A Small-Group Journey to Guadeloupe in February 2027: What to Expect
There's one departure to Guadeloupe on our calendar for February 2027: six seats, and a very deliberate reason behind the dates. Carnival. If you've been wondering whether a small-group journey is the right way to discover the island, here's what nine days with us actually looks like, and why we chose exactly these dates.
Nine days, six travellers, one host
Forget the big bus and the guide reading from a script. Here it's a small group, six travellers at most, moving through the island in a private vehicle with a dedicated driver, sleeping in two handpicked places rather than shuffling between generic hotels: a private villa in Basse-Terre for the first five days, then a beachside guesthouse in Grande-Terre for the last four. Breakfast every morning, three lunches, and the two dinners that open and close the trip. The rest of the table is yours to choose.
Carnival in Basse-Terre, the days this departure is built around.Why these exact dates
Guadeloupe's Carnival runs from early January to Ash Wednesday, and the 5 to 13 February 2027 dates fall right on its final, biggest week. Dimanche Gras on 7 February, Lundi Gras on 8 February in Basse-Terre, Mardi Gras on 9 February in Pointe-à-Pitre: three days when the whole island stops and the streets belong to the parade. We didn't plan a Carnival trip and hope the calendar would cooperate. We built the calendar around Carnival.
What the nine days actually look like
The first half unfolds in Basse-Terre, a wild, mountainous stretch of the island: a welcome Ti-Punch and a Creole dinner to start, then an artisanal cacao workshop, a distillery tour, and a swim under a waterfall. Day three is the hike up La Soufrière, Guadeloupe's still-active volcano, with the rest of the afternoon left free. Then Carnival takes over: the parade in Basse-Terre, then in Pointe-à-Pitre, with a stroll through the spice market somewhere in between.
The second half moves to Grande-Terre and the Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin nature reserve: snorkelling among old shipwrecks, a Creole aperitif taken standing in the water, a cooking workshop, a glassblowing workshop, and a traditional gwoka drumming session before the closing dinner. It ends the way these journeys should: not with a monument, but with a table shared.
The Soufrière hike is a real hike, not a stroll. A marked path through cloud forest, steep in places, up to 1,467 metres. No technical experience needed, but bring proper walking shoes and a rain layer: the summit stays wet and windy even on a clear morning by the sea.
What's included, in plain terms
Eight nights across the two stays, the private vehicle and driver for the whole trip, breakfasts every day plus three lunches and the two dinners already mentioned, every activity in the itinerary, airport transfers both ways, entrance fees and local taxes. Not included: your international flight, travel insurance, a visa if your nationality needs one, drinks and tips, meals not otherwise mentioned, and optional extras. Canadian passport holders don't need a visa for stays up to 90 days. We confirm the rules for other nationalities in writing before you book.
If you're thinking about it
This departure starts at $2,431 per person, based on double occupancy. Travelling solo, you'd share with another participant (same gender), or pay a supplement for your own room. Six seats is a real limit, not a marketing line, and dates like these, over Carnival, tend to fill before the quieter ones do.