How is diving in Guadeloupe (french caribbean island) ?

[Scubaphil-1]

Asked about it in an other thread, I repeat here main answers for more readability on the forum.

So diving in Guadeloupe is wonderful !
It is a classical of diving in caribbean sea, with hot water, coral reef and tropical fishes.
Diving is possible in more than 35 different professional centers along caribbean coast and in « large marine dead-end ».
All centers offer boat diving and most of them organize half-day trips, twice a day.

The most famous diving spots are located around the Pigeon islands, in the national park, commonnly named « Cousteau reserve », where there is more fishes and they are bigger.
But there are many others that are interesting diving sites :
- 3 very nice shipwrecks on 20, 30 and 40 meters deep (western coast)
- one plane wreck on 20 meters deep (northern coast, near Port-Louis),
- the « sec Paté », a wonderful submarine rocky peak (emerging from 2 or 3 hundreds meters deep to 15 meters deep on his highest point), considered as one of the 10 best dives in the caribbean sea
- many diving spots on coral reef in the western Basse-Terre or in the northern Grande-Terre
- but also beautiful others in peripheral islands like « Les Saintes », Marie-Galante or « La Désirade ».

So many reasons to come and dive in Guadeloupe.


---------- Post added September 22nd, 2015 at 11:39 AM ----------

what are the dive ops like? small boats? big cattle boats? Generally How Many tanks a day?

You can find everything. Many center have small boats (pneumatic type, for 8-15 divers) but some (the best known) have larger units, up to 30 or 40 divers.
Most centers are organized with half day trips and one tank dive. But I have at least two contacts for centers offering "two-tanks dive" daily.

Is There Any shore diving? what about Opportunities for night dives?

Shore diving is possible on a limited number of spots and is usually not offered by dive centers. If you absolutly want to dive from the shore, you will have to find yourself rental cylinders and seaboard-accessible sites. Guadeloupe is not Bonaire ...
Night dives are possible and commonly practiced. Just ask at the dive center.

Are There Any special rules? Dive guides are mandatory?

Yes, it is France, and France likes complex regulations …
To dive into a center, you have to show patent and logbook. A guide will be always offered, at least for the first dives. Afterward, to dive independently, it depends especially on political of the center, your factual level, your experience and your behavior during previous dives. In France, when you dive in a center, the dive manager is legally responsible for divers security. He is the only one able to decide with who, where and how everyone can dive. The disclaimer has no legal value in France. Most often, your autonomy will be limited to 20 m deep, centers preferring to supervise dives from 20 to 40 m deep for passing customers.
Fortunetly, most of dives in Guadeloupe are around 20 m deep. :cool2:

 

[KeithG]

Thanks for your frank and detailed feedback. And yes, many of us Caribbean dive nerds use Bonaire as the example of diving freedom. We love Bonaire and compare it to all potential destinations.

For me, diving has 2 very different aspects:
- the underwater world
- the ability to explore that underwater world
(it goes without saying that cluster dives are a NO NO)

Some places are crap wildlife but total freedom. Others places are awesome but rule bound. I want to understand both dimensions to make my travel decision. I value freedom, hence my choice to frequent bonaire and liveaboards, and why I asked my original questions.

Out of total ignorance (no first hand knowledge) we have been warned off any "French" islands in the Caribbean and they have been on our "avoid" list for many years. This is based upon our preference for freedom. We avoid places were dive guides for every dive are mandatory (I will never go to Coz). But this blacklist of Guadeloupe is all based upon second hand knowledge. Maybe we are wrong? I welcome the opportunity to learn more and make an educated decision.

Hopefully this thread can turn into a reference thread for the big G? Please educate us. Maybe invite some of the local dive ops to register on SB and chime in?

You have hinted that "observation" is mandatory on the first dive, but that there "maybe" some flexibility afterwards. Bonaire requires a checkout dive and all of the liveaboards I regularly use promote the first dive as a check out dive. I have no issues with that. I think it is a good idea. But once we have established some level of credibility with the dive op, we want to dive as a buddy team within the limits of the dive operation.

Thanks! Tell us more!
[h=2][/h]

 

[N East Diver]

Which style of tank valve is common from the dive centers DIN or Yoke?

 

[drrich2]

I've not researched Guadeloupe. Read it mentioned on the forum once in awhile, but not often. When a Caribbean island gets high praise from somebody, but seems borderline unknown (compared to Cozumel, Bonaire, Belize, the Caymans, Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Virgin Islands, etc&#8230, I want to know…why?

There's a reason people aren't flocking to it. Since many Caribbean tourist divers are used to following guides around, it's not that alone. So, let me throw out some questions and we can try to work this out.

1.) Is it convenient to fly to & from for the U.S.-based diver in a single day? Many divers travel on a 7 day time table; I think the 2 days there, 2 days back thing may be what's keeping Dominica out of the mainstream.

2.) Is round trip airfare to/from the U.S. particularly expensive? If airfare weren't so high I could imagine Bonaire being overrun. Do plane trips tend to be long with foreign airport layovers?

3.) Are the people pervasively fluent in & accepting of English? If you can't make the English-only customer fit in comfortably, you write off a lot of potential customers.

4.) Is there anything special about the diving, as opposed to better known Caribbean destinations? You mentioned shallow plane & ship wrecks, & peripheral islands; there are a number of people who like shallow water destinations, and someone looking for something besides the Florida Keys or St. Thomas, for example, might be interested in your area. Say, families with young enough divers to have shallow depth limit recommendations.

5.) What's the topside appeal? Is it rustic or urbanized? Are the main draws natural or cultural?

6.) Do you have many 'One Stop Shop, Turn Key' operations, similar to Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire, where people can book a hotel room, diving & maybe even a rental car with you, or is it on the prospective traveler to research all this stuff himself? Do you pick people up at & return them to the airport, or again, is the customer on his own?

7.) Will the customer need to rent a car? Which side of the road do you drive on? Can people drive with a U.S. driver's license? Are liability laws & traffic density such that U.S. tourist driving is ill-advised (e.g.: Roatan) or common (e.g.: Bonaire)?

Ignorance of these issues is a serious barrier to your prospective customer. There are several destinations in the Caribbean that seem to get their business mainly from well-seasoned divers looking for something different, if I infer correctly (I'm thinking Guadeloupe, , Grenada, Cariacaou & St. Vincent). Maybe I'm wrong about that? Just my speculation...

Richard.

 

[Scubaphil-1]

I come back late on the thread, sorry.

First, I would like to clarify that I am not a professional in tourism or diving. I not have interest in encouraging you to come in Guadeloupe, except the pleasure of revealing you the place where I live.

For me, diving has 2 very different aspects:
- the underwater world
- the ability to explore that underwater world

I well understand your point of view.
Clearly, in contrsat with what is done elsewhere in caribbean, Guadeloupe is not the winner in terms of « diving freedom » and Bonaire remains THE reference. But, as I said earlier, diving is still possible with many dive ops. On the other side, in terms of "underwater world", you will find a wealth and a great diversity. A small glimpse below :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomekplotek/sets/72157638824058896/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbUnEfHde6U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doqPEAYBpK0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IokV7KDNpwg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ9lidxaw6o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxSAWdtS78I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj-mO1HOn1c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB7Gldtes6U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZsqxiUefV8

Which style of tank valve is common from the dive centers DIN or Yoke?

DIN and yoke are avaible indifferently in all dive centers in Guadeloupe. DIN and yoke are commonly used in France, so all dive ops are accustomed to offer the 2 possibilities.

 

[Scubaphil-1]

When a Caribbean island gets high praise from somebody, but seems borderline unknown (compared to Cozumel, Bonaire, Belize, the Caymans, Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Virgin Islands, etc…), I want to know…why?

You want to know why I have high opinion of Guadeloupe ? Simply because I live in ! A bit of chauvinism, what could be more natural ?


For the reasons that could explain why Guadeloupe (or any french caribbean island) are little known (in any case, in US), I think you pretty well summarize potential explanations. In my opinion, your points 1, 3 and 6 are the main points.

1.) Is it convenient to fly to & from for the U.S.-based diver in a single day?

1) Until recently, there was only one direct flight from US to Guadeloupe (from Miami by American Airlines), twice a week. We have now a direct flight from New York (through the Norwegian) 3 times a week. Otherwise, Guadeloupe is available with stops, the easiest is to go through San Juan or St Marteen.

3.) Are the people pervasively fluent in & accepting of English?

3) English is spoken in all tour operators, resorts, cottages, diving centers, but not by the entire population. So if you're thinking outside the box, you may be brought to eat in a restaurant where we only speak French or Creole, for example. But there will always be a way of understanding. And may be it's also that, the charm of travel : out of his routine ... no ?

6.) Do you have many 'One Stop Shop, Turn Key' operations, similar to Buddy Dive Resort in Bonaire, where people can book a hotel room, diving & maybe even a rental car

6) No, as it was already said, diving is not organized like in Bonaire. There is no one-stop shop in front of every reef. But most diving centers offer preferred partners for hosting, and inversely.
For a better understanding, you must know that Guadeloupe is a relatively large island (the biggest one in lesser antilles). I also enclose a map.

Furthermore, the island’s center is urbanized, but Basse Terre is mountainous, volcanic and covered by rainforest, a little like in Dominica. Some pictures below for a better idea.




Another special feature in Guadeloupe : major hotels are located on the southern coast of Grande Terre (near large and beautifull beachs) where diving spots are few and bland, while diving centers are grouped on the western coast of Basse-Terre, more wild and green. Consequently, divers are rather housed in cottages, lodges, small resorts or bungalows.

To be better understood, here you can find links to websites of these hotels in Grande-Terre :
La Créole beach, hotel and spa (Le Gosier)
Auberge de la Vieille Tour, hotel (Le Gosier)
Hotel Fleur d'épée (Le Gosier)
La Caravelle, resort, club med (Ste Anne)
La Toubana, hotel (Ste Anne)
Note that there is a dive center in the « Fleur d’Epée » hotel and it can support divers coming from other nearby hotels.

And hereafter, I put you some links to examples of accomodations in Basse-Terre :
Le nid tropical, guest house and bungalows (Bouillante)
Au ti' sucrier, hôtel (Deshaies)
Harmonie créole, bed and breakfast (Bouillante)
Tendacayou, ecolodge and spa (Deshaies)
Le parc aux orchidées, cottages and spa (Pointe Noire)
Habitation Grande Anse, hotel (Deshaies)
Caraïbes Bonheur, résidence (Deshaies)
Langley resort Fort Royal (Deshaies)


The best is to rent a car to access the various landmarks of the island. But several lodging offer conveyance from and to the airport. Driving with an US license is possible, providing that the holder be older than 21 years.
We drive on the right, as everywhere in France and Continental Europa. In France, most of cars have manual gearbox but automatically transmission in usual in most of car rental companies. An example of what you can find.


To conclued, here are some adresses of diving centers (there are many others) :
La Rand'eau (Bouillante)
Tropical sub diving (Deshaies)
Nautica Plongée Caraïbes (Deshaies)
Les Heures Saines (Bouillante)
La Dive Bouteille (Les Saintes)

Hoping that all this might be useful to some of you.