Did you guys know that France has some incredible tropical islands in its territory? For instance, there is Tahiti in French Polynesia, and then Reunion islands in the Indian Ocean, and then there are a couple islands in the Caribbean like Martinique, Saint Barts (or Saint Barthélemy if you want to say the full name), and Guadeloupe!
These islands are extensions of France, with the French language and euro currency, and then the same radio stations, post office, police and fire véhicules, etc, mixed with their own local culture. They are part of the European Union, and any EU citizen is free to settle here! It has been funny to be on a tropical island with a lot of the cultural cues of ‘the hexagon,’ mainland France’s nickname.
We just got back from a 10 day vacation in Guadeloupe, spurred by good friends who moved there about a year ago. I must say - the nature is incredible! Guadeloupe is made up mainly of two bigger islands, one of which was formed by a volcano, and the other which is more flat. The volcano island is mountainous with black sand beaches, waterfalls and has tropical forest vibes. In addition to those, there are a few other smaller islands that merit a day trip!
In between visiting white sand beaches and eating fresh coconuts, there are plenty of cultural activities. We visited a banana plantation, rum distilleries which flourish with their star crop sugar cane, local markets brimming with vanilla and spices…
Here is what we did during our trip there! Our home base was in the city Petit Bourg, unless otherwise noted.
- A day in Pointe-a-Pitre - visit the Spice Market (load up on vanilla beans and al kinds of dried spices!), have lunch at the local restaurant Le Bistrot du petit Pointois, and visit the Mémorial ACTe museum, which is dedicated to the very complicated history of Guadeloupe, including slavery. The museum is very well done and important to visit during a vacation to Guadeloupe.
- Visit the Sainte-Anne beach on the way to Saint Francois - perfect for kids!
- Visit Saint- Francois - this was one of our trips to explore a new area of the island, and our base for the Grande Terre part of the island. We stayed at the Domaine Saint Francois for 2 nights. Visit the nearby Anse Bertrand for some stunning views of the craggy coast. Next head to the Anse Laborde beach for white sands and coconut trees! In the afternoon head to the Souffleur beach, starting with lunch at the beach restaurant Kabana (best to reserve). Spend the afternoon on the Souffleur beach.
- While still in the Saint Francois area, start a morning at the Anse des Chateaux for a mini hike up to a high point for a stunning view (count one hour max there and back). Don't miss a coconut ice cream for Alain who has a little stand at the parking lot at the end of the hike!
- Visit a banana plantation - we visited the Plantation Grand Café for one morning and it was quite fun! Count about two hours total, and check the start time for the tours. There is a ride through the fields on a old tractor that the kids got a kick out of. FRENCH ONLY
After the banana plantation, head to lunch at Restaurant le ti -punch - one of our favorite meals in Guadalupe! - before heading on to a hike at the Chutes de Carbet (Carbet waterfalls) - count about one hour, about 20 euros for our family of 4).
- Spend a few days on the island Marie-Galante! We took the ferry about one hour to this island off the coast of Guadeloupe. We stayed in some little bungalows called the Village de Menard, which had a little restaurant for meals including breakfast. While in Marie-Galante we visited some rum distilleries (Bellevue was my favorite!)
We loved the Touloulou restaurant on Marie-Galante (yay tables in the sand!), and otherwise had bokit sandwiches (a local speciality with fried bread with a variety of fillings) on the beach or cooked at the bungalow for dinners.
My favorite beach was the Feuillère beach - so calm, with beautiful coconut trees!), but we also loved Anse Canot.
The last fun thing we did was an indigo workshop at the Maison de l'Indigo. Pierre is a real hoot and taught us how to die cloth wih beautiful hues of natural blue dye. We brought t-shirts, and left with a great souvenir! Adults 30 euros, kids 5 euros.
- Rent kayaks from Caraibe Kayak and head to the Pigeon islands for some great snorkeling! We did a half day rental, and the ride out to the island / nature reserve took about 30 minutes in our 4 person canoe. We saw sooo many fish while snorkeling around the pigeon islands, and also did a mini hike up to the top of the island. Afterwards we ate sandwiches back on the Malendure beach. Afterwards we headed to the Maison de Cacao to learn about how chocolate is made! Reserve in advance, French only I think, count about one hour including the tasting.
- Take a day trip the the island Les Saintes! This is a must and one of my favorite days from the trip. The ferry ride is about 30 minutes. Rent a golf cart to be able to quickly explore the island! This is a pretty common choice and we all agreed it was so fun to explore this way! There are lots of rental companies offering scooters and golf carts, reserve in advance.
We started with the Napoleon Fort (only open in the AM). Where there is French territory, there will be a Napoleon something or other. This museum and the guided tours were mostly in French, but the first did offer amazing views (and lots of iguanas climbing on the trees I might add).
The most fun aspects of this island were that there were animals everywhere (Have you ever seen goats and chickens on a beach??? I had not and found it very entertaining. There were also big green iguanas wandering around) and that the buildings are colorful and charming, with adorable wood trim cut into designs. We beach hopped all afternoon. Our fave was the Pompierre beach (it coincidentally had the most beach goats and chickens ), but there was also the famous Pain du Sucre beach, along with many others. Reserve lunch at Les Balançoires! Great cocktails and views, along with kids’ menu. @lesbalancoiresfwi
- Our last day we did a private half-day boat tour with Lagoon Location and we all agreed this was one of our favorite activities! Our guide Max was great with the kids and very informative. We first visited the mangroves, learning about this delicate ecosystem, and then moved out into the crystal clear turquoise waters of the lagoon. We all snorkled, and ended at a tiny white sand island with rum punch. Highly recommend! We ended the day at the Pearl beach.
Pluses of a visit to Guadeloupe
The nature! OMG - it has it all. Rain forests, thermal baths, mountain streams, white sand beaches, snorkeling... Be ready to be outside day in and day out.
The beaches. These were the best beaches I've ever been to and I understand the draw of the Caribbean now! The white sand, the warm water... there were also plenty of shallow beaches with no waves that were perfect for kids.
Coconut ice cream all day every day. This was my weakness and we got little cups of ice cream from street vendors at every opportunity! Plus all the fresh fruit like coconuts, pineapples, mangoes and a lot of new fruits we discovered!
Despite is being a smaller island, we had jam packed days for 10 whole days. There is a lot to do! While there are some cultural activities like the Memorial ACTe museum and some food activities, it is mostly going to be outdoors activities.
Minuses
Extremely francophone! There are so many Caribbean islands, with the common local languages being Spanish, English and French. Tourists seem to stick to the language that corresponds to their native language for the most part. I saw just a handful of anglophone families, and I have a strong suspicion the local population speaks very limited English. That said - it is cool to go somewhere completely off the beaten path for Americans!
Not really a luxury destination- that’s fine just don’t come here expecting top notch hotels and service. Like I said above - the nature makes up for it!!!
The food - restaurants offer mostly local cuisine (lots of stew type dishes that are heavy on spices thanks to the Indian influence like Colombo; fried accras, fish prepared every way possible) and it can be a bit repetitive. Beware if you’re a vegetarian, it’s not the easiest location to find food!
Have you heard of Guadeloupe before? I have barely heard any English here, so despite having a direct flight from Miami it does not seem to be a popular location for Americans!
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