Guadaloupe

Guadeloupe (Antillean Creole: Gwadloup ; Tamil: குவாதலூப்பே) is an archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at 16°15′N 61°35′W / 16.25°N 61.583°W / 16.25; -61.583, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi).^[1] It is an overseas department of France. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic. As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union; hence, as for most EU countries, its currency is the euro.^[2] However, Guadeloupe does not fall under the Schengen Agreement. The prefecture of Guadeloupe is Basse-Terre.

Islands

• Basse Terre: green and lush vegetation, mountainous with a sulphuric volcano.
• Grande Terre: flat and dry with a lot of beaches, some of them very touristic.
• Marie Galante: the biggest island out of mainland Guadeloupe.
• Les Saintes: composed of Terre de Haut and Terre de Bas, one of the most beautiful bays.
• La Désirade: dry and cliffy.
• Petite Terre: uninhabited and untamed.
• Saint Martin: the French part of Saint Martin adjacent to Sint Maarten, the Dutch part.
• Saint Barthélemy: the jet set island.

Cities

Grande Terre

• Pointe-à-Pitre: with its suburbs, it is the economic capital of Guadeloupe
• Gosier: maybe one of the most interesting places of Guadeloupe to enjoy nightlife. (You can enter most nightclubs with proper clothes, that is, no sneakers, no shorts)
• St François if you go at the eastern point of Guadeloupe, you will reach La Pointe des Chateaux, a scenery made of sand and rocks which have vaguely the shape of a castle. From there, you can look up at the islands La Désirade, Petite Terre, Marie Galante, Les Saintes, La Dominique but also have a perfect view of the islands Grande Terre and far away Basse Terre.
• St Anne a very nice but also very tourist beach (maybe the tourists primary area of Guadeloupe). L'Americano, bd Georges Mandel, 0590 88 38 99: bar/restaurant offers free salsa courses on Saturdays and live performances some days. You will find all kind of bars. You can try Club Med, 0590 85 49 50 fax: 0590 85 49 59 (for instance, others resort may propose this formula too) for a one day all inclusive (breakfast, buffet, bars, drinks, beach volley, windsurf, boat, gym, dance courses...) for about €46, so it may be a good deal (as it costs €7 one hour of windsurf).
• Morne à l'eau, renowned for its amazing cemetery composed of burial places made of black and white tiles.
• Anse Bertrand, not far from there, you can visit La pointe de la Grande Vigie, northern point of mainland Guadeloupe. You can also go to Porte d'Enfer, a beautiful still stripe of sea between a scenery of reefs. From there, walk one hour along the cliff, and you will discover a Souffleur, kind of geyser due to the pressure of the sea.
• Abymes nothing special to see, but the weekend, there are 3 local nightclubs: L'instant, Caraibes and Latin Club. They are located at the same place.
• Baie-Mahault: the industrial and commercial zone of Guadeloupe, nothing special to do or see. Here stands the biggest shopping mall of the island. Not too far from there, you can find a local bar/nightclub named Bik Kreyol, Beau Soleil, 0590 25 80 46 or 0590 92 06 48 (Entrance €5, Drinks €3). Local music (ragga, zouk, rnb) and local customers. The building is typical, it's a former warehouse.

Other destinations

Don't miss the spectacular waterfalls in the jungle of Basse-Terre. Some are within 5-10 minutes walking distance from the nearest parking lot, some require at least 3-4 hours of hiking (those are, of course less frequented by other tourists and you might find yourself alone at a spectacular waterfall in the middle of nowhere - an amazing experience!).

The local rum distilleries offer tours (check for opening times as they may very from season to season) which are certainly worth the while since rum production is a very integral part of Guadeloupe's economy. And sampling the local rums is definitely worth the while.

Even though they might not be the best way to get around the island, a ride on the bus is still an experience you should not miss. Cheap, full of locals, conducted by fearless drivers, you can enjoy the beautiful Caribbean panorama to the sound of Guadeloupean zouk music. Some routes are not good for passengers with weak stomachs.

Get in

Passport and Visa

Guadeloupe is an integral part of France so it has the same rules as France, which you can get from France's page.

By plane

American Airlines (from San Juan, PR), Delta Airlines (weekly from Atlanta), Air Caraïbes, Corsair, Air France, Air Europe, Air Canada, Cubana... To get more information, you can have a look at Guadeloupe Airport website [2].

From Guadeloupe, to travel in the surrounding places, here is an idea of the prices (roundtrip): Trinidad ~250 €, Barbade ~260 €, Puerto Rico ~300 €, Dominican Republic ~350 €, Cuba ~550 €

There is an Air Pass [3] to travel between most of the islands of the lesser Antilles delivered by the regional company LIAT Airlines [4], it costs about $500 for one month and is unlimited, but you have to pay taxes for each airport.

You can obtain information at Agence Penchard, 1 bis rue de la République 97100 Basse-Terre, Tel 0590 812 712 Fax 0590 810 711

By car

From some neighbouring islands, you can travel with your car on ferry companies (See section by boat).

By boat

From Martinique, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Marie Galante, Les Saintes: Express des Iles [5], Brudey Frères [6], Star Ferries[7].

• Windward Islands [8] - Windward Islands, one of the worlds largest yacht charter companies, can take care of all charter requirements, from bareboat to crewed in Guadeloupe, Martinique and St Martin. Operating from its international offices (USA, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Caribbean, Honk Kong, Dubai).

• Canadian Sailing Expeditions - Tall Ship Caledonia [9] - The Tall Ship Caledonia will arrive in the region in the fall of 2007. Travellers can embark at Pointe-a-Pitre and sail on to various locations such as Deschaies.

Get around

By car. The bus system is infrequent and unreliable. Cars can be hired at the airport in Pointe-à-Pitre. The main roads are of the same quality as metropolitan France, but smaller roads are often uneven, pot-holed and frankly dangerous. Prudence is required! Drivers are often undisciplined, but rarely aggressive.

By boat

• Windward Islands [10] - Windward Islands, one of the worlds largest yacht charter companies, can take care of all charter requirements, from bareboat to crewed in Guadeloupe, Martinique and St Martin. Operating from 8 international offices (USA, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Caribbean, Monaco).

Talk

French is the official language of Guadeloupe, although Creole is widely spoken. Everyone understands French but few people understand English.

See also: French phrasebook

Climate