What to bring with you when travelling to Guadeloupe? Some essentiels to add in your suitcase.

I decided to write this article after our stay in Guadeloupe simply because it could seem simple and easy to prepare your first travel to Guadeloupe, but believe me, it is not. This article is about sharing my experience and give you some advice about how to prepare your stay in Guadeloupe.

Besides the question “what to put in my suitcase” for my summer stay in Guadeloupe, there are other very important questions you should ask yourself and other important things not to forget. For example, products to take with us, what city guide to use or simply how to organize ourselves so we can spend the best holidays.

The first piece of advice I would like to share with you is to take the time to organize your holidays, day by day. In fact, the day is quite short in Guadeloupe, given the fact that the sun rises at around 5 am and sets at 6 pm. So, to enjoy fully your holidays and to see and do as much as you can (enjoy the sun, the beautiful beaches, things to do), it would be better to organize each day of your stay before going there.
Take time to prepare your suitcases and all the outfits you will be wearing there. If you do so, you will gain some time when in Guadeloupe. Moreover, if you organize well your outfits, without taking too many clothes and leaving some space in the suitcases to bring some local presents, for example, spices, punch or the “Planteur” punch.
Another advice I would like to share is to think about doing the check in online. It is often possible 24 hours before the flight. Almost all flight companies offer this service, including Corsair, the company we chose for our first holidays in the unknown lands of Guadeloupe. The advantage is that if you are traveling in a couple, you can choose one of the 2 places–rows, often in the back of the plane.
Another good surprise for me, taking a long-haul flight for the first time in my life, was the small package we have on the seat when on board. Inside you will find a pair of headphones, mask for sleep mask and earplugs. To be honest, I was very happy when I say the pack with the headphones because I had forgotten mines at home. As to the earplugs, I would suggest keeping them, because once in Guadeloupe you may be awakened every morning at around 4 am or 4:30 am by the cockerels who are walking freely around the island.

Essentials

You should definitely find a room in your suitcase for an anti-mosquito cream. No panic if you forget it, of course, you can buy there, at the pharmacies. To be honest, I haven’t believed when people were saying “mosquito there are not the same as the ones we have in Europe. They would eat you alive.” And they were right. As soon as we arrived at the villa, we were attacked by the mosquitos. By the way, all the tourist guides insist on that and you should believe them.

Speaking of guides, if I can, I just avoid the paper ones. I prefer more the e-books or pdf formats. So, I found a very user-friendly app called Le guide. It is for free and with this app, you can really organize your holidays in Guadeloupe. You have all the places you will need, like sightseeing, hotels, and restaurants. You can create itineraries for each day, you can tag the places you have visited, write a comment, and add a picture. It is similar to another app I was talking about in one of my previous articles, Mapstr.

Another app that I found very useful when traveling in an area rich in flora and fauna, is PlantNet. It is not just for plants lovers but for all curious people, just like me. I was lucky to have it on my phone because I was able to understand that the beautiful tree we had in our garden wasn’t a coffee tree but a date palm.

In my “do not forget list” I would add 2 essentials: a snorkel and hiking shoes. The very beautiful beaches in Guadeloupe (but also on the island of the Saints) are very rich in beautiful species you can watch for hours. In case you forgot your snorkel, no panic, you can buy one in Decathlon (Destreland mall, Pointe-à-Pitre). Here you can also buy a pair of hiking shoes. Of course, once again, we have completely forgotten ours, so we were happy to find ones in the shopping mall. You will really need comfortable shoes when visiting La Soufrière, Le Saut de la Lézzarde waterfall, and all the other beautiful places.

There were the most important things I wanted to share with you. Just to avoid you making the same mistakes and permitting you to spend incredible holidays in Guadeloupe Island. If you have some other advice, please do not hesitate to share them. At the end of the day, this is the best way to learn from each other’s experiences.