poetically known as the D23) travels west through sugar cane fields before heading up into the dense jungle of the National Park. Along the way you can stop off at the Cascade aux Ecrevisses waterfall – an easy 10-minute walk from the road – and cool down with a dip.
Or visit the Maison de la Forêt, an info centre and starting point for 190 miles of hiking routes (bring decent hiking boots and waterproofs). And on a clear day there are great views across the park from the top of the Col des Mamelles (aka the Hill of Breasts!).
Climb La Soufrière volcano
At the heart of the National Park is La Soufrière volcano,* the Antilles’ highest peak. It last erupted in 1976 but there was an earthquake in 2004 and there’s still lots of smelly activity going on under the surface (its name doesn’t mean ‘big sulphur outlet’ for nothing).
The walk to the peak at 1467 metres takes about two hours each way – though it’s often hidden in clouds so you might not see much. The first part is an easy 30-minute climb through the forest, then it’s a rockier 90-minute ascent, with a bit of scrambling at the end. Afterwards you can soothe your muscles at the Bains Jaunes thermal pool by the car park.
Hike to the Chutes du Carbet
Another of the highlights of the National Park is the Carbet falls – with three waterfalls at different heights (€2.50 entry). The tallest is fall number one at 125 metres high, followed by number two at 110m and number three at 20m. The second falls are the easiest to get to via a 25-minutes walk each way along a flat path. The only downside is that a landslide after the 2004 earthquake means you can’t get very close up to them.
To reach the other two falls you’ll need to be prepared, with hiking boots, wet weather gear and a decent level of fitness as the paths are a lot rockier and steeper. The hike takes around 1 hour 45 minutes each way to reach the first fall and two hours to get to the third.
Walk through the forest canopy
If you want to get right up into the rainforest canopy (and don’t mind heights), a network of rope bridges run through the trees at Guadeloupe’s zoo, the Parc des Mamelles. These hanging walkways runs up to 50 feet above the ground, strung between the trees.
It’s a bit wobbly, balanced on narrow wooden boards with only two people allowed on at a time, but it’s the nearest you’ll get to feeling like a monkey! The zoo also has wildlife from the Caribbean and Guyana, with monkeys, raccoons, lizards, turtles and tropical birds, and big cats like jaguars and ocelot (entry €15.50 adults, €9 children 3–12).
Dive off Pigeon Island
Off the west coast of Basse-Terre, Pigeon Island’s waters are part of the National Park known as La Reserve Cousteau. Jacques Cousteau rated it as some of the best diving in the world and helped make it a protected area after filming Le Monde du Silence here in 1955.
The coral reef is home to sea turtles, seahorses, angel and parrot fish – plus a giant underwater statue of Cousteau. There was some damage to the area after Hurricane Maria in 2017, but you can still dive or snorkel the reef on a day trip* from Bouillante or Malendure – or hire a kayak and paddle out yourself.
Visit Deshaies and Anse de la Perle beach
Deshaies is just how you’d imagine a Caribbean town to look – colourful buildings, whitewashed church, palm trees and beachside restaurants grilling seafood next to a clear turquoise sea. It’s all so picture perfectly Caribbean that it is used as the main filming location for the popular BBC TV detective series Death in Paradise.
Whether you’re a fan of the show or not, visiting Deshaies is still one of the best things to do in Guadeloupe. As well as wandering around the town intself, don’t miss the Botanic Gardens just south of town for tropical flowers and sea views. And 10 minutes north of Deshaies is Anse de la Perle beach, a gorgeous long stretch of golden sand with a couple of beach bars at one end where you can watch the sunset with a cold Carib beer.
And beyond…
If that’s not enough, then there are three more islands (or island groups) that make up Guadeloupe – Marie-Galante, Les Saintes and La Désirade. Marie-Galante is the biggest and flattest of the three, with fantastic beaches and a big crop of rum distilleries.
Les Saintes are a group of nine islands six miles off the coast of Basse-Terre. Only two are inhabited, with most visitors heading to Terre-de-Haut for old-school Caribbean charm mixed with buildings which look like they’ve been transplanted from Brittany. And La Désirade is the least developed – a former leper colony where you can find your own deserted beach. All are close enough to visit on a day trip from Grande/Basse-Terre.
The details
When to visit Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe climate is tropical, so it’s hot and humid year-round, with average maximum temperatures around 29–31°C (84–87°F). The most popular time for visiting Guadeloupe is from November to March, when the island’s weather is warm, sunny and not too humid.
From January to March the temperatures are slightly cooler thanks to the northeast trade winds, with pleasantly cool mornings and evenings, and there are plenty of sunny days and lower rainfall, making Guadeloupe a perfect addition to your spring bucket list.
July to November is Guadeloupe’s rainy season, with hotter weather, higher humidity and more rain showers. September/October is also peak hurricane season in the Caribbean. The busiest times to visit are French school holidays, so you’ll find Guadeloupe is most expensive and busiest around the Christmas, February, Easter and July/August holidays.
Generally Basse-Terre is more humid and rainy than Grande-Terre as it’s more mountainous. Though because the island’s climate is tropical, you’ll see thunderstorms or brief downpours instead of sustained rain, so there will probably be plenty of sunshine too. And the seas around Guadeloupe are warm enough to swim in year-round.
How to get to Guadeloupe
If you are travelling from Europe, the easiest way to get to Guadeloupe’s Point-à-Pitre airport is via Paris. There’s a choice of budget airlines Air Caraïbes and Corsair or Air France (who I can’t recommend as we were bumped us off our flight and delayed!). Flights from Paris to Guadeloupe take just under 9 hours and cost from €340 return.
If you are travelling from North America, there are direct flights to Guadeloupe from Miami in the US and Montreal in Canada. You can also get the ferry from Guadeloupe to neighbouring Martinique and from there on to Dominica and Saint Lucia.
How to get around Guadeloupe
There is a bus service around the islands, run by a company called Karu’lis. Most routes start and end in Pointe-à-Pitre and connect out to the main locations including the airport. Timetables can be found on their website, but beware services are limited on weekends.
If you’re limited on time or want to explore some of the smaller places it’s easiest to hire a car – there’s a mix of big name and local car hire firms at the airport. Roads are generally pretty good around the islands, though they can be hilly on Basse-Terre.
If you want to visit the other islands, ferries run to Les Saintes from Point-à-Pitre, Trois Rivières and Basse Terre, to Marie Galante from Point-à-Pitre and Saint François, and to La Désirade from Saint François. The journey takes 25–40 minutes and costs €25–€45 return.
Where to stay in Guadeloupe
Grande-Terre has the largest selection of hotels, with the bigger resorts concentrated around Le Gosier, Sainte-Anne and Saint-François. There are also a mix of B&Bs, gîtes and self-catering villas and apartments spread around both islands.
We stayed in a couple of self-catering places – a two-bedroom apartment* with balcony close to the beach in Sainte-Anne on Grande-Terre. And a gorgeous little two-bedroom cabin surrounded by gardens in Saint Claude up in the hills of Basse-Terre.
Food and drink in Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe’s food is a mix of French and Caribbean influences, with local fish and seafood as well as tropical fruits like banana, pineapple and coconut – fresh from the market or juiced. Local specialities include accras (fish or aubergine fritters with a spicy sauce), bokit (a fried sandwich filled with meat, cheese and a vinegar sauce) and coconut sorbet.
And on the French side there are plenty of boulangeries and patisseries, as well as French supermarkets like Carrefour, Casino and Super U, with prices similar to mainland France.
Guadeloupe travel tips
Tourism in Guadeloupe is very French-focused, so it’s useful to be able to speak and read basic French. The currency used on the islands is the euro and there are banks with ATMs in most towns. Credit cards are also accepted in hotels and larger shops and restaurants.
And if you’re visiting Guadeloupe from an EU country you can use your mobile minutes and data for no extra roaming cost as the island is part of France.