Guadeloupe is one of our favourite destination. Different kinds of beaches, amazing landscapes, wonderful nature, a lot of waterfalls and friendly people make this island unique. Grande-Terre is the eastern half of Guadeloupe and the other half is called Basse-Terre.

We started our trip in Trois Rivières situated in the south-west in Basse-Terre. The ‘Grande Anse’ beach is a black sand beach colored by the eroded basalt-lava from the volcano. Like the most beaches in Guadeloupe they are not overfilled by tourists but rather deserted.

On our way up to the volcano ‘La soufrière’, we discovered a lot of beautiful waterfalls ‘Les chutes du carbet’. The National Parc of Guadeloupe is also located in Basse-Terre. We did a foot march through the parc and on our way we took a bath under the waterfalls which was amazing.

If you want to see some turtles, than you need to go to the ‘Plage de Malendure’ located in the west of Basse-Terre next to Bouillante. Take your snorkeling equipment to see them in the sea just 50m away from the beach.

The zoo of Guadeloupe ‘Parc des Mamelles’ is located not far away from Bouillante and offers different kinds of animals and species.

Our next step was a ferry transfer to the neighbour island ‘Îles des Saintes’. Try to get a scooter because this is the easiest way to discover the island. First we visited Fort Napoleon, which contains a botanical garden dedicated to local succulent plants and iguanas.

In spite of its small size, Îles des Saintes has magnificent beaches: Grande Anse, Petite Anse du Pain de Sucre, Anse du Figuier, Plage de la Pompierre, etc… We spent some hours at Plage de la Pompierre, the most popular beach on this island and Petite Anse du Pain de Sucre, a nice beach for snorkeling.

Back to Guadeloupe, the ‘Grand Cul-de-sac marin’ is a nature reserve who is situated between the north of Basse Terre and the west of Grande-Terre. In Ste Rose we started a boat excursion to different very small islands (Îlet Blanc, Îlet Caret, Île aux oiseaux) and to the mangroves. We stopped on Îlet Caret to have a barbecue with our group. After that we visited the mangroves, where you can also see a lot of jellyfish in the water.

If you like rum and you want to know some details about the history of the production of rum, than you have to go to the ‘Musee du Rhum’ of Bellevue-Reimonenq, which is located next to Ste Rose. You can also buy some bottles to take home.

Marie Galante offers a variety of fascinating places to visit. This island has amazing beaches, a lot of nature, some famous rum distilleries (Domaine de Bellevue, Distillerie Bielle,…), chocolate factories and some beekeepers where you can get fresh honey.

We spent also two nights in Pointe-à-Pitre, the largest city of Guadeloupe. We visited the Marina Bas du Fort, where you can find some local shops, restaurants and the Aquarium de la Guadeloupe.

At the end of our vacation we took a look at the botanical garden ‘Jardin Botanique de Deshaies’. The garden contains more than 1,000 species including huge plants, palms and trees. It offers also a snack bar and a panoramic view to the Carribean sea.