Guadeloupe is a place which brought back my childhood memories, visiting grand parents for every summer, playing in fields, making toys out of back soil in cotton fields, waiting for the sugarcane tractor trailer to pass by so we can pull some cane out of it. It made me re-live the child like innocence which we all forgotten about as we grow old. Guadeloupe is untouched beauty in Caribbean. It is a french territory and not many locals speak English.
With direct flights to Pointe-a-Pitre from BWI journey to this heaven is just under 5hrs. We got the front row seating on the flight both ways and i say that is a win for 180$ we paid.
A 5 Days trip is perfect time to explore this pretty Island. If you have less time then a long weekend trip just works. Staying in Pointe-a-Pitre makes it easy to explore the entire country. I suggest taking 2 days for exploring the mountains, waterfalls and beaches on the Basse-Terre Island. The waterfalls we went to went was absolute stunner. Steven and his sister jumped off the clicks into the base of the falls. I not a good swimmer to do it but i enjoying hanging out at the shallow end of the pool. Northern most tip of this Island house some mesmerizing beaches which are less crowded compared to the beaches on the Grande-Terre. My favorite is Grande-Anse Beach, I learned how to swim in ocean here with the help of my Sweet Sister-In-Law as the waves were not high.
Another 2 days to explore Grande-Terre Island which has beautiful long blue beaches. Beach fronts have street markets selling souvenirs and spices popular from the area. I love exploring local markets to try food from local street vendors. One such adventure introduced us to the hand made coconut ice cream. What a treat to have when the temperature was above 90 deg.
Few Beach suggestion here are Anse à Jacques for cliff-Beach combo pictures, La Douche for privacy and natural Ocean water pools. Overall Guadeloupe is a perfect weekend gateaway from USA. Beautiful beaches, Hiking trails, yummy Sea food and a peaceful mind is what happened to us during this trip.
Visa Requirement: US and Europe citizens don’t require visa. Where as Indian passport holders need to get a special visa from France Consulate.
Visa Fee: 60$
Documents Required: Same documents as Schengen Visa. Here is the link to France consulate which gives detailed information.
http://www.consulfrance-washington.org/spip.php?article384
Language Spoken: French
Currency: Euro, Some places accept USD bills less than 20$
Airlines: Norwegian has direct flights from US East coast for great prices
Desi Girl Vihari 
Very beautiful and good company to travel with
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