Sources · Destination Guide

La Desirade

Small-group diving, reef-backed beaches and wild geology on Guadeloupe's quieter eastern island.

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Destination Guide Sources For La Desirade

Reference links used to build and maintain this guide.

37 sources • Updated Oct 30, 2026

Written by DiveJourney. Built from public sources and local operator knowledge. Last updated Oct 30, 2026.

Guadeloupe Islands Tourism: L'ilot Plongee Desirade - Official tourist-board directory: Beausejour location, introductory dives, courses, nine described locations, six-person maximum, telephone. Listing is not proof of a particular departure.
Guadeloupe Islands Tourism: dive sites - Official island-specific section identifies Le Tuyau at Pointe des Colibris, coral-covered pipe and historic anchors; distinguishes it from other islands.
Mairie de La Desirade: local visitor activities - Municipality independently names L'ilot Plongee and gives contact; page is an older directory, not a live timetable.
Manawa: La Desirade introductory dive - Third-party listing for same island dive provider; entry-level product, swim prerequisite, includes equipment, indicative starting EUR 60 price, not a verified quote.
COMADILE official ferry timetable and fares - Operator advertises Saint-Francois to La Desirade sailings and EUR 39 adult, EUR 25 child return reference fares. Daily times vary; live ticket inventory not verified.
Saint-Francois municipal maritime station - Municipal station lists Comadile and other operators. Its older generic schedule differs from some currently displayed company timetables.
La Desirade municipal ferry information - Municipality identifies Saint-Francois as regular sea departure point and warns about major holidays; historical indicative departures require operator confirmation.
La Desirade visitor site: transport - Longstanding local guidance gives an approximate 45-minute ferry crossing; older flight and ferry claims are not treated as live service evidence.
Guadeloupe Islands Tourism: La Desirade - Official regional island overview: inhabited island, beaches, trails and local-scale itinerary.
Guadeloupe Islands Tourism: things to do on La Desirade - Official guide identifies Plage a Fifi and Souffleur water recreation, eastern lighthouse, trails, cultural and historic stops.
Guadeloupe Islands Tourism: Petite Riviere beach - Official listing: Baie-Mahault family beach with reef barrier and picnic shelters; not a guarantee of daily swimming conditions.
Guadeloupe Islands Tourism: Ideal Location - Official listing of local rental vehicles near Beausejour ferry landing, advance confirmation recommended.
Reserve managers: Petite Terre rules - Separate protected islets: Terre-de-Haut closed to visitors, mooring reservations, regulated activity, scuba authorization, and conservation controls.
French state: Petite Terre national reserve - Guadeloupe environmental administration, updated April 2026, distinguishes Petite Terre reserve and management.
Reserve managers: La Desirade geological reserve rules - Rules for the island's distinct geological reserve: no fossil or rock collection, off-route motor vehicles, camping or damaging protected habitats.
Legifrance: 2011 La Desirade geological reserve decree - Legal basis and restrictions for geological national nature reserve on inhabited La Desirade, not a generic marine-park entry tax.
Reserve managers: natural heritage - Manager documents La Desirade iguanas and turtle nesting March-November, carefully distinguished from Petite Terre lagoon wildlife.
Guadeloupe Islands Tourism: Lesser Antillean iguana - Protected endemic iguana occurs on La Desirade; observation is not guaranteed.
Meteo-France Guadeloupe: regional climate - Regional climate authority: generally dry January-April, rainy June-November, transition months; sea temperatures approximately 26-29 C, not island-specific dive visibility.
Meteo-France Guadeloupe: October-December 2026 seasonal outlook - Published September 28, 2026: outlook for drier-than-average late 2026 conditions, showing that climatological seasons are not hard guarantees.
RCI: Beausejour sargassum hydrogen sulfide alert, August 2026 - August 5, 2026 report of prefecture/ARS H2S alert at Beausejour following sargassum strandings. Historical alert does not establish current exposure.
Mairie de La Desirade: useful local phone numbers - Municipal list of local doctor, pharmacy and dispensary; contacts should be reconfirmed, none is a substitute for emergency dispatch.
French government business registry: La Desirade dispensary - Government registry shows a dispensary establishment active in September 2026, not continuous emergency capability.
French maritime ministry: coastal and sea emergencies - Official 15 for SAMU, 18 fire/rescue, 112 general emergencies, 196 CROSS maritime emergency, VHF channel 16 at sea.
French underwater and hyperbaric medicine association: Guadeloupe - Lists Pointe-a-Pitre hospital hyperbaric unit; operational availability must be coordinated by emergency services.
DAN: why chamber availability cannot be assumed - DAN directs injured divers to immediate EMS assessment rather than independent chamber travel; chamber availability is not guaranteed.
France-Visas: short-stay visas for overseas territories - Guadeloupe is outside Schengen; a Schengen short-stay visa alone does not authorize entry where a separate overseas visa is required.
Guadeloupe Islands Tourism: currency and cash - Euro, bank-card use, small-island ATM scarcity; bring some cash for small businesses.
La Desirade island guide: post office cash machine - Historical community information locating ATM at the post office in Beausejour; verify access and cash availability rather than assume more machines.
Electrical Safety First: Guadeloupe power and plugs - Electrical safety organization states 230 V/50 Hz and C/E plugs.
Orange Caraibe: La Desirade fiber availability - Carrier advertises rollout of fiber to La Desirade, but not a guarantee of coverage at any individual lodging address.
Guadeloupe Islands Tourism: Festival de La Fet a Kabrit 2026 - Island festival documented April 3-5, 2026. Dates for later years require independent checks.
La Desirade community tourism and events - Local island community site describes fishermen's celebration usually in August, local plants and animals, with no guarantee of future event dates.
Guadeloupe Islands Tourism: flights and airlines - Updated 2026 airport and airlines to Guadeloupe; no verifiable scheduled La Desirade air service from this source.
La Desirade municipality: modes of transport - Local airfield exists, but municipality describes private or prearranged aircraft; its dated airline information must not be read as current scheduled flights.
Destination hero photo by Grook Da Oger (historical) - Désirade.jpg. Photo: Grook Da Oger / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Cropped and resized. Cropped image retains the same license.
Destination hero photo by Kris-Mikael Krister - Representative photo. Diver and submerged anchor beside a Caribbean fringing reef, photographed in Kralendijk, Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands. Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license). Photographer: https://unsplash.com/@kmkr. Cropped and resized for the cover.