Marie Galante

Guadeloupe's little sister

Marie Galante is a small island next to Guadeloupe and belonging to the French Caribbean Islands. It is becoming an important tourist attraction in the French West Indies. They call it the best kept secret of the Caribbean.

It features spectacular beaches and turquoise lagoons as well as picturesque villages adorning the beautiful green hills.

The town of Capesterre is the biggest of the three villages

Marie Galante is part of the French Caribbean Islands

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Location

The island, located about 28 Km south of Guadeloupe Island, is round and flat and has an area of 158 Sq Km or 63 sq miles. It has 12,500 inhabitants and hosts three important towns or villages. It is easily accessible from Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe's economic capital. It takes 45 minutes by boat or 15 minutes by plane.

Getting there

First you have to arrive to Guadeloupe. There are flights from Europe and North America as well as many flights from Puerto Rico and the other Caribbean Islands to Pointe a Pitre.

Airlines flying to Guadeloupe

• Air Antilles Express• Air Canada• Air Caraibes• Air France• American Airlines• American Eagle• Continental Airlines• Delta Airlines• Us Airlines• Windward Airways

Air Caraibes offer flights from Guadeloupe to Marie Galante. The flight takes only 15 minutes

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Caribbean Snorkeling at its best in the local beaches

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Getting around

• By bus

There are some bus services that offer one day tours to visit this tranquil and laid back island.

• By car rental

There are a few car rental companies offering this service. It is very easy to get around the island. It’s small and the people are friendly. There are not many road signs, so be prepared to get lost a few times. That may result into great experiences. Driving is on the right hand side of the road.

• By scooter or bike

The real explorers enjoy visiting the island with their bikes or scooters. It gives them the comfort of visiting exotic beaches and coves, that couldn’t be reaches otherwise. French law requires you wear a helmet and have a driving license if you want to use a scooter

Sugar cane

The island is essentially rural and the growing of sugar cane is part of the island’s culture. Grande Anse Refinery is one of two sugar processors in Guadeloupe and is located in this tiny island. They also have a few distilleries preparing one of the world’s best rum. The busiest town where most of the inhabitants live is Grand Bourg and the rest are evenly divided among the other coastal villages of Saint Louis and Capesterre

This magnificent Flamboyant is a sample of the island's vegetation

From here you can see Guadeloupe Island

Beaches

The beaches are considered among the best in the Caribbean. In the many beaches that this island offers you can find all kind of water sports like Caribbean Snorkeling and Scuba Diving Caribbean.

But there is more than beaches in this little paradise, as an example the breathtaking Gueule Grand Gouffre (The mouth of the Giant) and the Trou a Diable (The Devils Hole) with its subterranean lake.

When you arrive in Marie Galante is like you are visiting the Antilles 50 years ago, before the arrival of modernity and masses of tourists to the bigger islands. It has remained rural over the years and it is common to see wooden chariots loaded with sugar cane hauled on oxen pulled cabrouets. These sights are what make Marie Galante worth a visit. The beaches are everywhere in the Caribbean and some are nicer than those here.

Traditions are well kept here and everything you see on the island is genuine. The traditional rum distilleries still function a la “Old Time” and sugar cane is still carried to the distilleries by oxcarts. Close your eyes, and think you are back on the 19th Century. By the way, the rum is excellent and can be purchased on the spot.

A visit of a few days or even for a day tour to Marie Galante is an exceptional experience.

Visiting this tiny island will bring you back to those days when the Caribbean was untouched by big hotels and resorts and all advances of modern life.

For more information on Marie Galante go to their official site

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