BOAT-COMPARATOR Guide

Guadeloupe or Martinique: comparing the two for a week on a boat

Terrain, sailing atmosphere, hurricane season: the real differences between the two main French Caribbean islands for planning a week on a catamaran.

Two French Caribbean départements, under an hour's flight apart, yet two rather different sailing experiences: here's how to choose between Guadeloupe and Martinique for a week on board.

Two very different landscapes despite the proximity

Picture Guadeloupe shaped like a butterfly: volcanic, mountainous Basse-Terre (the Soufrière volcano tops 1,400 m) faces flat, reef-lined Grande-Terre. The Saintes, just south, rank among the most beautiful bays in the Caribbean. Martinique concentrates its volcanic relief in the north (Mont Pelée) and offers a more sheltered Caribbean-side coast to the southwest, ideal for calm anchorages from the Anses d'Arlet to Le Diamant.

Hurricane risk, worth knowing before you pick your season

Both islands sit on the same track as tropical systems strengthening as they cross the Atlantic from the African coast. A statistical study of more than 160 cyclones recorded in Guadeloupe between 1635 and 2000 confirms the long-term regularity of this exposure, with a risk season that classically runs from June to November (Zahibo, Pelinovsky, Talipova, Rabinovich, Kurkin & Nikolkina, Statistical analysis of cyclone hazard for Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles, Atmospheric Research, 2007, see the study on Google Scholar). This risk, shared by both islands, is covered in our guide to the Caribbean hurricane season — so it doesn't really tip the scale between Guadeloupe and Martinique, but should guide when you go rather than where.

Atmosphere and sailing style

From Pointe-à-Pitre, the classic route strings together the Saintes, Marie-Galante and sometimes Dominica. From Le Marin or Fort-de-France, a loop toward the Grenadines or simply Martinique's Caribbean coast offers shorter hops between anchorages, covered in our Martinique-Grenadines itinerary.

How to decide

For a first catamaran trip, budget €800-1,500/day or €3,000-8,000/week in high season on either island. Martinique offers tighter, more convenient anchorages for a short week; Guadeloupe, with the Saintes and the option to push on to Dominica, suits a crew wanting more varied stops. Our guide to catamaran charter in Guadeloupe covers the local options.

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