guadeloupe islands
Guadeloupe is a marvellous Caribbean archipelago consisting of seven islands: Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes, and Iles de la Petite Terre. These islands have been a French possession since 1635, and in 1946 they became an overseas department of France, meaning it is part of the European Union--everything there will remind you of France! It maintains nevertheless a very rich and beautiful Creole culture, which is definitely reclaiming its importance - together with its sister island of Martinique. Moreover, being mostly visited by Europeans rather than Americans --due to its convenient flights from Paris-- it's not overly touristy and lacks big all-inclusive resorts, making it even more appealing and authentic.
With only seven days for our trip, we decided to stay on two islands, firstly acclimatizing in the more mountainous and lush island of Basse-Terre (you can drive there in an hour from the airport), where apart from the volcanic coast and some beautiful beaches, you can also visit the stunning Guadeloupe National Park. We then transferred, by ferry, to the virgin and wilder Marie-Galante, famous for its fabulous beaches and historic mills. See the two sections below detailing all the things we did in each one of them.
During the transfers from the islands we also got the chance to see some areas of the main, and definitely more developed, island of Grande-Terre. We only had a couple of hours to spend at the beach after we landed on the first day, so we opted for Le Gosier, which is very close to the airport. The Plage de la Datcha has a very convenient parking lot next to it and a few small café and restaurant pieds dans l'eau. It was not too crowded when we went and it offered a first, welcoming glimpse of the beautiful turquoise water of the French Antilles. On the day that we had our scheduled ferry-ride for Marie Galante, we also decided to see the famous Plage La Caravelle, location of the Club Mediterranée (I remember looking at the Club Med catalogue when I was a kid and dreaming of going there - now the resort has its age and shows a more a retró feel, but it is definitely positioned on a beautiful part of the coast). You can reach the public area of the beach by the Route de l'Hôtel Le Rotabas, where there is also a small paid parking lot, and then take a path through the palm trees. The beach is very much-frequented but has a lot of shade and many local food stalls selling cocktails and snacks. Luigi even rented a windsurf for a couple of hours.
On the last day in Point à Pitre, we walked around the historic center and visited the central market square of the Marché aux Épices. It is a bit touristy but also a good place to buy last-minute gifts, mainly spices and rum. The highlight of the day in the capital was the beautiful Memorial ACTe, on the nearby Darboussier site (which used to be a sugar factory), an outstanding cultural center dedicated to the memory and history of slavery trade. We really enjoyed our visit there, and the staff even let us store our suitcases inside!
The sargassum problem (READ THIS BEFORE YO GO)
The exponential growth of sargassum seaweed in the Atlantic Ocean due to Global Warming, has impacted greatly the coasts of many Caribbean islands and Mexico - and unfortunately we saw them too. Not only is sargassum algae smelly and ugly, the gases it releases when decomposing can potentially be hazardous to people who are tasked with cleaning it up, day in and day out.
In Guadeloupe most of the sargassum affects the Southern beaches (because the currents come from the Southeast - too bad that many wonderful paradises plages like St. Anne in Grande-Terre and Capeseterre in Marie Galante are there) and the thick carpet of algae on the beach is mostly present between April and October. Check the forecast here (in French) and consider booking places that are located in the Northwestern coasts of the islands - by doing so we were absolutely fine!
General info
How we got there, car rental, driving and ferries
How we got there, car rental, driving and ferries
How we got there, car rental, driving and ferries
We flew direct to Point-à-Pitre/PTP from New York/JFK with JetBlue. The flight is a little bit less than 4 hours long and it costed us $303 r/t, booking several months in advance (mid-October for the beginning of April).
In Basse-Terre, we rented a car at the airport through Chase Ultimate Travels with a local car rental, JumboCar, that proved to be both cheap and convenient. The roads are well maintained but very curvy, and the french go fast! So pay attention. I found this website that will give you a few tips before hopping on the car. Traffic is bad only around PTP, but everywhere else driving in Guadeloupe is very pleasant because it is constantly surrounded by lush nature ,especially in Basse-Terre!
In Marie Galante, our wonderful hosts of Villas Courbaril (see on the right) had booked and rented for us a Renault Twingo, that they even took it to the dock at our arrival! We paid 30 euros/a day, which I think was a good deal. The roads in Marie Galante are good and you can easily drive pretty much to every beach (and its parking lot). It takes approximately 1 hour to ride the whole circular route around the island, with a road that cross directly diagonal from the north side to the south side.
We went to Marie-Galante with two different ferry lines instead of one, l'Express des Îles and Val Ferry, because they had slightly different schedules. They depart and leave from the same exact docks in both harbors and the ride takes about one hour and a half. It was super efficient! If Marie-Galante is the final destination of your trip to Guadeloupe, keep in mind that once disembarked from the intercontinental flight, it will take at least an hour to get to the port and embark. The last ferry usually leaves around 5pm, so you should arrange a taxi to optimize the times, there are agencies on the island that take care of these transfers, also offering you other services such as luggage storage and pickup from some beautiful nearby beach on the day of your departure, thus avoiding long and depressing waits at the airport.
Accommodations + money, phone and general tips
How we got there, car rental, driving and ferries
How we got there, car rental, driving and ferries
In Basse-Terre we decided to stay at L'Îlot Palmiers, on the Northwest part of the coast, between the two towns of Pointe-noire and Deshaises (pronounced dé-hé) This small and cheap eco-resort is immersed in a lush forest of palm trees and has five lovely decorated bungalows, equipped with a kitchen on the large patio: very comfortable! The northern part of Basse-Terre is where most of the sargesse-free beaches are, and it offers a good range of local restaurants, despite being not very touristy: in fact there are very few hotels, and most of the accommodation options that you can find there are small eco-bungalow or private homes (called Kaz).
In Marie-Galante we found a gorgeous bungalow perched on the hill of Saint Louis, Villas Courbaril, owned by a lovely family of French-Portuguese expats. The whole island of Marie Galante is rural and authentic, and it could be quite difficult to find restaurants and shops open all day (we were there during Easter week and we had to adjust to the fact that Guadaloupeans want to enjoy the break!), but there are food stalls and kiosks throughout the main roads and people are all very friendly and laid-back.
Be aware that, like in mainland France, stores are generally closed during lunch time pour la sieste, so plan your shopping accordingly!
It is very convenient for us the fact that Guadeloupe is part of the EU, which means not only being able to use the Euro, but also to use our Italian sim-cards accessing the European cellular networks with no extra-roaming costs.
crime on the two islands where we were didn't seem to be a problem at all, and we felt pretty safe everywhere, vene at night.
There aren't many English travel guides of Guadeloupe, but we found that the French version of the Lonely Planet (if you speak the language - but there is also a webpage in English) is very complete and up to date, despite its small format.
In italiano, potete consultare anche le tips della fantastica Claudia di Una donna con la valigia, io ho preso un sacco di spunti e mi ha dato anche persionalmnnte alcuni consigli fondamentali!
Basse-Terre
Having our base in the area of Pointe-Noire was the ideal starting point for touring the island. The car seems to be quite necessary there, although there may be public buses that connect all the coastal villages. The first day we drove west-south on the Chemaine de la Retraite, the gorgeous road that crosses the island in the middle of the Parc National de la Guadeloupe, just north of the Volcan de la Soufrière. While driving your can also see the famous Mamelles, two mountains peaking from the forest (with a pretty self-explanatory name) and stop at one of the beautiful waterfalls (la Cascade aux Ecrivisses is the closest to the road). We decided to drive to the more southern waterfalls of the Carbet, but first we stopped at the Jardins Cantamerle, a wonderful private garden that was started 40 years ago by a French expat family upon their travels around the world collecting seeds of all the plants. Marc, the quirky son of the owners, took us around the lush tropical garden describing in details all the incredible flowers, trees and spices. Absolutely worth it - but it's quite hard to find, the exact address is on Chemain Baron. From there, as per Marc's recommendation, we stopped here to eat the traditional bokit (a fried or baked homemade bread/sandwich that is like a piadina: delicious!) at a local kiosk (there are a few on that road) and then headed to the three Chutes du Carbet, parking at the end of the road, where the entrance of the park is. From there you can hike for half an hour on a fabulous path that takes you to the biggest of the waterfalls, the 2ème. Very recommended! Neraby, if you have time, you can also visit the famous Les Jardins de Valombreuse, definitely more organized than the Cantamerle ones, which is though the reason why we skipped them. Maybe they are incredible and we will never know.
We then drove down to the very black-lavic southern part of the island and stopped at the viewpoint and little park of the Phare of the Vieux-Fort, where you can see some ruins of the old fort and pass by the small port. We also drove through the bigger and oldest village of Basse-Terre and up to the Church of Saint-Augustine and it's picturesque cemetery.
On the west coast of the island there are three main villages worthy a visit: Bouillante (for the black beach, the hot springs, the Réserve Cousteau and the very good restaurant of Sunset B (recommended by the locals), Pointe Noire (for its lively market in the morning and the Maison du Cacao) and definitely the bigger Deshaies (pronounced dé-hé). Here you can find the most touristy attractions of Basse-Terre, like the famous Les Jardins Botaniques, the nicest beaches and the biggest restaurant options. We opted for La Savane (french/creole cuisine) but there are many other - the first night we ate at the local L'Air Marin. Just keep in mind that, like in all Caribbean islands, the restaurants close pretty early, compared to Europe!
The next day we then spent most of our time at the fabulous Plage de La Perle (another contending one was the Plage de La Grande Anse) that is as beautiful as virgin as it could be despite its easy accessibility and the many kiosks/restaurants on the beach (we had a lovely lunch here). There are turquoise water, space and palm trees for everyone! Parking there was super easy and not crowded. On the drive there, make sure to stop at the Pointe de vue de Gadet.
NB - It may seem that Basse-Terre has a little less the tropical "wow factor" that you would expect in the Caribbeans, but I loved that we broke from an all-beach vacation with this first couple of days program, that was also a nice introduction to the archipelago - and we escaped the sargassum!
Marie Galante
Twenty-five km on the southeast of the archipelago, Marie Galante is the biggest of the satellite-islands. Essentially rural, it's a limestone plateau not very elevated in height, but surrounded by stunning beaches and some dramatic rocky cliffs. The main village is on the southern coast, Grand Bourg, and it is where you will arrive by ferry. There are some stores, cute boutiques and restaurants open during the day, but except from the street facing the harbor, it is fairly deserted during the night. I recommend visiting at least the main cathedral and the lively market square in front of it, and if you're lucky, to spend some time on the Plage de Grand Bourg - when we were there it was infested by sargassum.
We spent most of our time on the island in the area of Saint Louis (a ten minute drive from Grand Bourg), where our bungalow was and the most fabulous beaches are. The village is tiny and modest but has a nice dock (with a monument dedicated to the fallen sailors), some traditional colorful houses and a very good local bakery We ate twice at this good restaurant literally on the beach because all the other ones were closed during Easter week. There is also a convenient supermarket that closes during lunch but has all you need for dinner or a picnic. The coast from there to the north is composed by half a dozen stunning beaches, among which lays Anse Mays - our favorite one, a true paradise, especially because when we were there we had it almost all for ourselves! Right attached there is Plage Moustique (also a little narrow, and by the road) and, on the Chemain Vieux Fort, the more famous Plage de l'Anse Cannot, definitely superbe, but the most visited, also by boats. From there you can walk through the path (or continue on the Chemain du Vieux Fort) to another amazing beach, Plage du Vieux Fort, also incredibly beautiful (the ocean there seems a little rougher there but the snorkeling was amazing) and practically deserted!
On the southern side of Saint- Louis there is also the long beach of Anse de la Frais or Plage des Trois Îlet, named like this because from there you can see the three islands of Dominica, Basse-Terre and Les Saintes. Our bungalow owners, Sylvie and Philippe, suggested us to go there at the sunset and it wasn't disappointing!
We drove all around the island and stopped to see the Gueule Grand-Gouffre, a big, almost perfectly round depression on the cliffy coast and then at the old and beautiful Moulin de Bézard, near the more famous Moulin de Bellevue, which was closed when we got there because part of a private distillerie, Habitation Bellevue.
The oldest site on the island is though the Habitation Roussel-Trianon near Grand-Bourg, located on a beautiful history-themed park, and showing the very interesting, but also sad cultural and colonial heritage of Marie-Galante, together with the mansion of the Habitation Murat (which we didn't have time to visit). Besides of all the mills, another special feature of this island, and a pretty picturesque one, is the presence everywhere of the boefs-tirants, pulling-bulls, with a very prominent role also in many competitions!
Unfortunately, the area around Capesterre has been heavily affected by the sargassum: one that is supposed to be the most beautiful beach of the entire archipelago, Plage de la Feuillere is now almost all covered by smelling weeds now and this has sadly impacted (at least during the spring) all the tourism there.
This website, this one, and this one have all the things that you can do or see in Marie-Galante, in French!
