HEALTH TIPS
Here are some important medical recommendations and health tips to ensure your holiday is a success.
Vaccines and mosquitoes
No vaccines are required for travelers coming from Europe. However, for safety’s sake, plan to update your vaccinations with your physician a few weeks before your departure.
If you’re arriving from a tropical country, you’ll need to present an international certificate of vaccination against smallpox.
Useful tip: There is no malaria or yellow fever in Guadeloupe!
Nonetheless, all travelers at least one year old who are traveling from infected areas in Africa or tropical regions of the Americas will be required to submit a certificate of vaccination against yellow fever.
Guadeloupe is located in the tropics. Therefore, use insect repellent to protect against insect bites and problems they may cause, such as dengue fever.
Digestive disorders
Tap water is safe to drink throughout Guadeloupe. Shops and restaurants offer high-quality local mineral water, as well as a wide variety of water produced by the municipality.
With regard to food, as a precaution we recommend that you wash all vegetables, peel fruit and opt for food that has just been cooked.
Transportation of protected plants
Any transport of protected plants into or out of Guadeloupe is subject to strict regulations. If you have any questions, contact the customs authorities.
Poisonous plants and animals
Be sure that when it comes time to relax, you don’t lie down under a manchineel tree! The tree’s sap can cause severe burns. But don’t panic! The trees are always marked with a large sign.
If you decide to go harpoon fishing, stay away from certain fish including barracudas, moray eels, groupers and jacks. They contain toxins from coral that produce ciguatera, a form of food poisoning experienced by, among others, the great explorer and navigator James Cook.
Useful tip: Black sea urchins are toxic! Only white sea urchins are edible. If you can’t tell them apart, ask a local.