Travel in Guadeloupe
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Informations on Guadeloupe: history, politics, economy, culture, Did you mean: Guadeloupe
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| Quick Facts | |
| Capital | Basse-Terre |
| Government | NA |
| Currency | euro (EUR) |
| Area | total: 1,780 sq km |
| Population | 435,739 (July 2002 est.) |
| Language | French (official) 99%, Creole patois |
| Religion | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%, Protestant 1% |
Guadeloupe, an island in the eastern Caribbean, is a French overseas department. It is located southeast of Puerto Rico.
| Table of contents |
Regions
- 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: French part adjacent to Sint Marteen, the dutch part.
- Saint Barthélemy: the jet set island.
Cities
Basse Terre
- Basse-Terre: the administrative capital of Guadeloupe. If you are in the city, the fort Delgrès is worth to see and the entrance is free. At St-Claude next to the police station (Gendarmerie) begins a tray to a little fall named Vauchelet among the opulent vegetation. It takes 20 minutes to walk there. If you like water sports, go to Le CNBT (Centre Nautique de Basse-Terre), Marina de Rivière Sens 97113 Gourbeyre, Tel & Fax 0590 81 39 96, cnbt@wanadoo.fr, www.cnbt-cdpn.org. You can do Kayak, Hobie Cat, Optimist, Windsurf, Diving, Hiking. 3 Nightclubs in Basse-Terre: DreamClub Baillif, zi Pères Blancs Baillif, 0590 80 26 83; La plantation, Blanchet Gourbeyre, 0590 81 23 37; Le Swing, zone artisanale Morin Saint Claude 0590 80 76 91: mainly Zouk, Ragga Dancehall, RnB, Merengue, Salsa... Entrance 20? with a Drink.
- Vieux Fort: the southern point of Guadeloupe mainland, with its lighthouse. From here, you can enjoy the sight of Les Saintes islands, and when the weather is clear, you can also see Dominica island.
- Bouillante, on the west coast of Basse Terre. From Malendure beach, you can go to the islands Ilets Pigeon, 30 minutes in canoe kayak or 5 minutes by motorboat. The zone surrounding the islands is protected and known as reserve Cousteau named from the famous Commandant Cousteau. It's the best spot of the island to snorkel and of course to dive.
- Morne Rouge, from this place, you can reach many tiny islands like ilet la Biche and ilet Caret, by boat, sea motorbike or kayak (but if you want to go to ilet Caret, you must be very sporty). ilet Caret really deserve to be seen, it's a tiny stripe of sand in the ocean. To hire a Kayak, call Frank at 0690 75 70 02 it's 15? half a day, and 20 ? a whole day. Another address: Christian-Rando-Passion 0590 28 98 73.
- Bananier is not really a pleasant beach but if you like surfing, it's one of the scarce spots in Basse Terre (when waves are there).
- Trois Rivières: Grande Anse is a black sand beach trimmed by luxurious vegetation. Waves can be entertaining. From the port, you can pick the boat to visit Les Saintes islands. One nightclub: Le River Side: mainly Zouk, Ragga Dancehall, RnB, Merengue, Salsa... Entrance 20? with a Drink.
Grande Terre
- Pointe-à-Pitre: with its suburbs, it is the economic capital of Guadeloupe.
- Gosier: maybe one of the most animated places of Guadeloupe to enjoy nightlife.
- St François if you go at the eastern point of Guadeloupe, you will reach La Pointe des Chateaux, a scenery made of cliff 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 mainland Grande Terre and far away Basse Terre.
- St Anne a very gorgeous but also very tourist beach (maybe the tourists 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 resorts. 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 (buffet, 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
Understand
Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635. The island of Saint Martin is shared with the Netherlands; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles and its northern portion is named Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe.
Guadeloupe is an archipelago of nine inhabited islands, including Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, Iles des Saintes (2), Saint-Barthelemy, Iles de la Petite Terre, and Saint-Martin (French part of the island of Saint Martin).
- Climate
- subtropical tempered by trade winds; moderately high humidity
- Terrain
- Basse-Terre is volcanic in origin with interior mountains; Grande-Terre is low limestone formation; most of the seven other islands are volcanic in origin
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 (/travel/France#Passport_and_Visa).
By plane
Air Caraïbes, Corsair, Air France, Air Europe, Air Canada, Cubana... To get more information, you can have a look at Guadeloupe Airport website (http://www.guadeloupe.aeroport.fr/)
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 (http://www.liatairline.com/island-hopper.htm) to travel between most of the islands of the lesser Antilles delivered by the regional company LIAT Airlines (http://www.liatairline.com/), it costs about 500$ for one month and is unlimited, but you have to pay each airport taxes.
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 (http://www.express-des-iles.com/), Brudey Frères (http://www.brudey-freres.fr), Star Ferries (http://www.starferries.com)
Get around
Talk
French is the official language of France, although Creole is widely spoken. Everyone understands French but few people understand English.
See also: French phrasebook
Buy
- Characteristic of the Antilles is the colourful tiled Madras fabric.
- The local made rum is also distinctive.
Eat
Not to be missed, the plate Colombo (chicken, rice, curry), imported from India, has become the typical regional plate.
Drink
Sleep
To sleep, you will have to pay, for budget accommodation, between 30? and 45? per night in hotels.
Learn
Work
For European people coming from an EU country, working in Guadeloupe is allowed without problem. If you're from outside the EU, you will probably need a work permit - check with the French Embassy in your country. Do not forget though that the unemployment rate is around 28%. But if you work in the heath sector (doctor, nurse), it will be much easier. Else you could find a job in bars, restaurants, and/or nightclubs. The better is to have a precise idea of what you want to do, inform yourself and prospect before going there.
Voluntary service: Volontariat Civil à l'Aide Technique (VCAT). Conditions: you must be French or from another EU-member state or a country belonging to the European Economic Area. You must be over 18 and under 28 years old (inclusive). You must not have had your civic rights revoked by a court or have been convicted of certain offences. VCAT (http://www.outre-mer.gouv.fr/outremer/front?id=outremer/a_votre_service/volontariat_civil___l_aide_technique_1045663353938/publi_P_vcat_remise_en_forme_1084201024219), Préfecture Guadeloupe (http://www.guadeloupe.pref.gouv.fr/vcat.php)
Stay safe
Stay healthy
There is no particular disease but you should protect you from the sun. Sanitary and medical facilities in Guadeloupe are good. Health care in Guadeloupe is controlled by a state-owned organisation (Sécurité Sociale). Doctors are in almost every village. Tap water is usually safe for consumption. Public sources of water are unsafe if labeled with "Eau non potable" (no drinking water). Visitors from European Union should bring a E111 form with them. Ask details at your local health care organisation.
Emergency phone numbers
- emergency services: 112 (which can be dialled by any mobile phone, even if not connected to a GSM network);
- fire brigade: 18;
- police station: 17;
- specialised emergency medical service (called SAMU): 15.
Respect
Contact
Phones
Country code: 590
Dialing within Guadeloupe: all numbers have 10 digits. Landlines begin by 0590 and mobile phones by 0690.
Dialing to Guadeloupe: international prefix + 590 + phone number without the first 0 (this leads to dial twice 590 which is normal). If you dial from France, just use the 10 digits number.
Dialing from Guadeloupe: the international prefix is 00.
Calling to a mobile phone is more expensive than to a landline. Number beginning by 0800 are free phone. Number beginning by 089 are premium-rate.
Few foreign mobile phone companies offer international roaming to Guadeloupe so double-check before leaving. Your company should provide specific roaming to Guadeloupe since it has deferent mobile phone companies than in mainland France.
Alternatively, you should be able to get a Pay-as-you-go SIM card from various locations. There are two companies offering wireless services: Bouygues Telecom Caraïbe (http://www.bouyguestelecomcaraibe.com/) and Orange Caraïbe (http://www.orangecaraibe.com/).
Post
Post offices are found in all cities. Letter boxes are colored in yellow.
Rates
Less than 20g (postcard, letter with one or two pages in a regular envelop) :
- France (including Oversea Territories DOM-TOM): 0,53?
- area 2 (rest of the world) : 0,90 ?
The basic stamp for regular mail is red with the head of "Marianne" (the Republic logo). It does not carry its value and can therefore be used even after a price increase. It is sold in all Post Offices, Bureaux de Tabacs (Tobacco sellers identified by a red lozenge) and postcard vendors. The latter may also carry other common stamps.
In most Post Offices you will find an automatic machine (yellow) with a scale and a screen. Just put your mail on the scale, tell the machine (French or English) the destination, pay the indicated amount and the machine will deliver a printed stamp.
External links
Tourism Offices of Guadeloupe (http://www.lesilesdeguadeloupe.com)