Best Day Trips from Guadeloupe 2026

Les Saintes (Îles des Saintes)

Les Saintes is a small archipelago off Basse-Terre, dominated by the single village of Terre-de-Haut, where red-roofed houses climb from a horseshoe-shaped harbor. The island is compact enough to see on foot, by rented scooter, or by golf cart, and the day mixes a hilltop fort, a couple of good beaches, and a lunch stop in the bourg. It's a slower, quieter contrast to mainland Guadeloupe, without much traffic or built-up development.

Highlights: Fort Napoléon - a 19th-century fort above the harbor with a small museum and a cactus garden, and the best overview of the bay · Pain de Sucre - a rocky point on the northwest coast good for snorkeling in calm, clear water · Plage de Pompierre - a curved, sheltered bay beach a short walk from the village, popular with families · Terre-de-Haut village - the harbor-front bourg where ferries dock, with places to eat grilled fish and lambi (conch)

Marie-Galante Island

Marie-Galante is a flat, round island still shaped by sugarcane, with working rum distilleries, old windmills, and long undeveloped beaches. It moves at a noticeably slower pace than Grande-Terre or Basse-Terre, and a day trip works best built around one or two distillery visits plus beach time rather than trying to circle the whole island.

Highlights: Château Murat - the ruins of a sugar plantation estate near Grand-Bourg, now a small museum on the island's sugar and rum history · Distillerie Bielle - a working rum distillery open for tours and tasting of its agricole rhum · Distillerie Poisson (Rhum Père Labat) - another working distillery, known for its traditional column still · Plage de la Feuillère - a long white-sand beach near Grand-Bourg with calm, shallow water · Gueule Grand-Bourg - a natural rock formation on the coast where waves push through a narrow inlet

La Désirade

Basse-Terre Interior — Volcano, Falls and Forest

The interior of Basse-Terre is Guadeloupe's mountainous, rainforest half, centered on La Soufrière, an active volcano still venting steam, and the Chutes du Carbet waterfalls nearby. It's the place to trade beaches for hiking - the forest is dense, trails are often muddy, and weather at altitude changes fast, but it's a completely different side of the island from the coast.

Highlights: La Soufrière - an active volcano reachable by a marked trail from Savane à Mulets to near the summit, with sulfur vents and views over Basse-Terre when clouds clear · Chutes du Carbet - a set of three waterfalls in the Parc National de la Guadeloupe, the lower and most accessible of which is a short walk from the parking area · Parc National de la Guadeloupe - the rainforest reserve covering most of the interior, with marked trails through dense tropical vegetation · Maison de la Forêt - a nature trail and small visitor stop that introduces the park's plant and bird life

Réserve Cousteau (Malendure) Snorkel & Dive Day

The Réserve Cousteau is a marine reserve around the Îlets Pigeon, just offshore from Malendure's black-sand beach, named for Jacques Cousteau's admiration of the site. It's built for a day of snorkeling or diving over reef and volcanic rock formations, typically reached by a short boat ride or glass-bottom boat from the beach rather than swum to directly.

Highlights: Îlets Pigeon - the two small islets that anchor the marine reserve, ringed by reef good for snorkeling and diving · Plage de Malendure - the black volcanic-sand beach where boats to the reserve depart · The underwater Cousteau memorial - a bronze bust marking the site near the islets, a common stop on snorkel and dive trips

Northern Basse-Terre: Deshaies & Botanic Garden

Deshaies is a small fishing village on Basse-Terre's northwest coast, known for its beach and for the Jardin Botanique just above the town. The pairing of garden and beach makes for an easy, low-effort day - a couple of hours walking the garden's paths in the morning heat, then the afternoon on the sand or in the village.

Highlights: Jardin Botanique de Deshaies - a hillside botanical garden with tropical plants, koi ponds, and a small aviary, and views down over the coast · Grande Anse beach - a long stretch of sand just north of the village, one of the bigger beaches on this coast · Deshaies village - a small harbor town with a fishing fleet and waterfront restaurants

Dominica (Day Cruise)

Dominica is a separate, mountainous English-speaking island reached from Guadeloupe by fast ferry, offering a rainforest-and-waterfall day that's a real change from Guadeloupe's beaches. Because the crossing eats a large part of the day, a day trip here works best as an organized excursion that bundles the ferry with a guided land tour, rather than arranging everything independently on arrival.

Highlights: Roseau - Dominica's small capital, where the ferry docks and day tours typically begin · Trafalgar Falls - twin waterfalls a short drive from Roseau, reachable by a short trail to a viewing area · Champagne Reef - a snorkeling site south of Roseau where volcanic vents release warm bubbles through the seabed · Emerald Pool - a forest pool fed by a waterfall in the island's interior, reached by a short rainforest walk

Marie-Galante Catamaran Day Tour

This is a sailing alternative to the ferry route to Marie-Galante, departing from Marina Bas du Fort on a catamaran that typically includes a snorkeling stop and beach time on the island before sailing back. It suits travellers who want the sail itself - and often rum punch on board - as part of the day, rather than just fast transport.

Highlights: Marina Bas du Fort - the departure marina in Le Gosier where the catamaran sets off · A snorkeling stop en route - most operators anchor over a reef or calm bay for swimming before reaching the island · Marie-Galante beach time - typically a stop at one of the island's white-sand beaches, such as Petite Anse or Anse Canot, for a few hours ashore