Guides
French Caribbean: Martinique + Guadeloupe in 7 Days
Written by PerkJolt's AI desk from official sources; facts checked on the dates shown. We may earn a commission from links; it never changes what we recommend.
At a glance
- Where: Martinique and Guadeloupe, two French overseas departments in the Eastern Caribbean. Currency is the euro (€); the main language is French, with Creole widely spoken.
- Airports: Martinique Aimé Césaire (Fort-de-France) and Guadeloupe Pointe-à-Pitre (also called Guadeloupe Maryse Condé). (checked Oct 12, 2026) (checked Oct 12, 2026)
- Trip shape: 7 days, roughly 3.5 days per island, with one inter-island hop (ferry or short flight).
- Best for: Beach-and-hike travelers who like France without the Paris price tag, and who will rent a car.
- Biggest catch: You really do want a rental car, you need some French, and hurricane season (typically June to November) shapes everything.
When to go
The dry, breezier stretch is typically mid-December through April, and it is also the priciest. The rainy season overlaps hurricane season. Météo-France Guadeloupe's October bulletin described the region as in the heart of the rainy season, with easterly waves that can occasionally develop into cyclonic systems. (checked Oct 12, 2026) Shoulder months (May, and December before the holidays) are a reasonable compromise. If you travel June to November, buy flexible fares and travel insurance that covers named storms, and watch https://www.meteofrance.gp/fr/vigilance and https://www.meteofrance.gp/fr/cyclone in the days before departure. Sargassum seaweed can pile up on Atlantic-facing beaches in some seasons; the Caribbean-side coves described here are usually less affected, but check local beach reports and the town's official social pages.
Where to stay, by area
- Martinique: Les Trois-Îlets / Anses d'Arlet coast. Resort strip and small villages with the best swimming. Quiet at night; you will need a car or taxis. Check each chain's map for programs.
- Martinique: Fort-de-France. Busy capital with the cathedral, market and ferry quay. Handy for the ferry, noisy and traffic-clogged by day.
- Guadeloupe: Gosier / Sainte-Anne (Grande-Terre). Beach resorts and guesthouses close to the airport and the south-coast sand. Easy base for Pointe des Châteaux and Saint-François.
- Guadeloupe: Basse-Terre west coast (Deshaies, Bouillante). Rainforest and snorkeling at the national park's edge; fewer dining options, longer drives.
- Les Saintes (optional night). A quiet harbor village; day-trip it unless you want an overnight.
Hilton's Caribbean destination page did not list Martinique or Guadeloupe when we checked (checked Oct 12, 2026); for Marriott, IHG, Hyatt and Accor, check each chain's map for current properties.
Rough cost of the trip, three ways (fill in your own numbers)
| Line | Shoestring | Comfortable | Splurge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights (from your airport) | € ____ | € ____ | € ____ |
| Inter-island ferry or flight | € ____ | € ____ | € ____ |
| Lodging x 6 nights | € ____ | € ____ | € ____ |
| Car rental, fuel, parking | € ____ | € ____ | € ____ |
| Food | € ____ | € ____ | € ____ |
| Activities, Les Saintes ferry | € ____ | € ____ | € ____ |
Fees we could not open (ferry, park, rental) are listed in the full guide with the exact page to confirm on.
Entry rules
The U.S. State Department's France advisory is Level 2, Exercise increased caution, issued May 28, 2025, with guidance sections updated August 11, 2025. It covers France and Monaco and does not give Martinique or Guadeloupe a separate level; it notes the overseas departments are outside Schengen and links to separate entry and exit pages for them. (checked Oct 12, 2026) Rules for U.S. passport holders (passport validity, any pre-travel authorization such as ETIAS and whether it applies to the Caribbean departments) must be confirmed on the State Department's Martinique/Guadeloupe entry pages and https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en. (We could not confirm this on the official site when we checked — confirm it there before you book.)
How the week flows
Days one to three stay on Martinique, with the car parked more than it moves: swim, snorkel, then one longer drive north to Saint-Pierre. Day four is the crossing, and it is the day most likely to slip, so keep nothing precious booked for the evening. Days five and six are Guadeloupe's rainforest and the Saintes, and day seven is a gentle headland walk before the flight. If weather or a closed trail breaks a day, swap it with a beach day rather than forcing it; every plan in the full guide has a rain or backup line for exactly that reason. Two islands in a week is ambitious but workable because the beaches are close to the airports. Related PerkJolt guides for a longer Caribbean run: /guides/st-lucia/, /guides/dominica/, /guides/barbados/ and /guides/st-martin-anguilla/.
Cost note: every euro figure in this guide is a blank for you to fill, because we only print prices we confirmed on an official page. That keeps the trip honest and the budget yours.
Three free things (with photo subjects)
- Grande Anse des Salines, Martinique. A long, palm-edged public beach near the island's southern tip; public beaches in Martinique are typically free to enter (paid parking may apply — check martinique.org's beach page before you go). Photo subject: palms and turquoise shallows at the south end of Les Salines.
- Walk the Saint-Pierre waterfront, Martinique. The old "Paris of the Antilles" sits at the foot of Mont Pelée, destroyed by the 1902 eruption; the seafront is public and typically free to wander; the museum and some ruin sites charge admission (see the town's official pages — we could not open them). Photo subject: Mont Pelée rising behind the Saint-Pierre bay.
- Plage de la Caravelle or Sainte-Anne public beach, Guadeloupe. Public sand with gentle water on the Grande-Terre south coast. Photo subject: Sainte-Anne beach with fishing boats on the horizon.
Bonus: climb to see the Pointe des Châteaux cross for a free view of both oceans. Photo subject: Pointe des Châteaux headland and cross.
Lite guide ends here. The full guide below adds the day-by-day plan with clock times, base cards, getting around, eating cheap, day trips, the points mini-playbook, a cost sheet and printables.
This is the free lite guide. The full day-by-day guide, with maps, photo stops, rain plans and the points playbook, is part of PerkJolt All-Access.
Good to know before you go
Ferry timetables, volcano and trail access, beach swimming advisories, entry rules and storm alerts all move, sometimes the same day. Each section below says where to confirm. Treat anything marked "typically" or "last we checked" as a starting point, not a promise.