We got an unexpected last-minute invitation to visit some friends in Guadeloupe. They were there on maternity leave with their two kids, which made traveling with a kid much easier. Not only did Guadeloupe look beautiful and warm… but there are lots of kitesurfing spots!

Getting There

The thing that made this trip so easy was the direct flights from NYC. The pilot on the plane quoted us 3 hours and 45 minutes to get there, which is basically the max distance my 3-year-old can handle being cooped up on a plane. Once you get there, you do need to have a car to get around, as things are spread out across several small towns between 20 and 45 minutes away. We went with Sixt for our rental because it had the lowest prices by far, but so did everyone else on our flight, so the line to get the car was actually pretty long. Pro tip: take a cab to the car rental so that you don’t have to wait for the shuttle, which only fits 6 passengers.

When to go / Kite setup

The wind season is basically from December to June, with the peak being in Jan / Feb / March. I got 2 days of wind, and 2 days of no wind in my time there, but the week before I got here was basically 18-22kts every day. The temperature was 75 to 85 every day, and a lot of the locals were wearing shortie wetsuits, but I was fine in board shorts.

From a kiting perspective, the first thing to know is it’s a rocky / reef heavy island. Big flat sand beaches with tons of room for launching are not the norm. I probably wouldn’t go here for a trip that was 100% kiting focused, and I’m only looking for the best conditions I could find anywhere. The kite spots all require some amount of driving to get access to, and I couldn’t find any places where you could just kite right outside of where you’re staying (other than the Club Med).

Second, the island really works best on an East wind. The most popular kite spots are the ones on the south side of the island, these all work on East wind. Things get trickier if the wind shifts North because spots like Le Moule on the north side have more reef to navigate and bigger waves. These spots are really only for advanced riders.

Here’s a map I made to the kite spots.

Kite Spot 1: Bois Jolan

I was only there a handful of days with wind, so I couldn’t check out every spot. Since my buddy was learning how to kite, all my sessions were at the most beginner-friendly beach, Bois Jolan.

This spot had the most beginner-friendly launch spot. Just past the parking lot you see a large open grassy area where most people are staging their kites. Beyond that, the beach is split into two parts, divided by a shallow sandbar. The part closest to the east is where the kite school tried to keep most of its students, and the part right out front on the west side was where everyone else was launching.

The kite school there taught my friend how to kite, and he had a great experience. Claude, his instructor, was super patient, and got my buddy up and riding upwind. After that, he was able to do some rentals and supervised riding. Because the lagoon is shallow and often quite crowded, there didn’t seem to be any kind of boat pickup option through the school.

Kite Spot 2 : Plage de la Caravelle / Sainte-Anne

The other spot I checked out was the point just past the Club Med. It’s definitely more of an advanced spot, and I only saw a single kiter out when I was there. The launch is a small patch of land with a few palm trees, and you have to wade out in the water to launch.

The bay is huge, but it’s deep, so it’s a bit choppier than Bois Jolan. The kite school next to the Club Med offered boat support, so this seemed like the more full-service option. The real attraction here was the wave break, right out in front of the hotel. Only 150m out, it was crazy to see something so fun so close to shore. If I can get back to Guadeloupe, this is the first spot I’m going to try.

The Island

Given my short trip, I didn’t get to see much of the island, but I still have some recommendations.

First, and foremost, the food. You notice the French presence most when it comes to the restaurants and the patisseries. The first morning I got here, I ran out to get fresh croissants and baguettes, and I was not disappointed. Even the smallest beach restaurants had delicious and reasonably priced food, I could be happy eating here for quite a long trip.

Next, I’d recommend planning some boat charters ahead of time. We couldn’t get responses fast enough when we tried, so we didn’t get to go out. A mid-week kite trip to Ile Caret would have been amazing (it gets crowded on the weekends). Or a trip to Terre-de-Haut…

I’d recommend exploring and getting out to Basse-Terre or out to Pointe des Chateaux. There’s a lot of different geography throughout the island, and there’s a lot of exploring to do on lighter wind days.

Conclusion

So what did I think of Guadeloupe? It’s a great place to go on vacation with a family, I think thats the main appeal. It’s easy to get to, and there are lots of things to do for people who aren’t kiting. For the kiters, there’s a ton of interesting places to ride, they just require driving. This isn’t going to be the trip where you get a cabana right in front of the kite spot and just walk 10ft to go kite.

Interesting Links:

Kite Spot details in French - https://www.magasin-glissevolution.com/blog/guadeloupe-spots-de-kite-de-basse-terre-les-saintes-et-marie-galante-n512

More Intel on Kite Spots - https://www.kiteadvice.com/spots-seasons-caribbean/kitesurfing-guadalupe/

Kite Spot Info - https://www.manawa.com/en/articles/les-meilleurs-spots-pour-rider-en-guadeloupe-cet-hiver

Evan More Kite Spot Info - https://se.kiteforum.com/kitesurf/country/Guadeloupe