The most beautiful anchorages in Guadeloupe by catamaran

In Guadeloupe, the five must-visit anchorages for a catamaran are the bay of Les Saintes, the Petite-Terre reserve, the Pigeon islets, Deshaies and Anse Canot on Marie-Galante. Each spot has its own logistics: some require booking in advance, others welcome you on a mooring as soon as you arrive. Here is what the Sailoe team has learned while running cruises on these waters for more than 20 years.

The bay of Les Saintes: which anchorage to choose between Terre-de-Haut and Pain de Sucre?

The bay of Les Saintes is the most sheltered and most spectacular anchorage in Guadeloupe, ranked among the most beautiful bays in the world. It offers two distinct positions depending on your mood: facing the village of Terre-de-Haut for access to life ashore, or in front of Pain de Sucre for an immersion in crystal-clear waters straight from the cockpit.

Facing the village of Terre-de-Haut

You anchor on a mooring, with a fee collected by the Terre-de-Haut nautical service (rate varies according to boat size, to be checked with Les Saintes Multiservices). The seabed is sand and mud, and the shelter is exceptional whatever the direction of the prevailing wind. You reach the village by dinghy in less than five minutes. Fort Napoléon, visible as soon as you reach the anchorage, is worth a half-day ashore. Arrive early in high season: the moorings go fast in the morning.

From our catamaran on the Terre-de-Haut mooring, Fort Napoléon stands out against the sky at daybreak. It is one of the first images our crew members remember from the Caribbean cruise.

Pain de Sucre

A few cable lengths north of the village, the Pain de Sucre anchorage offers translucent waters that you dive straight into from the aft platform. Seahorses, corals and multicolored fish are visible at shallow depth. The seabed remains sand and the holding is good. It is the ideal choice for a first night’s stop in Les Saintes when you prefer peace and quiet to going ashore in the village.

Petite-Terre: how do you book a mooring in this protected reserve?

Petite-Terre is a national nature reserve: anchoring is allowed on moorings only, with mandatory online booking through the ONF and the TITÈ association. Day slots (9am-4pm) and overnight slots (4pm-4pm next day, 9am-9am next day) are available on the reserve’s website. Access is limited to a maximum of 200 visitors per day. These rules are strictly enforced.

The inner lagoon of Petite-Terre is one of the most pristine in the French Antilles. There you come across iguanas on the beach, sea turtles in the water and harmless lemon sharks in the passes. The lighthouse, built in 1840 and still standing, marks the silhouette of the island from offshore. The northwest access pass can be difficult from November to March - our skippers prefer to cross it in the morning, with a sea that has already calmed down.

Mooring reservations are made online on the reserve’s website (reservesdesiradepetiteterre.com), ideally several days in advance in high season - the slots go fast between December and April. Petite-Terre fits in perfectly as a half-day or overnight stop, between Sainte-Anne and Marie-Galante. It is the most postcard-perfect stop of the itinerary, and one of the hardest to improvise.

The Pigeon islets: what can you see beneath the surface at the Cousteau Reserve?

Facing Malendure beach, the Pigeon islets form the marine heart of the Guadeloupe National Park: free anchoring is strictly forbidden there, and only moorings are allowed. Classified as a national park core area in 2009, this reserve is home to one of the richest coral reefs in the French Antilles.

The regulations distinguish two types of moorings: yellow moorings reserved for boaters whose boats are under 12 m, usable by day only; and white moorings reserved for professionals. No overnight stays on moorings are allowed at the Pigeon islets - it is a daytime stop.

From the deck of a Lagoon tied to a yellow mooring, the clarity of the water lets you see the reef with the naked eye at 3 to 5 m of depth. Hawksbill turtles, sea fans, boxfish and shoals of barracudas pass beneath the hull. You put on mask and snorkel straight from the aft platform, with no dinghy needed. It is the reference snorkeling stop of the leeward coast - to go further, our article on snorkeling in Guadeloupe by catamaran details the best conditions and the complementary spots.

Deshaies: why is this bay the best overnight anchorage on the leeward coast?

Deshaies offers one of the only truly sheltered overnight anchorages on the leeward coast, with a seabed of sand and rock at around 6 m of depth and good holding. The bay is protected from the southeast to the northeast by the east, which makes it a natural refuge for rough nights.

The Deshaies fishing village is reached by dinghy. The Botanical Garden can be visited on foot from the anchorage in less than twenty minutes. Grande Anse beach, two kilometers to the south, stretches over more than two kilometers of caramel sand - you can land there by dinghy in the morning before the beachgoers arrive. Watch out for currents running parallel to the coast and for gusts coming down from the hills in the late afternoon.

After a night in Deshaies, our crew members set off to explore Grande Anse beach at dawn, while it is still deserted. With a catamaran at anchor, you are on the spot at 7am without having to walk from a parking lot.

The sunset due west from the cockpit at Deshaies is one of the most cited moments in the feedback from our Caribbean cruise guests.

Marie-Galante: what is the difference between Anse Canot and Saint-Louis for an overnight anchorage?

Marie-Galante offers two main anchorages with very different characters: Anse Canot, wild and sometimes rolly, and Saint-Louis, calm and sheltered with moorings available. The choice depends on the swell of the moment and on what you are looking for in the evening.

Anse Canot - the wild anchorage

Anse Canot opens to the northwest of Marie-Galante facing a pristine beach lined with coconut palms. The seabed is sand and seagrass, and the holding is good. But with the prevailing easterly wind, the swell can wrap around the point and make the anchorage rolly, sometimes uncomfortable for the night. Snorkeling from the boat is possible. Anse Canot is the most beautiful anchorage on the island in visual terms.

Saint-Louis - the calm alternative

Saint-Louis, on the west coast, is the fallback option. The bay is sheltered, moorings are available and a dinghy pontoon makes it easy to land. The atmosphere is authentic: a fishing village, local agricultural rum bought at the quay. If the swell on Anse Canot is too pronounced on arrival, Saint-Louis is the logical choice for the night.

Marie-Galante remains the most pristine island of the archipelago. You take agricultural rum aboard and feast on deck in the evening - that is what our crews like best in the Caribbean cruises.

How do you plan a week to link these five anchorages?

A minimum of one week is needed to link Les Saintes, Petite-Terre, Marie-Galante and the leeward coast. The December-April season offers the most stable conditions, with regular trade winds and an almost nonexistent cyclone risk (the official cyclone season runs from June to November). This is the window during which Sailoe runs its Caribbean cruises from the Bas-du-Fort marina.

A circular 7-day itinerary is possible starting from Bas-du-Fort (Pointe-à-Pitre): day 1 toward Sainte-Anne, day 2 Petite-Terre as a half-day stop then Marie-Galante (Anse Canot), days 3 and 4 in Les Saintes (two nights to enjoy Terre-de-Haut and Pain de Sucre), day 5 heading up to Deshaies, day 6 the Pigeon islets, return to Bas-du-Fort on day 7. Clearance is done at the Bas-du-Fort harbor office on departure. Booking the moorings at Petite-Terre must be anticipated several days in advance, as the spots fill up quickly in high season.

If you want to discover Guadeloupe by catamaran without managing the anchorages, the bookings and the formalities yourself, our organized crewed cruises cover exactly this circuit: check out our Caribbean catamaran charter page and the details of our catamaran cruise in Guadeloupe offer to see availability and request a quote within 24 hours.

Frequently asked questions about anchorages in Guadeloupe

What is the best anchorage in Guadeloupe to spend the night?

The bay of Les Saintes (Terre-de-Haut), Deshaies and Saint-Louis on Marie-Galante are the three best-protected anchorages for the night. The bay of Les Saintes is the benchmark for its exceptional natural shelter and its life ashore. Deshaies is the best overnight shelter on the leeward coast.

Can you anchor freely at Petite-Terre?

No. Petite-Terre is a national nature reserve co-managed by the ONF and the TITÈ association. Anchoring is allowed on moorings only, booked online in advance on reservesdesiradepetiteterre.com. Access is limited to a maximum of 200 visitors per day. Day and overnight slots are available depending on the period.

Do you need a permit to anchor at the Pigeon islets in Bouillante?

No specific permit, but free anchoring is strictly forbidden. You tie up only on the National Park’s yellow moorings (boaters, boats under 12 m) or white moorings (professionals), by day only.

What is the best snorkeling spot in Guadeloupe accessible from a catamaran at anchor?

The Pigeon islets (Cousteau Reserve) and Petite-Terre are the two richest spots, accessible directly from the aft platform of a catamaran at anchor.

How long does it take to visit Marie-Galante by catamaran?

One night at Anse Canot or Saint-Louis is enough to discover the essentials: the agricultural rum distilleries, the wild beaches and the village. Two nights allow you to explore the island by bike or electric cart.

Guadeloupe is one of the most complete cruises in the French Caribbean: in a single week, you go from a bay ranked among the most beautiful in the world to a regulated nature reserve, from a coral reef accessible by swimming to a pristine island free of mass tourism. To extend the adventure, Dominica is reached in two hours of sailing from Deshaies - a stop our skippers recommend to crew members who want to see an active volcano in the Caribbean Sea. Our article on Dominica by catamaran details the anchorages and points of interest of this still little-visited island.

For any availability request, contact the Sailoe team at charter@sailoe.com or on +33 2 97 84 61 61. Reply within 24 hours.