Guadeloupe never ceases to make travelers dream. The one that from the sky takes the shape of a butterfly, offers a multitude of discoveries and pleasures through its white-sand beaches, its coconut trees, and its turquoise lagoons. But also more personal facets, sites of memory and history, incredible culture, and breathtaking natural wealth. From Basse-Terre to Grande-Terre, discover 18 things to do in guadeloupe and the must-see sites and activities to make your future trip to Guadeloupe unforgettable.
what to do in Guadeloupe?
1. Pointe à Pitre
If you go on vacation in Guadeloupe, you will not escape visiting its capital, Pointe-à-Pitre. Located on the island of Grande-Terre, the economic center of the archipelago is a lively, colorful city with many activities all year round.
The Place de la Victoire is the central point of Pointe-à-Pitre. Surrounded by palm trees, mango trees, and beautiful colonial houses, this park extends to the sea and hosts show, events, concerts. It is a very friendly place. You can see the statue of famous people such as Felix Eboue, and a nice bandstand.
In Pointe-à-Pitre, you can go shopping on Saint John Perse street, a very lively place, with its restaurants and souvenir stores. The markets of Pointe-à-Pitre are one of the places you should not miss in Guadeloupe. Guavas, pineapples, limes, mangos. The stalls are filled with a thousand colors and are enough to make your mouth water.
As for cultural visits, don’t miss the Memorial AcTe, the Caribbean center of expression and memory of the slave trade and slavery.
2. The beaches of Guadeloupe
Who says vacations in Guadeloupe says necessarily fine sand beaches and coconut trees. The island has more than 400 kilometers of beaches, lined with turquoise water, sometimes black sand, sometimes golden. It is therefore likely that you will find the one that will make you fall in love! The most beautiful beaches of Guadeloupe are suitable for swimming, family and allow to practice all kinds of nautical activities such as kayaking, windsurfing, paddle, or kite surfing.
On the Atlantic side, the beach of Caravelle in Sainte Anne, the beach of the clear grapes in Saint François are heavenly.
On the Caribbean side, the beach of Grande-Anse in Deshaies is sublime and offers a sunset to fall.
In Guadeloupe, we also love the black sand beaches, natural and surprising like the one of Malendure in Bouillante and Grande Anse in Trois-Rivières.
Other beaches in Guadeloupe?
- Bois-Jolan in Sainte-Anne
- Anse à la Gourde in Saint-François
- L’Anse du souffleur in Port-Louis
- La Chapelle in Anse-Bertrand
3. The Carbet Falls
With its tropical climate, Guadeloupe is an island full of breathtaking waterfalls. The most famous of them are the Carbet Falls, located in Capesterre Belle-Eau on the island of Basse-Terre. If Guadeloupe is nicknamed “karukera, the island of beautiful waters”, it is certainly because of these impressive waterfalls.
The waterfalls are three in number and extend throughout the Grand Carbet River, in the heart of the Guadeloupe National Park.
The highest is 115 meters high and its access is long and steep. A hike that is worth it because the spectacle is striking. The second waterfall of Carbet, the most touristic, plunges 110 meters high in the middle of luxuriant vegetation. The hiking trail is more accessible than the first one. The third waterfall is difficult to approach, except for experienced hikers. It is “only” 20 meters high but it impresses by its powerful flow, which flows into a pool where swimming is allowed.
4. Scuba diving
Get out the flippers and the tanks because it is impossible to make the trip to Guadeloupe without trying scuba diving in the transparent waters full of tropical fish. The diving spots in Guadeloupe are not lacking and are among the most famous in the world. Beginners or experienced divers can dive in warm waters all year round.
The Cousteau reserve and the Pigeon islets are undeniable spots for divers of all levels. Facing Bouillante, this reserve allows meeting hundreds of different species of fish, corals, and especially sea turtles.
In Port-Louis, divers can explore the former wreck of a plane that sank at a depth of more than 20 meters. Multicolored fish and corals have taken up residence around this wreck where nature has reclaimed its rights.
Finally, the Franjack is the wreck of an old hourglass that sank to a depth of 50 meters and in which divers can wander through the holds and the engine room.
5. The Damoiseau distillery
Land of rum for centuries, it is impossible to spend a vacation in Guadeloupe without visiting the famous Damoiseau distillery. Located in Le Moule, on Grande-Terre, it is the most famous factory of white agricultural rum. Its precious beverage is present in mainland France and exported to some forty countries around the world. Damoiseau rum is one of the leaders on the market since its creation in 1942. At the Damoiseau distillery, you can visit the fermentation and distillation facilities of the sugar cane juice, with a tasting offered at the end in the Cabane à Rhum.
Other distilleries and rum factories not to be missed in Guadeloupe: Bologne, Montebello Longueteau and Reimonenq on Basse-Terre, and the distillery of Père Labat on Marie-Galante.
6. The botanical garden of Deshaies
To discover the flora of the island of Guadeloupe, go to the botanical garden of Deshaies. It is one of the most beautiful floral parks on the island with its 7 hectares of unique and amazing plants and trees. The garden of Deshaies will offer you a peaceful stroll and a journey for the senses, where bougainvilleas rub shoulders with hibiscus, orchids, and tropical plants.
This former property of Coluche has been transformed into a botanical park by landscape designer Michel Gaillard, and now welcomes thousands of visitors. You can see many varieties of exotic plants, a giant pond with koi carp, see parrots, hummingbirds, and pink flamingos, and have lunch at the panoramic restaurant with its superb view of the Caribbean Sea and the park’s waterfall.
7. The volcano of La Soufrière
At the summit of the Guadeloupe archipelago, the old lady (Vyé Madanm) as it is called there, culminates at 1467 meters of altitude. The Soufrière volcano overhangs the town of Saint-Claude in Basse-Terre and is one of the volcanoes still inactivity.
The excursion on the volcano starts with a hike in the humid jungle between palm trees, ferns, and succulents, on a former military road. The walk at the beginning is easy, dotted with beautiful views, then the climb intensifies as you climb on a stony path. The vegetation gives way to a lunar scenery tinted of yellow by the sulfur. You will have guessed it: it is to the sulfur and its particular smell that the volcano owes its name. If there is not too much fog at the top of La Soufrière, the panorama on Basse-Terre and the islands of the archipelago are breathtaking when the view is clear.
8. Les Saintes
Another small tropical paradise only 1 hour by boat from Pointe-à-Pitre, the archipelago of Les Saintes unveils all its charms in the south of Guadeloupe. Between its fishermen’s villages with white houses and red roofs, its magnificent bay with turquoise waters qualified as the most beautiful in the world, Les Saintes is, without doubt, the pearl of Guadeloupe. Two main islands: Terre-de-Haut with its Creole huts and its colonial houses, its Napoleon museum, and its exotic garden, and Terre-de-Bas where Grande-Anse is one of the most beautiful beaches of Guadeloupe.
9. The cemetery of Morne-à-l’Eau
In the commune of Morne-à-l’Eau (“hill by the water” in Creole), 15 km from Pointe-à-Pitre in the west of Grande-Terre, discover one of the most atypical cemeteries in Guadeloupe known the world over. Built like an amphitheater, the cemetery of Morne-à-l’Eau is distinguished by its tombs covered with white and black tiles, forming a surprising checkerboard.
As a small village with its alleys, its vaults in the shape of small houses, its staircases, and its balconies, it is very photogenic even if we know little about the origin of its patterns. If you are in Guadeloupe during All Saints’ Day, you must visit the Morne-à-l’Eau cemetery because during this period, the tombs are lit with candles and families come to mourn in a festive atmosphere.
10. The Carnival of Guadeloupe
It is the highlight of the year in all the islands of Guadeloupe. A real institution in the West Indies, this festive, joyful, and colorful moment will put some atmosphere into your vacations. It takes place for 2 months, from the first Sunday of January until Ash Wednesday when the King of Carnival is cremated.
Whether in its extravagant outfits, its music, or its intoxicating dances, the Carnival of Guadeloupe is an opportunity to dive into the Guadeloupean culture and to party day and night.
To the sound of drums, maracas (chachas), or synthesizers, the different groups and parades wander through the streets of Basse-Terre, Pointe-à-Pitre, Bouillante, and Saint François, where the big parades and their magnificent floats take place. If parades and contests take place every weekend, the Carnival is at its peak on Mardi Gras, when the queens and the king Vaval join the different parades.
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