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The best things to do in Mallorca, Spain
Your vacations are fast approaching and you’d like to visit Mallorca in the Balearic Islands? Discover our complete guide on our travel blog!
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If you’re wondering what to do in Guadeloupe, heading for Les Saintes is a great idea. In this article, we’ll take you on a tour of the island of Les Saintes, explaining how to get there by ferry, how much time you’ll need to make the most of it, which vehicle to hire… We’ll also give you the best places to eat and drink that we discovered during a day in Les Saintes, Guadeloupe!
We chose to take a Point à Pitre ferry, with the Valferry company. The price was €85 return for two people. Be aware that the crossing moves a lot, we advise you to take a little medicine for seasickness, as many people were sick the whole way (us too for that matter 😂).
You can also take a boat from the town of Trois Rivières, which is actually the best-known and fastest crossing. It all depends on what suits you depending on where you’re staying.
Once you’ve arrived on the island, we recommend renting a vehicle, otherwise you won’t be able to discover much of the island. We recommend renting a scooter (for around €40/day) or electric cart (for around €60/day). This will give you total freedom to discover Les Saintes and its best spots. We’ve seen that it’s also possible to rent bikes, but it’s pretty steep on all the roads, so you need to be really motivated.
The good thing is that as soon as you arrive at the port, you’ll find numerous car rental companies with no difficulty, and no need to book in advance. We opted for the scooter option and thought it was great! But beware of the 50cc models! They’re really limited for two people, and going uphill is a real pain!
We chose to visit Les Saintes in Guadeloupe on a single day because the island is really small. By taking a boat early in the morning and returning around 5:30pm, this gives you plenty of time to discover the main places of interest and really enjoy them.
For those who want to experience Les Saintes to the full and stay longer, you can choose to stay on site. That way you’ll be even more immersed in discovering this island!
Destination Les Saintes in Guadeloupe for a few days’ rest! If you’re looking for a hotel with a large pool, a superb view of Pain de Sucre beach and a warm welcome, choose Hôtel Bois Joli. It rents out numerous bungalows and rooms with sea views. You’ll enjoy all the comforts of home, including a buffet breakfast and a snack bar all day long. We didn’t stay there, but the place made us want to!
Stroll through the Boug de Terre de Haut to discover its colorful alleyways, numerous little restaurants and boutiques. We loved the colorful town hall and the view over the bay! The town is bordered by beaches, so the setting is truly adorable.
This beach is one of the prettiest in Guadeloupe, with its fine sand and exceptional seabed. We advise you to go in the morning to avoid the crowds, and to take your masks and snorkels with you. This will allow you to spend an idyllic morning lazing in the sun! If you’re lucky, you may even come across some iguanas in the private garden along the beach. Park in the small parking lot on the dedicated street and continue on foot for around 10 minutes. In our opinion, this is one of the must-sees in Les Saintes, Guadeloupe, and an address not to be missed.
Bordered by a row of coconut palms, this is the exotic beach par excellence! All you want to do is swim in the turquoise sea. You can also take a stroll to the islet of Roches Percées, which is reached by renting the beach on the right and then swimming to the right. We haven’t been there ourselves, but apparently it’s well worth the detour!
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Head for Fort Napoléon for one of the most beautiful views of the island of Les Saintes in Guadeloupe! This fort is perched on a hill 114 meters high, so it’s best to have rented a scooter to get there! It can be visited for just a few euros, and has been listed as a Monument Historique since 1997. We decided to visit it and take advantage of its large garden to admire the view of Les Saintes, a marvel! We’d advise you to pay attention to the opening hours though, it closes quite early, around 12:30 it seems to us.
We stumbled across a sign for Le Kanaoa restaurant… This led us to the place where we spent part of the day. This hotel also doubles as a restaurant, and the setting is incredible, with a private pontoon, swimming pool and private beach overlooking the Baie des Saintes. We had lunch there, the food was pretty good, and then spent some time at the pool. Note that if you have lunch here, you’ll have access to the private beach and pool! We loved the calm and beauty of the place, and recommend it with our eyes closed.
It’s impossible to visit Les Saintes in Guadeloupe without sampling one of the island’s specialties, tourments d’amour. With a name like that, it’s hard not to be tempted. Along the way, you’ll come across locals selling this soft little coconut cake. We recommend you take home a small packet to enjoy the following days, it’s a delight!
To complement this article on Guadeloupe’s Les Saintes, we’d like you to discover our guide to must-sees in Guadeloupe. What to do in Guadeloupe? If that’s a question you’re still asking yourself as you prepare for your trip to the French West Indies… We invite you to discover our complete guide to a 10-day vacation in the archipelago!
We hope the tips and good addresses on our travel blog will help you figure out what to do in Les Saintes, Guadeloupe!
You can also follow our daily adventures on Instagram 🙂
Clem & Alex
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