What's on in Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), Guadeloupe through the year

Busy — Careme, the dry season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Carnaval

  14–18 FebCarnivalCrowdedBook early

  Parades every Sunday from Epiphany, growing until the five days at Mardi Gras. Pointe-a-Pitre takes the big Sunday parade, and Vaval burns on Ash Wednesday with the crowd turned out in black and white. Source ↗

Still on: Careme, the dry season (1 Dec – 30 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Carnaval, Careme, the dry season

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Carnaval (14–18 Feb), Careme, the dry season (1 Dec – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Careme, the dry season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Sargassum on the windward coast

  1 Mar – 30 Sep · usuallySargassum season

  Grande-Terre's Atlantic beaches and the shallow Petit Cul-de-Sac take the worst of it, and the gas as it rots blackens silver and closes seafront schools for days. Basse-Terre's leeward coast is generally clear. Source ↗

Still on: Careme, the dry season (1 Dec – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — Careme, the dry season

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Sargassum on the windward coast (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually)), Careme, the dry season (1 Dec – 30 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Sargassum on the windward coast (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Hivernage and hurricane season

  1 Jun – 30 Nov

  The wet half of the year is hivernage and the storm risk sits inside it, worst from mid-August to early October. Maria passed close in 2017 and the airport is the island's single point of failure. Source ↗

Still on: Sargassum on the windward coast (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Tour cycliste de la Guadeloupe, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Tour cycliste de la Guadeloupe

  31 Jul – 9 AugMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  Ten stages around both wings of the island at the turn of August, followed by a caravan and most of the population. Roads close for hours at a time and hotels along the route fill. Source ↗

Still on: Sargassum on the windward coast (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually)), Hivernage and hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Tour cycliste de la Guadeloupe, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Sargassum on the windward coast (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually)), Hivernage and hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Tour cycliste de la Guadeloupe (31 Jul – 9 Aug)

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Sargassum on the windward coast (1 Mar – 30 Sep (usually)), Hivernage and hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Hivernage and hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Hivernage and hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Busy — Careme, the dry season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Careme, the dry season

  1 Dec – 30 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  The dry half of the year, called careme here. The Soufriere trail and the Carbet falls are walkable, the sea flattens, and the flights from Paris run full from Christmas to Easter.