Guadeloupe in a Day

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, here is Lili, your co-editor. Today I will take you to another beautiful island in the Caribbean- Guadeloupe. It was one of the 12 islands we visited during a two-week cruise across the Lesser Antilles in the beginning of 2020. In fact, Guadeloupe is a French overseas territory, a group of islands resembling a butterfly. We had a chance to spend two days there and below you can see which are our highlights. 

The article about Guadeloupe is part of the series of posts presenting the islands we visited and giving you tips on what to see and do “in a day”. The other islands we visited were:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Barbados
• British Virgin Islands
• Dominica
• Grenada
• Martinique
• St Kitts & Nevis
• St Maarten
• Saint Lucia
• St Vincent & The Grenadines
• Trinidad & Tobago

In order to read our recommendations for each island, just follow the links. We also shared our overall cruise experience and tips when going on a cruise for the first time.

Guadeloupe

The island’s capital is Basse-Terre, while the town where we docked- Pointe-à-Pitre, on the island of Grand-Terre, is the largest city and economic center of Guadeloupe. The sheltered cruise ship port is just five minutes from the town. We docked two different days during our cruise in Guadeloupe, one of them was our first day after the departure from Martinique.

One very funny thing is that we had somehow forgotten that as an integral part of France, the local currency in Guadeloupe is Euro. On the cruise ship itself you don’t need cash, so we had taken mainly US dollars. We knew that this currency is widely-accepted in the Caribbean. They won’t accept USD at every place in Guadeloupe, so better have some euros with you.

One interesting fact about Guadeloupe is that the local Arawak people call the archipelago Karukera or “The Island of Beautiful Waters”. In the article below you can see the reason why. 

Pointe-à-Pitre, the New Orleans of the Caribbean

Founded in the mid 1600s, this busy market town is still small enough to cross in 15 minutes. Maybe the town is busy on a work day, but we were arriving there on a Sunday. The streets were very quiet and most of the shops and cafes were closed. Of course the peacefulness of the Sunday made the city walk even more pleasant. Colorful 19th-century buildings line the older streets. Besides appreciating the architecture, here are some of the things we recommend you to visit in Pointe-à-Pitre:

• Place de la Victoire

A large park dotted with poinciana trees and royal palms, Place de la Victoire is a great spot to take a break on a hot day or start a walking tour of the city.  This is what we did- upon arriving at the port, we just walked by the sea until we reached Place de la Victoire square. You can stroll past the charming old homes along the Rue de Comdt Mortenal on the east side and relax at the sidewalk cafes lining Rue Bébion on the west side of the park (of course if it is not Sunday and the cafes are open).

• Cathédrale de St Pierre et St Paul 

The Cathédrale de St. Pierre et St. Paul in Pointe-à-Pitre is one of the city’s most distinctive landmarks. Nicknamed “the Iron Cathedral,” it features arches constructed of riveted iron girders to protect it from hurricanes and earthquakes, which have caused much damage in the past.

The best time to visit the cathedral is on a Sunday during a church service, so I guess we were lucky to be there at this time. Address: Rue du Général.

• Visit the local markets

Browsing the bustling markets is one of the most popular things to do, with their tropical fruits piled high, aromatic spices, and vendors dressed in flamboyant attire. The latter are in general friendly and you can even request to take a picture with them. The colorful markets of Pointe-à-Pitre radiate all the culture and color of this French-flavored town.

Tropical fruits, fragrant spices, local crafts, and bright flowers are a sensory feast at the harbor-side market. We also found an open cafe with free Wi-Fi on the market square and we spent a couple of hours there. After all, we had to adjust to the hot humid climate as we were coming from winter Europe.

• Museum Saint John Perse

Unfortunately the museum wasn’t open on a Sunday… You already know that we are not into museums, so I will not pretend that we would have visited it, even if it was open. But I wanted to share this attraction with you in case you find it intriguing. We passed by the colonial, two-storey house where the museum is located- it looked somehow mysterious. It honors the island’s renowned poet and Nobel Laureate, who was also known as Alexis Saint-Léger. 

• Explore the street art 

All over the town you will find amazing street art paintings. Basically every building is like a masterpiece. It reminds me a bit of the colourful Valparaiso in Chile. 

Creative streetart in Point-a-Pitre

After we were done with the sightseeing part, it was time to visit the beach. The beach isn’t very close and you need to drive some half an hour to get there. Therefore, we were a bit concerned if we are going to come back to the port on time for our departure. Initially we lost  time wandering the streets of Pointe-à-Pitre in unsuccessful attempts to find cheap transportation options.

Streets of Point-a-Pitre

At the end, we had to bargain with some of the drivers next to the port. Despite their reluctance for discount from the “official” price, we were able to get a good deal (€10 return/ person) for a return transport to the destination point. 

• Plage Caravelle

This beach is also known as the jewel in the crown of Grande-Terre’s coastal line-up of beautiful beaches. Running along the southern side of the island with its verdant backing of coconut palms, the nearby bars and infinity pools of the Club Med Resort, it’s a real favorite amongst family travelers, sunbathers and swimmers. Its waters are particularly calm thanks to a fringing of out-at-sea coral reefs that break the waves. 

Plage Caravelle and its palm trees

Although Caravelle is also famed for its snorkeling (I read that the best one is on the western end of the beach), we could not verify it. The main reason was that the sea was a bit rough in some areas and also not very clear. However, this doesn’t “destroy” the turquoise color of the water. 

We found one picturesque and relatively quiet spot to spend the rest of the afternoon. Besides the beautiful view to the sea, we also encountered some of the wild life creatures of Guadeloupe. 

Beach activities at Plage Caravelle

The road area next to the beach was secluded, so the main question that we had in our heads after the amazing day was whether the driver will come to pick us up 🙂 About 15-20 minutes prior the agreed pick up time, we already started discussing different scenarios for going back to the ship. Luckily the driver had been there the whole time. He just waited for us around the corner and most probably laughed at our nervous leg shaking. 

• Ilet du Gosier 

Upon our second arrival at Guadeloupe, we decided to head straight to the beach (of course after an hour in the cafe with the free Wi-Fi). We took a taxi and if I’m not wrong, the price was around €7-8 return/ person.

The taxi brought us to the beach Plage du Datcha, from where we took a boat. The price €5 return/ person simply because the ride is about three-five minutes (you can see Ilet du Gosier from the departure dock).

Have in mind that the boats do not leave right from Plage du Datcha, but there is a special place. The taxi driver will leave you at the place where the boats depart, but this is just in case you are coming from somewhere else.

The heavenly Ilet du Gosier

A few moments later and we arrived in heaven. Ilet du Gosier is a tiny island, you can literally walk it in five minutes. However, it represents my ideal almost-secluded island. It wasn’t fully deserted, there was a bar where you can buy some food and drinks, populated, but not crowded. The perfect mixture of seclusion and civilization. 

Besides the amazing turquoise water where you can snorkel and swim for hours, there is a lighthouse at the far end of the small island: a good spot for taking nice photos. We also did some snorkeling around, but there was nothing particularly interesting. The  whole island was covered with corals thrown away by the sea. I found some good pieces from my marine colleaction.

• Plage du Datcha

It was long after lunchtime and we were already starving. As the only restaurant on the island did not offer the food variety we were looking for (and was a bit overpriced), we decided to go back to the “mainland”.

Plage du Datcha, just opposite Ilet du Gosie, is a nice, vibrant beach with a lot of hipster bars and cafes. It is also a bit crowded, so there was a huge difference with the tranquility of Ilet du Gosier we have been enjoying so far. However, we found the perfect place to watch the sunset with some drinks. This special day and the beauty we saw made us think of going back to Guadeloupe in the near future. 

So, this was everything from the island of Guadeloupe. I hope you enjoyed traveling with us. Do not miss the other Caribbean stories.