One of my favorite places in Guadeloupe is Ilet Caret. It’s a tiny sand bank in the middle of the Caribbean Sea that has really clear water and a couple of palm trees. Paradise on earth! It’s also a popular place for locals to park their private boats and have an island party. If you go there on a weekend, you may see upwards of 30 boats parked on all sides of the island and you’ll hear a cacophony of music all around you. So if that’s not your scene, you should go during the week when it’s more quiet.
I’ve visited it four times now, and can’t wait to go back. Love it!
Sadly, it looks like Ilet Caret has taken a turn for the worse since my last visit about six months ago according to a recent French-language news article. The island is disappearing, and it’s happening even faster than anyone thought!
Take a look at the new aerial photo published in the article. Sad, eh??
So does this mean that Ilet Caret is no longer worth visiting? Of course it doesn’t. Quite the contrary – it means the time to visit is NOW, since we never know how much longer we’ll have this island beauty in our Gwada lives.
And even if nearly all the palm trees have fallen victim to the waves and the rising seas, the island’s white sand and clear turquoise water still remain.
If you are coming to Guadeloupe with the cheap-as-chips Norwegian Air flights, I highly recommend keeping Ilet Caret in mind. Visiting it makes for a really fun day out!
One of the easiest ways to visit the island is to take an organized speedboat day trip from St. Rose, Basse Terre, or to travel there from the Marina Bas-du-Fort onboard the King Papyrus catamaran.
Either way, go before it’s too late! I suspect that sooner or later, Ilet Caret will suffer the same fate as Ilet la Biche (pictured below). From that islet only this wooden shack remains on top of the water. It’s still an interesting place to visit on a kayak or a speedboat, but it’s not quite as picturesque as Caret Island.
If you want more info about Ilet Caret and Ilet la Biche and the ways to visit them, my new e-book The Quick Gwada Guide has the details (along with 60+ pages of information about Guadeloupe).
Writer On The Move 
How do I Get this book. Can Impaynwith Visa as I Don’t have either of the suggested.I need the book!!
I will email you!
Hello! I’m hoping to get the book too! I will be going to Guadeloupe at the end of March. Staying 3 nights in Gosier and 4 nights in Deshaies. Please email me how to get the book when you get a chance 🙂 Thanks!
Just emailed you! 🙂 If others are interested, they can send me an email at gwadaguide@gmail.com. Merci!
wow, seems if they really wanted to keep that island, they could artificially support it, since it is so tiny.
They have tried planting new palm trees on the island but so far they have not grown big… the storms always take them down before they grow up. But yeah, I guess they could do other things to support this island but it is not a huge priority to Guadeloupe at the moment. There are bigger problems to deal with, like big masses of seaweed floating to the island’s shores (and all over the Caribbean)…