Tips & Tricks
Le Gosier Islet—this small island is located off the southern coast of Grande-Terre. Locals get there by either swimming or kayak paddling their way into it from Datcha Beach. Divers can explore the tropical marine life from the new and improved underwater trail by that islet.
Les Saintes (islands) — Les Saintes consists of two inhabited islands, Terre-de-Haut (5 km2) and Terre-de-Bas (8 km2), and seven islets. The first European inhabitants of Les Saintes were Bretons and Normans. Fort Napoléon has a panoramic view and beautiful exotic gardens in what used to be the fort’s ramparts. Baie des Saintes in Terre-de-Haut […]
La Désirade (island) – accessible by sea (45 min from Saint-François) or by air (15 min from the Pôle Caraïbes airport), the island has a single road that runs its length and is fun to explore on foot, by bike or scooter. This peaceful and remote island is an 11-kilometer stretch of tabular rock. Swimmers, […]
Fort Louis Delgrès (Le Carmel, Basse-Terre) — Fort Louis Delgrès—Guadeloupe’s historical Mecca—towers over Basse-Terre, the island’s oldest city (founded in 1643). Formerly Fort Royal, Fort Richepance, and Fort Saint Charles, the fortification was declared a national historic monument in 1977. Take a self-guided tour of the fort and museum, or show up on a Friday […]
Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin Nature Reserve (Basse-Terre) – established in the late 1980s, the National Park manages a 3,700-hectare nature reserve at the heart of a vast bay closed off by the longest coral reef in the Lesser Antilles. With a myriad of different coastal features, le Grand-Cul-de-sac Marin boasts mangroves, swampy forests, grassy marshes, herbaceous […]
Engraved Rock Archaeological Park (Trois-Rivières, Basse Terre) — Inhabited by the Arawaks and the Carib people before being discovered by Christopher Colombus in 1493, Guadeloupe still bears many signs of these ancient civilizations. The archaeological park in Trois-Rivières is home to many of them and offers a stunning peek at pre-conquest Guadeloupe, not to mention […]