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Les Saintes

Two small Guadeloupe islands, beginner reefs, a conditional deep seamount and a genuine freediving school.

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Destination Guide Sources For Les Saintes

Reference links used to build and maintain this guide.

34 sources • Updated Oct 30, 2026

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

Guadeloupe Islands Tourism Board: dive sites - Official overview names Sec Pate and its exposed, experienced-diver character; its generic N2 threshold is less strict than the named local operator criteria.
La Dive Bouteille: center and seasonal closure - Operator advertises local day-boat diving and posted closure June 1 to October 15, 2026; the page does not independently prove a resumed service after October 15.
La Dive Bouteille: individual dive sites - Named local site profiles, depths and diver qualifications, including the stricter Sec Pate requirements and shallow Open Water reef alternatives.
La Dive Bouteille: exploration service and price - Listed 9:00 and 14:00 departures and EUR 65 equipped exploration with EUR 15 Sec Pate supplement; operations and prices must be reconfirmed.
La Dive Bouteille: equipment and vessel - Operator equipment inventory, supplied gear, computer surcharge and small-group boat description.
La Dive Bouteille: introductory scuba and training - Intro dive program, starting at age eight, and stated medical/guardian conditions, subject to individual suitability and current operator policy.
Freediving Les Saintes: freediving and snorkeling programs - Local Terra-de-Haut provider advertises AIDA 1/2/3, initiation, guided snorkeling and night snorkeling with indicative prices; availability not independently checked.
FRS Express des Iles: 2026 Les Saintes service - Operator-published seasonal timetables, crossing times, between-island connections, fares, no vehicle transport and cancellation conditions.
CTM Deher: schedules and fares - Official carrier timetable and routes, including Trois-Rivieres, Terre-de-Haut and Terre-de-Bas; price list is dated 2022 and is not a verified 2026 quote.
Meteo-France Guadeloupe: regional climate - Dry season January-April; wetter season June-November; tropical-cyclone exposure and regional sea temperature around 26-29 C. Not a forecast for a particular dive day.
Guadeloupe tourism: Pain de Sucre beach - Officially described Terre-de-Haut shore snorkeling cove.
Guadeloupe tourism: Pain de Sucre access and safety - Approach path and unsupervised swimming status; coral-friendly visitor rules.
Guadeloupe tourism: Pompierre beach - Sheltered bathing/snorkeling bay; explicitly states boats may not enter or moor.
Guadeloupe tourism: Anse Rodrigue - Additional Terre-de-Haut snorkeling cove, walk-in access and caution about manchineel trees.
Guadeloupe tourism: Terre-de-Haut visitor guide - Fort Napoleon, walking, beaches and visitor services on Terre-de-Haut.
Guadeloupe tourism: Terre-de-Bas heritage tour - Terre-de-Bas handicraft, Bois d Inde, Salako and Poterie Fidelin cultural route.
Guadeloupe tourism: Poterie Fidelin - Historic pottery ruins on Terre-de-Bas and access information.
Guadeloupe tourism: walking routes - Morne Morel and Terre-de-Bas loop descriptions, terrain and approximate durations.
Guadeloupe tourism: Grande Anse, Terre-de-Bas - Atlantic-exposed Grande Anse, swimming discouraged, and stated local turtle nesting May-July.
Guadeloupe tourism: Petite Anse, Terre-de-Bas - Terre-de-Bas village shore and unsupervised bathing conditions.
Office francais de la biodiversite: Agoa sanctuary - Official marine mammal restrictions, including the 300 m no-approach rule for unauthorized visitors across activities.
Meteo-France and OFB: humpback biology - Humpback winter reproduction in tropical waters; no Les Saintes-specific guarantee of sightings or whale swimming.
France-Visas: overseas territory entry - Guadeloupe is outside the Schengen Area and visa rules for the overseas territory differ by nationality/residency status.
FRANCE-VISAS: Schengen area scope - Official list of French overseas territories including Guadeloupe excluded from Schengen.
Terre-de-Haut commune: tourism tax 2026 - Municipality states 2026 per-night tourist tax including 5% of pre-tax nightly per-person unclassified lodging cost, capped EUR 4.80; rates vary by lodging classification.
MedSubHyp: Guadeloupe hyperbaric facility - French diving medicine association lists hyperbaric unit at Pointe-a-Pitre hospital and urgent on-call capability; contact details may change.
French Ministry of the Sea: rescue contacts - 15, 18, 112 for land emergencies, 196 for marine emergency, VHF channel 16 for incidents at sea.
Guadeloupe Airport: airlines - Official airport operator confirms Pointe-a-Pitre regional/international air gateway.
French aeronautical information: Les Saintes airfield - Confirms Terre-de-Haut airfield TFFS exists; does not prove a bookable scheduled passenger flight.
Guadeloupe tourism: currency and ATMs - Euro, general card acceptance and fewer ATMs in satellite islands.
Electrical Safety First: Guadeloupe electricity - 230 V, 50 Hz and primary C/E socket types.
France public health: Fond du Cure 2025 - French bathing-water agency classifies Terre-de-Haut Fond du Cure as poor in 2025; not evidence of a specific 2026 closure.
Destination hero photo by Sonnate (historical) - Baie de Terre de Haut (les Saintes, Guadeloupe) et.jpg. Photo: Sonnate / 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 Viktor Ruppert - Aerial view of green trees and body of water during daytime. Unsplash License (https://unsplash.com/license). Photographer: https://unsplash.com/@vktr_rpprt. Cropped and resized for the cover.