Safety Tips in Guadeloupe

The great thing about visiting Guadeloupe is the fact that you can visit a lot of different islands from here, and see the big differences between them. The is only problem: these islands are all connected by boats, and since the sea can be pretty rough from time to time, your stomach has to be strong to resist this rough sea.

The boattrips I had to Marie-Galante were not too heavy, but the one to La Désirade was a lot rougher already, and when I came back from Les Saintes, at least 15 people had "the worst kind of stomach-problems" if you know what I mean.

That is nothing compared to the boattrip from Saba to Saint-Martin by the way where more then half of all passengers got sick and made to boat smell terrible... :S

So my advise: if you ever had any problems like this, TAKE YOUR PILLS OR TAKE THE PLANE!

I never had the problems, but I heard enough girl complaining about to write a tip about it: the guys on Guadeloupe can be very annoying when you are a girl! They have a huge reportoire of names for you and they'll use them: "Doudou", "Trésor", "Étoile" and so on...

At daytime this can be annoying, but as long as you don't have problems with it, it won't spoil your day. At night it can be a little bit different though: when "the boys" have drunk a few beers they might have the urge to do more then only call you; they might want to touch you as well. The solution: take a boy with you.

There is no difference between big places like Le Gosier or smaller places like Petit-Bourg or Sainte-Anne. Be prepared, at daytime; look at it from the bright side and just give them a smile. At night; don't go alone...

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Everywhere you come in the world it's always the same problem: there are always these annoying little animals you can spoil your trip in some way. Don't worry: although there are not a lot of dangerous animals on Guadeloupe, there are still some who can badly annoy you. Some examples:

- Mosquitos: of course these assholes are always there. No matter how much mosquito-repellant you use, and no matter how good your mosquito-net is, you will get stung by them. They're the worst when it's humid and hot, and in the area of the swamps in the north.

- Jellyfish: in the water close to the beach you can find jellyfish. You can be lucky like me and swim every day for three months without being stung, but you might as well meet a jellyfish the first time you get into the water. As I heard the pain is not too bad though when they catch you and it only lasts for about 15 minutes. But still...

- Sea urchins: close to some of Guadeloupe's beaches you'll find these naughty animals. They are always close to corals and they have black pins that will get stuck in your feet when you step on them. The poison hurts badly and the end of the pins will not get out easily. Normally it takes a week of walking like a cripple before you recover.

Scared yet? Don't worry, there are no snakes on the island and no dangerous predators. And the spiders and cockroaches are not too big.

When you are on Guadeloupe, of course it is very interesting to visit some other islands in the area. And because the possibilities are limited by boat, the airplane is the most logical option for a lot of destinations. LIAT is the airline that connects almost all islands of the West Indies, and for a reasonable price, but watch out!

I used LIAT to get from Saint-Martin to Saint-Kitts: normally a flight of only 20 minutes. On the way to Saint-Kitts however, I had a delay of 14 hours, and my bagage was lost when I finally arrived on Saint-Kitts. And on my way back I had another delay of 5 hours. 19 hours of delay for two flight of a freaking 20 minutes!!!

And of course it is not nice when you have a delay like this, but when the staff is treating you like a piece of trash when you want to know what's going to happen it makes it even worse. If there is a different way of getting there, even if it costs you a little bit more I'd say: skip LIAT and go for a different company.

If you're driving after it gets dark it can get a little tricky on some roads. There are narrow roads in the mountains with lots of ups and downs and thick vegetation on both sides. And flat out forget about streetlights.
So the visibility isn't great, and add to that the speeds that some locals drive at, especially the MC's, and you can have a real situation on your hands. We managed, by sheer luck, to avoid hitting a motorcycle that came down a hill cutting into our lane in a bend.
So stay sharp and keep your speed at a level where you have time to react to the unknown.

Frequent on the Saintes islands and elsewhere around rocky and sandy beaches, it is in appearance an inoffensive tree, but that can be dangerous. The fluid in the leaves, fruits or under the bark is highly toxic. So better not to touch at all.

Also do not go under these trees when it rains - the water falling down from the leaves is also corrosive.

But all the mancenillier in frequented areas are well marked by a red circle, so you will have no trouble spotting them...

From june till november lasts the hurricane season in all the caribbean area, with peaks between august and september. Detected far away, so there is a good system of prevention, but nothing stopping it...

This boat is in the Saintes, at the Baie de Marigot...

beware of the effect of the rhum, it is much stronger there, especially the one from Marie-Gallante(59%).
now the following should be in local customs:
i ve quit often celebrated with locals friends or family and the morning after, they re often offering you a "decollage" which means a "take off" and is a small glass of pure rum..........thanks but no thanks, but that s just me