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Is Guadeloupe expensive?: 7-night Guadeloupe budget breakdown

The island of Guadeloupe is a little piece of France in the Caribbean, with boules, beaches and beautiful views. But is Guadeloupe expensive to visit? This budget post breaks down the costs of a seven-night trip.

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Is Guadeloupe expensive?: A 7-day Guadeloupe budget breakdown

Escaping a cold grey winter for a week of Caribbean sun is the dream. But with peak prices in winter and a reputation for luxury, it’s unlikely to be a cheap holiday. You can bag a bargain winter sun package to the Dominican Republic or Jamaica. But what about more unusual islands? Like Guadeloupe, a French overseas department in the Caribbean.

Do you end up paying a premium if you’re looking for somewhere different, or does being a bit off the beaten track mean you avoid tourist prices? To show how expensive Guadeloupe is, here’s a budget breakdown for my 7-night trip to the island, with costs for accommodation, transport, activities and food to help you plan your own trip.

Note: these costs are based on my mid-range travel style – keeping costs down where I can to splash out on special experiences. This post was first published in 2018 but prices have been updated where possible to costs as of November 2023.

Views from the Pointe des Châteaux in Guadeloupe, French Caribbean
Views from the Pointe des Châteaux

How much does accommodation in Guadeloupe cost?

With its array of luxurious hotels, the Caribbean isn’t exactly known for budget accommodation. So a place to stay is the biggest expense when visiting Guadeloupe. There are a few resort hotels on the south coast of Grande-Terre, but most of the accommodation in Guadeloupe is a mixture of guesthouses, villas and apartments.

We were travelling as a group of three so it worked out better value to rent self self-catering accommodation – which also meant we could cook some of our own meals. We split our time between two locations so we could see more of the island, with four nights in more developed Grande-Terre and three nights in quieter, more rugged Basse-Terre.

Relaxing on the beach in Saine-Anne in Grande-Terre
Our local beach in Saint-Anne

Our first stop was a two-bedroom apartment in Sainte-Anne in Basse-Terre. It had a large lounge and a little balcony overlooking the street, in a convenient location three minutes’ walk to the beach and the closest supermarket. The apartment cost €688/£602/$716 for three people for four nights in January (including AirBnB fees).

Our second stop was a super-cute cabin, in a peaceful location just outside the village of Saint Claude in the hills of Basse-Terre. It was small but perfectly formed – and beautifully decorated – with one bedroom downstairs and an open-plan loft with two more beds, and was surrounded by tropical gardens. Three nights cost €485/£425/$504.

Accommodation total: €391/£342/$407 per person – €56/£49/$58 a night each.

Lounge and bedroom of our AirBnB cabin in Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe
AirBnB cabin in Basse-Terre

How much is transport in Guadeloupe?

There is a limited bus service around the islands, but we wanted to do a lot of exploring so it was easier to hire a car. Car hire isn’t particularly cheap in Guadeloupe as supplies are limited. We got a few quotes from local car hire companies but ended up going with Europcar as their prices were reasonable and they had an office at the airport.

An ‘economy’ car (a 1-litre Seat Ibiza) cost €340/£298/$353 for seven nights. We could’ve done with a bit more power in the hills, but it was cheap to run. We covered most of both islands and only filled the petrol tank up once, costing €41/£36/$43.

Driving along the coast of Basse-Terre
Driving along the coast of Basse-Terre

I haven’t included flight costs as they vary so much depending on where you’re coming from. From the UK, you usually have to go via Paris to reach Guadeloupe. Our cheapest route was to book separate flights from Birmingham to Paris (€143) and Paris to Point-à-Pitre (€400 with Air France – though we got a refund because of delays).

Prices have risen since the pandemic, but you can get flights from Paris to Guadeloupe with budget airlines Air Caraibes and Corsair from €600 return. Or from the US you can fly direct to Guadeloupe from New York with Jet Blue for $330, or from Miami with Air France for $500. There are also ferries from Martinique and Dominica.

Transport total (excl flights): €127/£111/$132 per person – €18/£16/$19 a night each.

Deshaies church in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, one of the filming locations for Death in Paradise
Deshaies church

What’s the price of activities in Guadeloupe?

The Caribbean is all about the sun, sea and sand – so you could easily get away without spending much on activities while you’re visiting Guadeloupe. Mostly we spent time on the beach, did a few road trips around the islands, took a free tour of a rum distillery, went walking in the hills in Basse-Terre and hunted out Death in Paradise locations.

We did pay an entry fee at a couple of places – the Deshaies Botanic Gardens and Guadeloupe Zoo cost around €16/£14/$17 each. And there was a €4.40/£4/$4.50 entry fee for the walking paths to the Chutes du Corbet waterfalls, so still not a lot.

Activities total: €36.40/£32/$38.50 per person – €5/£4.50/$5.50 a night each.

Deshaies' Botanic Gardens in Guadeloupe
Deshaies Botanic Gardens

What does food and drink cost in Guadeloupe?

After my trip to the Seychelles I was expecting island life to equal expensive food and drink, but Guadeloupe was nowhere near as bad. We had kitchens in both places we stayed so we could mix up eating out and self-catering. Supermarket prices (including wine) were similar to what you’d pay in France, plus there were markets selling local fruit and veg.

We usually ate out at lunchtimes and made breakfast and dinner – partly because our second cottage was down a tiny winding road so we tried to avoid driving at night. And in Saint-Anne most restaurants were strangely open for lunch and closed in the evenings.

Ti' Punch cocktails made with rum, lime juice and cane syrup
Ti’ Punch (rum, lime juice and cane syrup)

Between the three of us we spent €160/£140/$166 in the supermarket plus €24/£21/$25 at the bakery and fruit stall. Lunches out normally cost around €12–€15 per person for one course plus a drink, though we did have a really good seafood meal in Deshaies one day which cost a total of €80. Altogether we spent €169/£148/$175 on eating out.

Of course there were a few rum cocktails in there too, with a total of €88/£76/$90 spent on drinks. Both places we stayed left us a bottle of local rum and limes so we could make our own ti’ punch, we also bought a bottle for €13/£11/$13 from the distillery. A (pretty strong) cocktail from a beach bar cost around €8/£7/$8 or a Carib beer €4/£3.50/$4.

Food and drink total: €147/£128/$152 per person – €21/£18/$22 a night each.

Sainte-Anne beach bar in Guadeloupe, Caribbean
Beach bar in Sainte-Anne

The grand total

So, is Guadeloupe expensive? Not hugely. The overall cost of our seven-night trip in January came in at €701/£613/$730 per person. This works out at around €100/£88/$104 per person per night. That doesn’t include flights (with them my total spend was £1090), but it’s still not a bad price for a week in the Caribbean in high season.

I expected our DIY Caribbean trip to be pricier than a package, so I had a look at prices for the same dates next January. All-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic started from £1280 per person for a week including flights, so we managed to beat that – with a lot more flexibility. So it shows you can go independent in the Caribbean on a budget.

The Cascade aux Ecrevisses waterfall in Basse-Terre
The Cascade aux Ecrevisses

Lower budget? If you want to keep costs down, the car was a comparatively big expense so you could use local buses to get around instead. Cooking more meals for yourself or buying food from street stalls would also help save money. And as most accommodation is self-catering, then the more of you there are, the cheaper it works out.

Higher budget? Guadeloupe doesn’t have many luxury hotels, but there are some beautiful villas to rent, particularly the ones with infinity pools located in the hills above Deshaies on Basse-Terre. You could also charter a boat to explore the coast and nearby islands, or add activities like diving* the marine reserve off Pigeon Island.

The coastline in Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe
The coastline in Grande-Terre

Looking for somewhere to stay in Guadeloupe?*

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The island of Guadeloupe is a little piece of France in the Caribbean, with boules, beaches and beautiful views. But is Guadeloupe expensive to visit? This budget post breaks down the costs of a seven-night trip, including costs for transport, accommodation, activities, food and drink – showing visiting the Caribbean in winter doesn't have to cost a fortune | Guadeloupe costs | How much does it cost to visit Guadeloupe | Guadeloupe Caribbean island | Guadeloupe budgetThe island of Guadeloupe is a little piece of France in the Caribbean, with boules, beaches and beautiful views. But is Guadeloupe expensive to visit? This budget post breaks down the costs of a seven-night trip, including costs for transport, accommodation, activities, food and drink – showing visiting the Caribbean in winter doesn't have to cost a fortune | Guadeloupe costs | How much does it cost to visit Guadeloupe | Guadeloupe Caribbean island | Guadeloupe budget

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Jenny

Monday 25th of September 2023

Thank you so very much for your information on the island of Guadalupe i will love to go there in the near future, you did a superb job in all the sites and cost. Will refer to your instructions when ready to go.Again thank you

Jim Wachs

Sunday 25th of June 2023

Is there anyone in Deshies that could be a DIY guide to DIP locations? I would also like to visit when they are filming. Which months are best? (This has been on my bucket list for years! I'm a LONG-time addict of DIP from Chicago, IL and I want to do this 'right', rather than a budget driven trip.)

Lucy Dodsworth

Saturday 1st of July 2023

Hi Jim, my post on Death in Paradise locations (https://www.ontheluce.com/death-in-paradise-locations-guadeloupe/) has links to a couple of companies which run DIP tours – and they are normally filming from May/June to October/November.

Jeannie

Sunday 8th of August 2021

Hi Lucy! I visited Guadeloupe as a preteen and I really enjoyed the vibes and of course the cuisine! Now I want to go on a trip with my family and we are in our 40s. I am just a bit concerned about the fact that sometimes you just do not feel so energetic with tropical fruits or alcohol. Do you think there are good night activities for people who just have no use to go to a bar? Merci!

Lucy Dodsworth

Monday 6th of September 2021

Hi Jeannie, Guadeloupe is quite a laid back place so you won't find a lot of nightlife around other than a few bars, but there are some nice restaurants, and some music nights where you don't need to drink to get on the dancefloor!

Moni

Friday 7th of June 2019

Wow, cool, thanks a lot! Was looking for something exactly like this. Good job Lucy! :)

Lucy

Tuesday 11th of June 2019

Thank you – great to hear it was useful!