Guadeloupe guide

Cooling off after a hike
Witness nature in its pure state in Guadeloupe
Traditional crop collection
Classic architecture
Carnival for kids

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Guadeloupe at a glance

About GUADELOUPE...

Guadeloupe is large and highly developed, offering visitors metropolitan French infrastructure overlaid on a lively French creole culture. There’s a good variety of beaches, many with white coral sand, particularly on Grande-Terre, some have activities including watersports, others secluded, several with beach bars and restaurants. Basse-Terre has darker sand in mountainous coves. Guadeloupe has many large, mainly mid-range hotels, a small clutch of more stylish inns, particularly in Basse-Terre, some funky. Many activities including museums and old plantations, excellent rainforest and hiking, sugar/rum factories, good sailing (particularly with offshore islands), casinos, cruises.

Read our guide about Guadeloupe - with independent reviews, listings, and information from top travel journalists and Caribbean specialists.

Best for:: A Caribbean island with a difference, France in the tropics.
What for:: Beach, Eco/Nature, Hiking & Walking
Not for:: Corporate & Incentives
How to get there:: Easily accessible from France, OK from USA (Miami or San Juan), no direct flights from the UK (usually via Antigua or Paris).
Top tip:: Travel to the small cluster of islands off Guadeloupe called Les Saintes, and experience life at an altogether slower pace. Marie Galant, a bit like a mainland. Les Saintes has no traffic, walk or get a scooter.