In short
Guadeloupe is a butterfly: Basse-Terre, volcanic and mountainous, carries La Soufrière at one thousand four hundred and sixty-seven metres and a rainforest designated a national park. Grande-Terre, flat and limestone, carries the beaches.
The two wings meet at a bridge. Crossing from one to the other changes the landscape completely in twenty minutes.
What it really costs
As in Martinique, food costs thirty to forty per cent more than on the mainland. It is the item that surprises people most.
A car is essential, including to reach the Grande-Terre beaches from Pointe-à-Pitre. Buses exist but do not serve the sites.
What nobody tells you
Pointe-à-Pitre is the port and economic centre, not a town to stay in. Le Gosier, Sainte-Anne and Saint-François hold the accommodation.
The southern islands — Marie-Galante, Les Saintes, La Désirade — are reached by ferry from Pointe-à-Pitre or Trois-Rivières. They are quieter and often cheaper than the Guadeloupe mainland.
Water cuts are a chronic and documented problem in parts of the territory. It is worth checking on the commune where you are staying.