Transport - Les Saintes
Air
Daily flight from Pointe-à-Pitre, 180F one way, 1545, 1645, also Mon-Sat 0800, 1415, 15 mins, Air Guadeloupe.
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Road Bus
mini-buses take day trippers all over Terre-de-Haut; tour of the island 52F, bus up to Fort Napoléon, 10F (or 25 mins walk). No transport after dark.
Bike hire
There are few cars, unlike on Guadeloupe. Scooter rental, 200F/day, also bicycles, several central locations, 80F/day. It is not necessary to hire a scooter for the whole day, as you can walk to most places, but it may be nice to have one in the afternoon to go to the beach at Pompierre or Figuier. Scooters are banned from the town 0900-1200, 1400-1600 and have to be pushed. At the Mairie you can get some very basic information and a poor map.
Ferries
There are daily boats from Trois Rivières (Guadeloupe) to Terre-de-Haut via Terre-de-Bas (40F one way, 30 mins, 70F return: depart Trois Rivières between 0800 and 0900, and 1500 and 1645, different each day; depart Terre-de-Haut 0545-0630, 1500-1615, T 92 90 30/99 53 79) and from Pointe-à-Pitre (80F one way, 160F return, children 85F, about 1 hr, daily 0800, return 1600). L’Express des Iles from La Darse, Pointe-à-Pitre, T 83 12 45 to Marie-Galante and Les Saintes daily 0800 all year, from Marina Saint-François, T 88 48 63, Tues, Wed, Thur, 0800, Dec-May, Tues, Thur, 0800, July-August. Transport Maritimes Brudey Frères, T 91 60 87/90 04 48, from Marina Saint-François to Les Saintes Mon, Fri, 0800 Dec-May, and from Darse, Pointe-à-Pitre to Les Saintes and Marie Galante daily 0800. Boat from Basse-Terre Mon, Wed, Thur and Sat 1200 and 1205, 45 mins, 50F one way (buses from Pointe Noire on W coast drop you at ferry dock). There are also day charters from Pointe-à-Pitre and Saint-François Marina in high season, T 88 41 73, Paradoxe Croisières. It can be a rough crossing, not suitable for those prone to seasickness. The ferry between Terre-de-Haut and Terre-de-Bas runs about 5 times a day (0800, 0930, 1330, 1500 and 1600, 25F, 15F for children, return) passing the Pain de Sucre and stopping briefly at the Bois Joli (except 0800 and 1500 boats).
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