Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe Cruise Port Walk Around

Key Takeaways

• There’s not much right at the port: you walk through the duty free, and there are taxis and a little artisan village shop near the terminal.
• Town is right across the street from the port, so it’s easy to explore on foot. The streets run in a simple grid, which makes it hard to get lost.
• Guadeloupe is French, so expect French to be the language you see and hear everywhere.
• There’s a little market with a man selling baskets woven from palm fronds, plus a fountain and some street art right next to it.
• The streets near the port are a mix of good, bad and run down, with lots of mannequins in the shop windows, a pharmacy and a smoke shop. Once you get downtown, it’s much nicer.
• I spotted French tacos, fried chicken and a pizza place with a logo that looks an awful lot like Papa John’s.
• There’s a cultural center in town, and a paid public toilet if you need one.
• Overall, I’d say it’s one of the nicer ports I visited in the Caribbean that week.

Good to Know

It was about 90 degrees and very humid when I walked around, though there was a nice breeze. Bring water and pace yourself, because it does get hot.

Watch your step and watch the traffic. The sidewalks aren’t great, and some spots are definitely not ADA compliant. The crosswalks I tried didn’t have a button, so I just followed a local’s lead to get across.

Rotterdam was the only ship in port that day, so there weren’t a lot of tourists around. All aboard was early, at 3:30, so keep an eye on the time if you head into town after lunch.