Guadeloupe: colorful archipelago 

A diverse Caribbean universe: more than a dozen isles, each a world of its own, like satellites orbiting the double suns that are Grande Terre and Basse Terre. These two islands make up the "mainland" of Guadeloupe, two butterfly wings, divided only by a narrow channel, but completely unlike one another. In the east, on Grande Terre, sugar plantations dominate the flat terrain. Mountainous Basse Terre in the west plunges from the 1500m high peak of the Soufriere volcano down to the turquoise blue Caribbean Sea below: blanketed in dense rainforest, it has gorgeous golden beaches in the north, and natural wonders in the south, like the sea-bed hot springs in the Jacques Cousteau diving area.

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Guadeloupe dream package

  Les Saintes  

The most picturesque islands of the Guadeloupe Archipelago: two are inhabited, seven are not. They encircle one of the world’s most beautiful bays: lined with palm fringed white sand beaches and quaint fishing villages. The majority of the 3,000 inhabitants – many of them young, fair-skinned blonds – are emigrants from Brittany and Normandy. Colorful cafes and beach bars have turned the island into a little Caribbean St. Tropez. Location: 8 miles south of Basse Terre. Getting there: 45 minute trip with the express ferry from Guadeloupe (US $29 / £ 18 return; transfers airport-ferry terminal-airport in Guadeloupe US $ 46 / £ 29 p. person) or by air shuttle.

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The most pristine island of the Guadeloupe archipelago: with broad sugar cane fields and sleepy fishing villages. No trace of the hotel boom and modern mass tourism on Marie Galante. Ox carts are still an important means of transportation and there are wind-mills everywhere. The coasts are lined with untouched white sand beaches and bathed by clear water. Brightly coloured fishing boats lie under swaying palms. 

Getting there: 45 minutes trip by express ferry from Pointe a Pitre (US $ 35 / £ 22 return; transfers airport-ferry terminal-airport in Guadeloupe US $ 46 / £ 29 per person) or by air shuttle.

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