After spending half of November and all of December in Martinique, it was time to move on. We traveled with our buddy boat, Mona Kai, from Saint Pierre, Martinique to Portsmouth, Dominica, where we anchored for the night before heading to Guadeloupe the following day. We left Dominica early in the morning on January 3rd for a 40-nautical mile trip to Point-À-Pitre, Guadeloupe. The wind and waves were on our nose for much of the trip, so we only averaged six knots. It took us about 7-1/2 hours to get there, much longer than anticipated due to the wind and wave direction that was not what was forecasted. But we made it to Guadeloupe in the afternoon and were happy to be in a calm anchorage for the night.
The last time we were in Guadeloupe, May of 2024, we anchored on the west coast of the island and only had a chance to explore a few of the fishing villages and towns along the western seashore. On this second trip to Guadeloupe, we rented a car for several days in order to really have a chance to experience the island. We spend one day exploring Grand-Terre (the eastern side), another day exploring Basse-Terre (the western side), and the last day shopping in Baie-Mahault (the central part of the island). The morning we returned the car, we spent a couple of hours exploring Le Gosier, admiring the stunning coastline, and being thankful for the opportunity we had to traverse such a beautiful island.
Day 1: Grande-Terre
Grande-Terre is the name of the eastern half of Guadeloupe’s main island. It is a French term meaning large land; but, interestingly, it is the smaller of the two butterfly wings that make up the islands of Guadeloupe. Guadeloupe also includes the nearby islands of La Désirade, Marie Galante, and Le Saintes.
Grande-Terre rests on a vast limestone plateau and is the driest of the two main islands of Guadeloupe. It is significantly flatter than neighboring Basse-Terre, but the terrain is ideal for livestock, sugar cane, and banana plantations. It is also known for its beautiful white sand beaches, seaside boardwalks, markets, first-class marinas, quaint villages, amazing surf spots, and unforgettable cliffs overlooking the Caribbean Sea.
Le Gosier
Saint Anne
Saint Francois
Point de Châteaux
Point de Châteaux is located at the easternmost tip of the island of Grande-Terre. It is a 10 km long cape with mostly beaches on its northern side, and striking rock formations on the east and southern tip. Seeing this natural wonder alone made the drive across Grande-Terre worth it. The rocky terrain, brilliantly blue waters, cliff formations, and crashing waves were of breathtaking beauty. Pictures don’t do it justice.
Day 2: Basse-Terre
On day two of our excursions around the mainland of Guadeloupe, we decided to go to the western half of the island, called Basse-Terre. We stopped to take photos at the overlooks, forests, beaches, and small towns along our journey. It was a beautiful sunny day and the mountains were free of the common cloud cover. Here are a few of the cities we explored:
Troi-Rivìere is a community on the south coast of the island of Basse-Terre, surrounded by the towns of Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Vieux-Fort and Gourbeyre. Grande Anse beach is one of the highlights in this area, as well as the Banana House (Maison de la Banana). Cassava and banana plantations abound here.
Basse-Terre, in addition to being the name of the western side of Guadeloupe’s mainland, it is also the name of a city located on Basse-Terre. It is the administrative capital of Guadeloupe. The town of Basse-Terre is set on a volcano range, topped by La Soufrière Volcano in the center of dense tropical rainforest, covering over 42,000 acres on this mountain range. There are a vast number of hiking trails and waterfalls throughout this National Park, but Kory and I didn’t have the proper shoes to go hiking when we were there, nor could we take Gracie. But we imagine it would have been beautiful hiking in the rainforest up to the volcano. At least we were able to see a bit of this natural wonder.
Saint-Claude is a quaint town that lies in the southwest interior on Basse-Terre island on the slopes of the volcano. It is just northeast of the capital city of Basse-Terre. The town has parks and recreation, cute shops, cafes and restaurants, and bountiful outdoor adventures. All the boutiques and eateries were closed when we were there on a Sunday, but we sure enjoyed traversing through this colorful and vibrant community.
Deshaise
We drove up the west coast of Basse-Terre island to a delightful fishing village called Deshaise at the northwest corner of Guadeloupe’s mainland. Deshaise was one of our favorite stops. We spent about two hours touring Jardin Botanique de Deshaies (botanical gardens) and enjoyed every minute of it. We strolled up and down shaded pathway lined with all sorts of native West Indies plants, trees, and rare flowers. We delighted in the coy ponds with waterlilies, a waterfall, and majestic palms called “Tallipots” which are unique to Guadeloupe. We also enjoyed the village of parrots and lorikeets and listened to chirping birds throughout our walk in the gardens.
Day 3: Baie-Mahault
Baie-Mahault is the second most populated city (or commune) in Guadeloupe. It is the location of the cargo ports and where most of the large businesses operate on the island. This is also were the major grocery stores are located, as well as Destreland Mall, home goods shops, hardware stores, etc..
We hadn’t gone grocery shopping since Martinique, so it was time to do that. But first we spent time walking through the upscale Destreland Mall, window shopping, then enjoying sushi for lunch, and cappuccinos with French biscuits for dessert. After lunch and browsing the stores, Kory sat in a cafe while I stocked up on groceries at a large Carrefour.
That was the extent of Day 3 with our rental car. We were tired after driving around the island for three days, and we looked forward to getting back to the boat, putting away our new purchases, and lounging in the cockpit to read a good book.
Overall, Guadeloupe island is beautiful, with such unique character. We didn’t have time to experience all that this island has to offer, but we got a good sampling. The rainforest, volcano, gardens, and oceanside cliffs were some of our favorite places, but it all goes down in our books as wonderful memories!