Region
Grande-Terre
Land at Pointe-à-Pitre, spend a morning in town, then sleep at the beaches on the south coast by car; do the national park on Basse-Terre as a separate base.
Rules in force · 3
- Guadeloupe ↗Entry follows French rules for overseas departments, which can differ from mainland France and the Schengen area: check official French sources for your passport.
- Guadeloupe ↗Sargassum seaweed can pile up on some beaches, mainly in spring and summer: check conditions before booking a beach base.
- Guadeloupe ↗La Soufrière is an active volcano: check the alert level and trail status before hiking.
Grande-Terre is the flat eastern wing of Guadeloupe: the airport, the ferry terminal and the market town are here, and so are the south-coast beaches at Le Gosier, Sainte-Anne and Saint-François. It is a car island: buses are irregular, and traffic around Pointe-à-Pitre at rush hour is heavy. Keep one base on the coast and go to town by car.
Where to sleep
Airport town, covered market, cathedral, memorial museum and the ferry terminal.
Nearest beach town to the airport; hotels and restaurants.
Long beach and a quieter village on the south coast.
Marina, golf and the road to Pointe des Châteaux.
Night sequences
- 4 nights
- Pointe-à-Pitre morning, then 4 nights at the south-coast beaches
- 7 nights
- Grande-Terre 4 + Basse-Terre 3
- Grande-Terre 4 nights + Basse-Terre 3 nights in 7 days without a car is mostly waiting for buses.
Day-trips door to door
| To | From | Door-to-door p50 | Last return | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pointe-à-Pitre | Le Gosier | 25 min | unknown | By car or taxi; traffic decides the time. |
| Pointe-à-Pitre | Sainte-Anne | 45 min | unknown | By car; buses are irregular. |
Bags between cities
No luggage forwarding culture: keep the big bag at your hotel and take a day pack.