As an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

, Guadeloupe depends on several systems of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

. The two islands that make up Guadeloupe proper - Grande-Terre and

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Bastè, ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefecture'' (capital city) of Guadeloupe. The city of Basse-Terre is located o ...

- have an extensive road network, while water and air transportation connects to the outer islands as well as international destinations.

Road transport

Guadeloupe uses

right-hand traffic Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to ...

. Of the 2,082 km of roads in the region, the majority (1,742 km) are paved and are well-maintained. As Guadeloupe is a French-administered territory, road signs and directions are written in French. The two main islands of Grande-Terre and

are connected by the N1 and N11 highways. Winding roads are common, and in Basse-Terre, the mountain roads have especially sharp turns. Karu'lis operates several

bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

across Grande-Terre (including direct services to and around Basse-Terre), and a small route runs on the north-eastern island of

La Désirade La Désirade is an island in the French West Indies, in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. It forms part of Guadeloupe, an overseas region of France. History Archaeological evidence has been discovered that suggests that an Amerindian p ...

Rail transport

There are no public railways in Guadeloupe. A public railway line between Pointe-à-Pitre and Le Moule (Grande-Terre) was proposed but was later scrapped. Some plantations operate private railways. There exists a tourist railway that is operational(as of 2014) from Beauport, Port Louis to de Poyen. The construction of a tramway was planned with two lines: one between the Abymes and the Memorial in Pointe-à-Pître; the other between Baie-Mahault and Gosier. This project was later abandoned due to High-service buses being preferred over the tramway.

Water transport

The container terminal Port de Jarry, in Pointe-à-Pitre, is Guadeloupe's primary port for cargo and

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...

passengers. It handles more than 95% of Guadeloupe's trade. Basse-Terre city contains a smaller sea port which also handles passengers. Ferries connect Guadeloupe proper to the outer islands of

Marie-Galante Marie-Galante ( gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Mawigalant) is one of the islands that form Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. Marie-Galante has a land area of . It had 11,528 inhabitants at the start of 2013, but by the start of 2018 ...

, and

Îles des Saintes The Îles des Saintes (; "Islands of the Female Saints"), also known as Les Saintes, is a group of small islands in the archipelago of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. It is part of the Canton of Trois-Rivières and is divided in ...

, as well as other Caribbean ports.

Air transport

Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport or Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport (french: link=no, Aérodrome de Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet or ''Aéroport Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes'' "Caribbean Hub") is an international airport serving Pointe-à-Pi ...

is the primary gateway for international travel into and out of Guadeloupe. It offers direct and chartered/seasonal flights to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

the Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, North America and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. It is a

hub airport An airline hub or hub airport is an airport used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations. Hubs serve as transfer (or stop-over) points to help get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the ...

for

Air Caraïbes Air Caraïbes () is a French airline based in the French West Indies, with its headquarters in Les Abymes in Guadeloupe. The airline's main base of operations is at Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe, with a focus city at Mar ...

References

{{Americas topic, Transport in