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Guadeloupe at 40 to 50m is the bracket's French Antilles middle leg, structured around Pointe-à-Pitre on Grande-Terre, the Iles des Saintes south of Basse-Terre, and Marie-Galante to the southeast. A 40 to 50m motor yacht the corridor in winter 2026 (December through April) runs $170,000 to $255,000 per week plus 30 percent APA, takes 8 to 12 guests, and almost always embarks Pointe-à-Pitre's Marina Bas-du-Fort with a corridor connection south to Dominica and north to Antigua. The active 40 to 50m fleet using Guadeloupe through any given winter is roughly 14 yachts, most operating under French commercial-yacht charter rules with charter VAT structured on the Antilles regime.
Why the bracket works Guadeloupe as a base and a corridor
Guadeloupe is a butterfly-shaped pair of islands, with Grande-Terre on the eastern wing carrying Pointe-à-Pitre and Le Gosier, and Basse-Terre on the western wing carrying the Soufrière volcano, Deshaies, and the leeward coast. The bracket works the leeward Basse-Terre coast (Deshaies and Pigeon Island anchorages), the Riviere Salée passage between the wings (bridge clearance limits the bracket to morning openings only, advance reservation through the harbour master), the Iles des Saintes (Bourg des Saintes and Pain de Sucre anchorages), and the Marie-Galante leg (Saint-Louis and Capesterre anchorages). The cruising distance from Pointe-à-Pitre south to the Saintes is 18nm, the Saintes to Marie-Galante is 15nm, and the Antigua leg north is 50nm.
Marina Bas-du-Fort at Pointe-à-Pitre is the French Antilles' deepest mid-size yacht marina at the bracket and the only commercial alongside option on Guadeloupe for 40 to 50m. The marina takes a small number of bracket yachts at the outer pontoon with notice. Otherwise the bracket holds at anchor in the Riviere Salée approach or at the Gosier outer roads.
Weekly rate map for winter 2026
Rates below are high season (mid-December through mid-April) for winter 2025-26 and winter 2026-27, before APA at 30 percent and crew gratuity at 12 to 15 percent. Guadeloupe is a French overseas region, the charter operates under French commercial-yacht VAT rules, and the standard structuring runs the same 12 percent effective rate as Saint-Martin's French side and the rest of the French Antilles, before any extra-territorial-waters reduction. Confirm the VAT structuring in writing through the broker at contract; the framework changed in the 2023 to 2024 cycle and prior assumptions do not carry.
| LOA bracket | Motor yacht (low to high) | Sailing yacht and motor-sailor (low to high) |
|---|---|---|
| 40 to 43m | $170K to $200K per week | $145K to $175K per week |
| 43 to 47m | $195K to $225K per week | $170K to $200K per week |
| 47 to 50m | $225K to $255K per week | $195K to $230K per week |
Christmas and New Year weeks (21 December through 5 January) price at a 30 to 50 percent premium. Off-peak windows in mid-January and the second half of April drop the headline 20 to 25 percent. Guadeloupe's all-in week runs roughly 8 to 12 percent below the equivalent St Barths week at the same LOA because the destination draws less stationary villa-anchor demand.
What is in the bracket in this bracket
Cabins. Five to six. The corridor pattern runs across Christmas family weeks, February couples weeks, and President's friend-group weeks, and the 5-cabin Caribbean standard with a 6-cabin convertible at the upper end runs the inventory.
Crew. Nine to thirteen. The French Antilles crew bench at the bracket is workable, anchored on the St Martin Dutch and French sides, with strong French-language coverage on chef and chief stewardess positions. The bracket benefits from a French-speaking captain for the Riviere Salée bridge coordination and the Marie-Galante harbour-master clearance. Confirm captain prior Guadeloupe season at inquiry.
Tenders. A primary 9 to 11m fast tender plus a 6 to 7m beach-landing secondary. The Iles des Saintes beach landings at Pompierre and Crawen run on sand approaches, and the Pigeon Island dive site sits on a 5 to 6 metre approach. The secondary is operational, not optional.
At-anchor stabilizers. Mandatory. The Marie-Galante west-coast anchorage takes residual swell from the Atlantic windward side through January and February, and the Riviere Salée outer hold sees crosswind chop on building tradewind days. The at-anchor differential decides whether the stationary nights work.
Helipad. Touch-and-go on the upper end. Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport sits 6 kilometres from Marina Bas-du-Fort and the helicopter is not the primary transfer mode. The helipad earns its keep for guest rotation into the Iles des Saintes (Terre-de-Haut has an airstrip but limited fixed-wing) and for evacuation-grade coverage on the Marie-Galante leg.
The standard weekly itinerary
The seven-night Guadeloupe-titled charter at the bracket reads as a Saintes-anchored circuit. Day one: Pointe-à-Pitre embarkation with overnight at Gosier outer or at Marina Bas-du-Fort alongside. Day two: position south to the Iles des Saintes with overnight at Bourg des Saintes. Day three: Pain de Sucre and Pompierre Beach with overnight at the Saintes. Day four: position to Marie-Galante with overnight at Saint-Louis. Day five: Marie-Galante windward stops at Capesterre and Anse Canot, return to the Saintes. Day six: Basse-Terre leeward run to Pigeon Island for the Cousteau dive site, with overnight at Malendure or Deshaies. Day seven: return to Pointe-à-Pitre.
A 10 to 14 night paired charter extends the corridor north to Antigua (English Harbour) or south to Dominica (Portsmouth and Roseau). The southbound run to Dominica is the structurally stronger corridor at the bracket because the Dominica deep-water diving and the rainforest shore programme add a meaningful product layer to the French Antilles week.
Embarkation logistics
Marina Bas-du-Fort at Pointe-à-Pitre takes the bracket on the outer pontoon with advance notice through the marina office. Berth depth runs at 3 to 4 metres on the outer pontoon, which constrains the upper end of the bracket and any deep-draft Med-built yacht. Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet International Airport handles direct fixed-wing from Paris CDG and Orly via Air France and Air Caraibes, and inter-island from Antigua, St Martin, and Martinique. Crew rotation on the corridor runs via St Martin in most cases.
What we would pass on
Standalone Guadeloupe seven-night charters at the bracket without the Iles des Saintes anchored programme. The Saintes are the destination's structural feature and a week routed primarily around Basse-Terre's leeward coast compresses materially after day three. Build the Saintes for three to four of the seven nights.
Riviere Salée passage attempts without the morning bridge opening confirmed in writing. The Pont de la Gabarre clearance window runs once daily on morning slots in most periods, and a missed slot adds a 25nm circumnavigation south of Basse-Terre to reach the leeward coast. Confirm the bridge schedule against the planned itinerary at contract.
Yachts above 3.5 metres draft for the Marina Bas-du-Fort alongside. The outer pontoon depth runs at 3.0 to 4.0 metres and the upper end of the bracket loses the alongside option, which constrains the embarkation flexibility on the Pointe-à-Pitre side.
Hurricane-season weeks. Guadeloupe took heavy hit from Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the rebuild cycle is structurally complete, but the hurricane-season risk pattern remains. Weeks priced into June to October at the bracket carry weather risk that the Mediterranean reposition does not.
Inventory
The live 40 to 50m Guadeloupe corridor inventory updates weekly through the winter season.. For broker-side inquiry, see the brokers pillar and the Caribbean charter weekly rates report.