We have put together the ultimate travel guide for seeing the very best things to do in Guadeloupe on a cruise day.

Guadeloupe is in the heart of the Caribbean and is made up of 5 islands, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, La Désirade, Les Saintes and Marie-Galante. The two main islands are known as the butterfly islands.

We docked at pointe a pitre and pre booked our tour with Mirva of www.guadeloupeguide.com. I have to say Mirva was my favourite tour guide on our cruise. Mirva is originally from Finland and is a US educated freelance journalist and travel writer. Having lived in New York City she now resides in Guadaloupe and we are so glad she does!!

We got in touch with Miva online and put to her what we would like to see. Along with some recommendations from Mirva we put together a day tour of Guadaloupe.

Plage de la Malendure is a black sand beach located on the west side of Basse-Terre, which is also the more peaceful side.

When we visited it was very quiet so we had most of the beach to ourselves. The sand is volcanic black sand, which Brody found really strange and kept looking at his hands. The beach is know for its snorkling and scuba diving but of course we didn’t do this with having Brody and the amount of time we had.

Our first stop was the natural hot springs. Le bain des amours is a heart shaped basin that heats to 33 degrees!! How amazing is that!

Guadeloupe is known for its natural therapeutic wonders, hot springs, Sulphur pools and mud baths – found on all five islands. The hot springs on Basse Terre are affected by La Soufrière volcano and are believed to have healing powers relating to rheumatism and skin diseases.

I suffer with back, hip and joint issues relating from having severe SPD in pregnancy so I myself found the springs incredibly relaxing.

We then left for Carbet falls, which consists of 3 waterfalls behind each other. The most accessible waterfall is the second Carbet fall, at a height of 110 metres, which can be reached in about twenty minutes.

This is the trail we decided to do with Brody’s little legs. The walk along to the viewpoint was a beautiful walk through a lush rainforest, nice and cool too. The path was incredibly well built and maintained – stone and wooden step all in excellent condition making it safe for little legs.

When we arrived at the viewpoint we could only see the first fall as there was a heavy mist and low cloud Typical!! It costs $2.50 pp to walk the trail and was worth every penny.

We briefly stopped at Fort Delgrès which turned out to be well worth the visit: its completely free, but more importantly it has an interesting history and amazing 360 degree views, Great picture opportunity.

It was originally built to fend off the British. It now has stone circles and a carved rock of Louis Delgres who was a leader of the movement in Guadaloupe resisting reoccupation

We then went to an amazing hot springs in Bouillante in Basse-Terre. We parked up and took a little walk down to what looked like a rock pool.

It was the strangest feeling sitting in the pool with the cold water splashing in from the sea with the water in the rocks was boiling hot! You could feel the heat coming from beneath you sometimes to the point it would make you jump it would be that hot.

When travelling the astounding Route de la Traversée on Basse-Terre island, make sure to make a stop at this stunning waterfall.

This waterfall is easy to get to and easy to find. You park your car and walk 5 minutes on a paved path. You can take pictures or go for a swim. The area is in a beautiful rain forest. There is a small shop by the parking if you want to buy souvenirs.

Paul went for a swim in here and he said it was amazing but the water was freezing! I would highly recommend making a stop here.