French West Indies

French West Indies travel blog

French West Indies or French Antilles are the French islands of the West Indies archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. It refers to the eight territories currently under French sovereignty in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean. Guadeloupe alone comprises 5 of these 8 territories. Then we have Martinique, Saint Martin & Saint Barthélémy.

In addition, some of the islands of the present and former British West Indies were once ruled by France.

Which islands have I already visited on French West Indies?

I visited the Dominican Republic in 2015 (it was my first trip outside of Europe!). Suffice to say that I was amazed by the color of the water, the landscapes and the culture. Unfortunately I didn’t yet have Instagram and I therefore have no pretty photos however I have a lot of memories in mind.

I then realized one of my dreams last march, a catamaran cruise around several islands (Martinique, Carriacou, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Union island etc.) Without a doubt my favorite trip. It was timeless, I never felt so free.

And I have recently; in December 2019; visited Guadeloupe. I made a small road trip around the island, took the boat to go to the neighboring islands etc. So I think I did a general tour of the Antilles although I still have to visit Turks and Caicos Islands.

French West Indies travel blog

Which island did I prefer?

It’s not complicated, I fell in love with Union Island & St Lucia (which is by the way the only state in the world to bear the name of a woman). These are two English-speaking islands. It must be said that I have a preference for the islands where people don’t speak my language. To start with, I find it more exotic and more tropical.

Which island did I like the least?

I don’t like to speak in negative of a visited place or a trip because for me, everything starts from a state of mind. If the weather is bad, you will tend to like the place less than if you had full sun. Same if you have a problem at the airport, with a hotel or with a specific person. I just tend to feel less free on French-speaking islands.

French West Indies travel blog

Which islands do I want to explore again?

Without hesitation St Lucia. I only spent 2 days on this island and I really loved the atmosphere. On one side of the island you have the volcano, the botanical garden, a calm and local town. On the other hand, you have Marigot Bay, a luxurious city where the most luxurious boats in the world are moored. Luxury hotels, bars where everyone celebrates positively. St Lucia can please everyone and I would really like to go back there for 10 days to go around the island.

Do you recommend French West Indies?

Obviously I recommend this part of the world. The water is magnificent as well as the weather. It’s the perfect place to rest but also have fun, to discover other cultures or to go diving.

On the other hand, I would advise you the English-speaking part. I really preferred these islands over the French-speaking islands. When I say French West Indies, I’m taking up all of the Antilles.

I will tell you a little more about these islands in the next blog posts.

French West Indies travel blog

Love,

Sandinourhands,

Share:

2 Comments

  1. Cyrill
    28 April 2020 / 21 h 07 min

    Ça donne envie d’aller voir Saint Lucie ! Je vais l’envisager dans mes futures voyages post Covid.

    • Sandinourhands
      Author
      1 May 2020 / 13 h 08 min

      Oh oui franchement une de mes îles préférées après Bali évidemment ^^

Leave a Reply