Travel Notes: Latin America: Caribbean: Guadeloupe Travel Notes

Guadeloupe is a group of islands in the eastern Caribbean. An Overseas Department of France, Guadeloupe forms part of the French West Indies.

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Basse-Terre, French West Indies, Guadeloupe Travel Guides, Islands of Guadeloupe, Map of Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, Pointe-à-Pitre.

The Islands of Guadeloupe

The two main islands of Guadeloupe look like a butterfly on the map, with Basse-Terre the left wing and Grande-Terre the right.

Map of Guadeloupe

Separated by the Salée River, a narrow arm of the Caribbean Sea, the two islands are linked by a bridge.

Weather in Guadeloupe

View a graphical weather forecast for the week ahead in places around Guadeloupe.

Basse-Terre Weather, Les Abymes Weather, Petit-Bourg Weather, Pointe-a-Pitre Weather, Port-Louis Weather, Saint Martin Island Weather, St. Barthelemy Weather.

French West Indies

All the islands of the French West Indies are in the Lesser Antilles.

These are: Martinique, Guadeloupe and the five small island dependencies of Guadeloupe: Marie-Galante, Îles des Saintes, Désirade, Saint-Barthelemy, and part of St Martin.

In 1946 Guadeloupe, with its dependencies, and Martinique were established as separate overseas departments of the French Republic.

During the 17th century there was a lot of naval manoeuvring between the French, Spanish, English and Dutch for control of the West Indian islands.

The official language of Guadeloupe is naturally French, but a Creole patois is widely spoken.

Accommodation in Guadeloupe

Hotels in Guadeloupe:
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Dashaies Bay, Gosier, Grand Bourg, Pointe a Pitre, Pointe-Noire, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Sainte-Anne, Saint-Francois, Trois-Rivieres.

Basse-Terre

The capital of Guadeloupe, virtually destroyed by the 1979 hurricane, is located on the south-western tip of Basse-Terre Island.

Founded by the French in 1643, Basse-Terre declined in the late 18th century when economic activity was concentrated in Point-à-Pitre.

The nearby dormant volcano of La Soufriére, situated in a large national park, is the highest point in Guadeloupe (1,484 m).

Marie-Galante

Tourist Board of Marie-Galante:
Marie-Galante is easily accessible from Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe's economic capital. It takes 45 minutes by boat or 15 minutes by plane.

Pointe-à-Pitre

The largest town in Guadeloupe, Pointe-à-Pitre is situated on south-west Grande-Terre Island; on the channel that separates Grande-Terre Island and Basse-Terre Island.

Guadeloupe Islands Tourism Board:
5, Square de la Banque, Pointe-à-Pitre.