eSIM for Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is a driving destination. The butterfly-shaped pair of islands is joined by two bridges over the Rivière Salée, and almost everyone picks up a rental car at Pointe-à-Pitre Pôle Caraïbes because there is no ride-hailing app and bus timetables are thin outside the Pointe-à-Pitre and Baie-Mahault area. That means a phone doing real work: navigation to a gîte down an unmarked track in Deshaies, the ferry schedule to Terre-de-Haut, and the tide and weather before a dive at Malendure.
A FairSIM eSIM connects to Free or Digicel on 4G. Neither network is marked 5G on the coverage sheet we buy from, so plan for fast 4G in the towns and along the coast roads, not 5G. You install the plan over Wi-Fi at home, land with data already working, and skip the shop queue on a day when you are also collecting a car and driving on the left-hand side of nothing in particular.
One local rule to know: Guadeloupe is a French overseas department and part of the European Union, so it sits inside the EU roaming zone. If you carry an EU or French line, your home allowance usually applies here at domestic rates, subject to your plan's fair-use cap. If you are coming from the US, the UK, Australia or anywhere outside the EU, your carrier treats Guadeloupe as long-haul roaming and a travel eSIM is the cheaper route.
Guadeloupe eSIM plans
Wholesale rates in US dollars, with nothing added at checkout. Buy in the FairSIM app and the plan is on your phone in seconds.
How long is your trip?
All plans. Pick a trip length to narrow the list.
Coverage in Guadeloupe
- 4G LTE
- 5G
- FreeIliad's Caribbean network, launched in the French Antilles in 2022. Good 4G around Pointe-à-Pitre, Baie-Mahault, Le Gosier and the south of Grande-Terre, with 2G and 3G as fallback.
- DigicelThe Caribbean operator covering Guadeloupe and the French Antilles, with 4G on the main island and useful reach on Marie-Galante and Les Saintes. 2G and 3G as fallback.
Typical speed: Typical 4G speeds in the built-up areas: comfortable for maps, video calls and streaming. We do not publish a median figure for Guadeloupe because we have no source we trust for it.
Coverage follows the population and the coast: Pointe-à-Pitre, Baie-Mahault, Le Gosier, Sainte-Anne, Saint-François, Basse-Terre town and the Deshaies to Bouillante coast road are solid. Expect dead spots in the Parc national rainforest, on the Soufrière and Carbet Falls trails, in the Grands Fonds hills, and in patches on La Désirade and the interior of Marie-Galante.
How much data do you need in Guadeloupe?
It depends on how you travel. Find your trip below, then pick the plan that matches. You can always top up in the app.
Beach and gîte week on Grande-Terre
A rental car, a villa near Sainte-Anne or Saint-François, and slow days between beaches.
Why data matters: Maps to unsigned driveways, owner check-in instructions on WhatsApp, restaurant hours that change without notice, and evening streaming from the terrace.
- 7 days
- 5 GB
- 14 days
- 10 GB
- 30 days
- 20 GB
Hiking and waterfalls on Basse-Terre
La Soufrière, the Carbet Falls, the Trace des Crêtes and the rainforest road.
Why data matters: Trail routes downloaded in advance, Météo-France alerts before you start, and photos that upload once you are back on the coast road. Signal drops inside the park.
- 7 days
- 5 GB
- 14 days
- 10 GB
- 30 days
- 20 GB
Island hopping by ferry
Les Saintes, Marie-Galante and La Désirade as day trips or overnights.
Why data matters: Ferry timetables and mobile tickets, scooter rental bookings on Terre-de-Haut, and weather checks when the crossing gets rough.
- 7 days
- 3 GB
- 14 days
- 5 GB
- 30 days
- 10 GB
Diving and watersports
The Cousteau Reserve, kitesurfing off Sainte-Anne, kayaking in the Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin.
Why data matters: Dive centre bookings, wind and swell apps refreshed every morning, and large video files off the GoPro.
- 7 days
- 10 GB
- 14 days
- 20 GB
- 30 days
- Unlimited
Remote work or a long winter stay
A month in a studio at Le Gosier or Deshaies between calls.
Why data matters: Personal Hotspot when the rental Wi-Fi stalls, video meetings across the five or six hour gap to Europe, and cloud backups.
- 7 days
- 20 GB
- 14 days
- Unlimited
- 30 days
- Unlimited
How FairSIM works
- 1
Pick a destination and a plan
Choose the country or region and the data you need. The price you see is the price you pay.
- 2
Tap install
On iPhone (iOS 17.4+) the eSIM installs in one tap, no QR code. Do it at home while you still have Wi-Fi.
- 3
Land and connect
Turn on data roaming for the FairSIM line when you arrive. Your plan starts when it first connects.
Connectivity tips for Guadeloupe
Install the eSIM at home over Wi-Fi, then turn on the line and data roaming after landing at Pointe-à-Pitre. Validity normally starts at the first connection to a local network.
Book a rental car before you arrive, particularly between December and April. Without one you will be stuck around Pointe-à-Pitre.
Download Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre in Google Maps offline. Signal disappears in the rainforest and on the Soufrière trails.
Check Météo-France vigilance levels every morning from June to November. Red or orange alerts close trails, beaches and ferry routes.
Ferries to Les Saintes and Marie-Galante sell out in high season and on public holidays; buy in the app the day before and arrive 45 minutes early.
Shops, pharmacies and offices close for a long lunch and much of Sunday. Fill up with fuel and cash on Saturday morning.
Water supply interruptions happen in parts of the islands, so keep a few bottles in the car and ask your host how the local schedule works.
Keep your home SIM active for one-time bank codes, with its own data roaming switched off, and let the FairSIM line carry the data.
Apps you will actually use
- Google Maps the base map for both islands; download Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre offline before you drive into the park.
- Waze widely used locally for the Pointe-à-Pitre and Jarry traffic, which is genuinely bad at rush hour.
- WhatsApp how gîte owners, dive shops and boat skippers actually reply. Calls and messages both work normally here.
- Val'Ferry ferries from Trois-Rivières and Pointe-à-Pitre to Les Saintes and Marie-Galante, with tickets on the phone.
- Jeans for Freedom / L'Express des Îles the other ferry operators, including the longer runs to Dominica and Martinique.
- Météo-France the official vigilance alerts for cyclones, heavy rain and rough seas; the only forecast that matters in season.
- Airbnb and Booking.com most of the accommodation stock is small gîtes and villas booked through these.
- Google Translate menus, road signs and paperwork are in French only outside the resorts; the camera mode helps.
There is no Uber, Bolt or Lyft in Guadeloupe. Taxis exist but are booked by phone and are expensive, especially at night and on Sundays. Buses on the Karu'lis network serve the Pointe-à-Pitre and Les Abymes area; beyond that, a rental car is effectively mandatory. Book the car before you fly in high season.
Can you rely on free Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi is normal in hotels, gîtes and cafés, and usually good enough for email and a call. It is also the thing that fails most often in a rural villa, where the connection may be a single consumer line shared by several units and the router is not yours to reboot. Beaches, ferry terminals and the national park have nothing. Treat Wi-Fi as a bonus and the eSIM as the connection you rely on when the trail, the boat or the rental car needs a map.
Local SIM card or eSIM in Guadeloupe?
Prepaid SIMs are sold by Free and Digicel in the shopping centres, above all Destreland at Baie-Mahault, plus outlets in Pointe-à-Pitre, Le Gosier and Basse-Terre. Airport retail is limited and the hours follow the flight schedule rather than your arrival. You will need a passport to register, and shops close for a long midday break and most of Sunday, which is when a lot of travellers land.
A FairSIM eSIM roams onto the same Free and Digicel 4G towers, but it is installed at home over Wi-Fi and live the moment you switch on data roaming at Pôle Caraïbes. There are 4 plans on sale for Guadeloupe, all data-only with Personal Hotspot included, so you keep your home number reachable for bank codes on the physical SIM. If you are continuing to Martinique, Dominica or Saint-Martin, you buy the next plan in the same app instead of hunting for another shop.
Good to know before you land in Guadeloupe
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Plug type
- Type C and Type E (French two-pin with earth socket)
- Voltage
- 230 V, 50 Hz
- Emergency number
- 112 for everything; 15 medical (SAMU), 17 police, 18 fire, 196 sea rescue
- Language
- French is official; Guadeloupean Creole is widely spoken. English is common in hotels and dive shops, less so elsewhere
- Time zone
- UTC-4, no daylight saving
- Capital
- Basse-Terre (prefecture); Pointe-à-Pitre is the main commercial city and airport hub
Guadeloupe eSIM questions
Does eSIM work in Guadeloupe?
Yes. An unlocked eSIM-capable phone connects to Free or Digicel with a travel eSIM. On iPhone that means XS, XR or newer; most recent Pixel, Galaxy and other Android flagships support eSIM too.
Which network will my Guadeloupe eSIM use?
Free or Digicel. The app shows which network each plan uses. Both run 4G on the main islands, with 3G and 2G fallback in remote areas.
Is there 5G in Guadeloupe?
Not on the networks FairSIM uses here. Free and Digicel are listed for 2G, 3G and 4G on our coverage sheet, so plan for 4G LTE speeds.
Do WhatsApp and FaceTime calls work?
Yes. Guadeloupe follows French and EU rules, so there is no restriction on internet calling. Messages, voice calls and video calls all work over the eSIM data.
Guadeloupe is in the EU, so do I still need an eSIM?
If your line is French or from another EU country, your domestic allowance usually applies here at no extra cost, so check your plan first. If your line is from the US, the UK, Australia, Canada or anywhere outside the EU, roaming is charged as long-haul and an eSIM is far cheaper.
Can I use Personal Hotspot?
Yes. Every FairSIM plan supports Personal Hotspot, with no separate cap. Useful when the gîte Wi-Fi drops.
How much data do I need for a week in Guadeloupe?
A driving and beach week typically runs 3 to 6 GB. Add more if you stream in the evenings, work remotely, or upload dive and drone footage.
Will the eSIM work on Les Saintes and Marie-Galante?
Generally yes, with 4G in the villages and ports on Terre-de-Haut and around Grand-Bourg. Expect weaker or no signal on the hill tracks and on the quieter parts of La Désirade.
Does the same eSIM cover Martinique or Saint-Martin?
No. Each is a separate destination plan even though they are all French territories. Buy the second plan in the same app before you travel on.
What is an eSIM?
A SIM card built into your phone. Instead of a plastic chip, you download a profile. Every iPhone since the XS has one next to the physical SIM slot, so your home number stays put while FairSIM supplies the data.
Is my phone compatible?
FairSIM works with eSIM-compatible, carrier-unlocked iPhones: the XS, XR and everything newer, on iOS 17.4 or later for the one-tap install with no QR code. iPhones bought in mainland China do not support eSIM at all, even when unlocked. Not sure yours is unlocked? Check Settings, General, About, Carrier Lock, or ask your carrier. The full list is on the How it works page.
When should I install my eSIM?
Before you travel, while you still have Wi-Fi. Installing does not start your plan; the validity typically starts when the eSIM first connects to a network at your destination.
Do FairSIM eSIMs come with a phone number?
No. FairSIM eSIMs are data-only by design, which keeps costs low. For calls and texts, your physical SIM stays active so you keep your existing number, and WhatsApp, FaceTime and iMessage work over data.
Traveling beyond Guadeloupe?
Get your Guadeloupe eSIM in the app
Install before you fly, track your data live, and top up in seconds if you need more.
iPhone XS or later · iOS 17.4+ for one-tap install
