A local SIM is rarely the best deal for a holiday in Guadeloupe, and for many visitors it is not even the natural option, because the flagship prepaid line is written for people who live here. Orange Caraibe's prepaid Card offer costs 15 euros, and the operator's tariff sheet for the Guadeloupe market states that it is reserved for residents of the French Antilles and Guiana. Its data recharges are reasonable once you have the line, with 10 GB for 15 euros over thirty days, but the starter card plus that first recharge comes to about 30 euros, roughly 35 dollars, where Nomad sells 10 GB on the same Orange network for 19 dollars. Add the EU roaming rules, which let anyone on a European contract use their own SIM at home rates, and the local card narrows to a few real use cases: long stays, people who need a French number for bookings and callbacks, and anyone relocating to the islands for work.
What This Guide Covers
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Orange, SFR, Digicel and Free in the Archipelago
Four retail brands sell mobile service across the islands of Guadeloupe, and they sit on three separate radio networks. Orange Caraibe is the incumbent and the longest-established operator across the French Antilles. SFR Caraibe is the consumer brand of Outremer Telecom, the name under which it holds its licences. Digicel took over the former Bouygues Telecom Caraibe business in 2006, and Free Caraibe, the regional arm of the Iliad group, launched in 2022 using radio equipment it shares with Digicel. A Free phone and a Digicel phone in Pointe-a-Pitre are therefore usually talking to the same masts.
Measured performance favours the first two. nPerf's June 2024 barometer placed SFR Caraibe and Orange joint first in Guadeloupe and left Digicel and Free at the foot of the table, and its report covering April 2025 to March 2026 found SFR Caraibe leading mobile internet across Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana. All four took part in the February 2025 frequency awards run by the regulator ARCEP, which handed out spectrum in the 700 MHz, 900 MHz and 3.4 to 3.8 GHz bands.
Picking a network by island
On Grande-Terre and around Pointe-a-Pitre, all four networks are adequate and price is the only real question. If you plan several nights on Les Saintes, Marie-Galante or La Desirade, favour Orange or SFR, the two networks with the stronger test results, and accept that no brand reaches every cove and hilltop on the small islands. On the eSIM side, only Nomad connects through Orange; Airalo and Holafly both use Digicel, and none of the travel brands sells access to SFR.
Card Orange: The Prepaid Line Written for Residents
Orange Caraibe calls its prepaid product the Card Orange. The tariff sheet for the Guadeloupe market dated October 2024 prices it at 15 euros for the SIM alone, bundling 5 euros of call credit and 1 GB of data, both valid for ten days from the first call, text or connection. The first recharge you add earns a 10 euro credit bonus valid for fifteen days. Calls to local numbers cost 0.30 euros a minute, texts to local mobiles are unlimited while you keep at least 1 euro of credit, and the line works across Orange's local zone, which covers Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthelemy.
The same sheet adds one line that matters to visitors: the offer is reserved for customers living in the French Antilles and Guiana. We could not establish how strictly boutiques apply that rule to a tourist holding a passport, so plan on the possibility that a store will ask for a local address and turn you away without one. French prepaid lines must in any case be registered to an identity document at the point of sale.
If you do get a Card Orange
Add an internet recharge straight away rather than relying on the bundled 1 GB, which expires after ten days. If you want to keep the number for a future trip, note that after credit runs out a Card line survives nine months without a top-up, or three months after the smallest recharges. Dial #123# to check your balance and #124# to recharge by card, or use the Orange et Moi Caraibe app.
Orange Recharge Prices in Euros, Beside the eSIMs
The figures below come from Orange Caraibe's recharges page and its Guadeloupe tariff sheet, checked in September 2026. We could not find current published prepaid prices for Digicel or SFR Caraibe in Guadeloupe; Digicel's web store lists contract plans only, so those two are left out rather than guessed.
| Option | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Card Orange starter | 15 euros | SIM with 5 euros credit and 1 GB for 10 days, residents only per the tariff sheet |
| Orange internet recharge | 3 euros | 1 GB, 10 days, local zone, Europe and the DROM |
| Orange internet recharge | 5 euros | 2 GB, 10 days |
| Orange internet recharge | 15 euros | 10 GB, 30 days |
| Orange internet recharge | 50 euros | 40 GB, 60 days |
| Orange Recharge Max | 10, 15 or 20 euros | 1, 3 or 5 GB for 5, 10 or 15 days, plus unlimited local calls, local zone only |
| Orange classic recharge | 30 or 50 euros | Call credit with a 5 GB or 10 GB data bonus, valid 60 or 90 days |
| Free Caraibe 150 Go | 9.99 euros a month, plus 10 euro SIM | 150 GB in the local zone, monthly subscription |
| Nomad eSIM | 19 dollars, about 16 euros | 10 GB, 30 days, on Orange |
| Airalo eSIM | 13.50 dollars, about 11.50 euros | 5 GB, 30 days, on Digicel |
Set against each other, a first month on a Card Orange with 10 GB of data costs about 30 euros, close to twice Nomad's price for the same allowance on the same network. The local line catches up in the second and third month, when each further 10 GB is another 15 euros with no starter card to pay for, so the break-even point sits somewhere around a two-month stay. Free Caraibe is cheaper than anything in the table, but it is a monthly contract that the operator markets to people living in the region, and cancelling it requires notice.
Inside the EU Zone, With Two Exceptions Next Door
Guadeloupe is an overseas department of France and an outermost region of the European Union, which puts it inside the roam-like-at-home rules. A Dutch, German, Spanish or Irish line should therefore work here at domestic prices, within its normal fair-use limits, and a French mainland plan treats the islands as part of its overseas allowance. That is why the Orange internet recharges above advertise use in Europe and the DROM as well as locally: the regulation runs both ways.
Before you rely on your own SIM
1. Find your operator's roaming zone list and check that Guadeloupe appears in the EU or Zone 1 group rather than under the Caribbean.
2. Look up the roaming data cap on your plan, which on large or unlimited plans is often a fraction of the domestic volume.
3. French mainland customers should read the DOM line of their tariff sheet, which states the separate overseas allowance.
4. On Les Saintes and the southern shore of Marie-Galante, set network selection to manual and choose a Guadeloupe operator, so your phone does not drift onto a Dominican network billed outside the EU.
5. If the allowance will not last the trip, top it up with a small eSIM rather than a local line.
Two neighbours behave differently, and both were part of Guadeloupe until 2007. Saint-Martin, now its own collectivity, is still an EU outermost region, so European SIMs keep working on the French side of the island. Saint-Barthelemy left the EU on 1 January 2012, so the roaming regulation does not cover it and your operator can charge what it likes there. Check your operator's terms before taking the short flight on from Pointe-a-Pitre. Travellers from the UK should remember that British contracts have been outside the regulation since Brexit, so any Guadeloupe inclusion is a commercial choice by the operator.
Where to Buy a Line and Top It Up
Do not plan on buying a SIM at the airport. The official shop directory for the Maryse Conde terminal lists a Carrefour Express, a pharmacy, a currency exchange and a La Poste cash machine on the arrivals level, but no operator boutique. The nearest large retail cluster is the Milenis shopping centre in Les Abymes, a few minutes from the terminal and a stop on the AE5 bus line, and the Destreland mall in Baie-Mahault, beside the Jarry commercial zone, has a wider spread of shops. Operator stores in Guadeloupe commonly close for lunch, roughly between noon and two, so an afternoon arrival can leave a short window.
Recharging on the outer islands
Les Saintes, Marie-Galante and La Desirade have far fewer shops than Grande-Terre, and some sell recharge tickets only for certain brands. Top up before you board at the Bergevin terminal in Pointe-a-Pitre, at Trois-Rivieres or at Saint-Francois. Orange lets you recharge by bank card by dialling #124#, through the Orange et Moi Caraibe app or online, and Flash recharges of any amount from 5 to 100 euros are sold by authorised retailers. Remember that an app recharge still needs signal, which is not guaranteed on the ferry itself or on the hill tracks of Terre-de-Haut.
Bring the same identity document you travelled on. A French prepaid line has to be registered to its holder, and a boutique will photocopy or scan your passport or national ID card before activating it.
Which Way to Go for Your Trip
For most itineraries the decision comes down to length of stay and whether you need a French phone number.
A local line makes sense when
An eSIM makes sense when
If an eSIM fits, the Guadeloupe eSIM guide compares verified prices from all three providers, and the Guadeloupe airport guide explains what to expect on arrival at PTP. The Pointe-a-Pitre guide covers the ferry terminal and city WiFi. Anyone combining Guadeloupe with Dominica, Antigua or a cruise should read our Caribbean island hopping guide, since only Airalo's regional pack includes Guadeloupe. The eSIM Finder sizes a plan to your dates, and the Holafly review explains when unlimited data is worth paying for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a tourist buy an Orange Caraibe prepaid SIM in Guadeloupe?
Possibly, but not by right. Orange Caraibe's Guadeloupe tariff sheet reserves the 15 euro Card Orange for residents of the French Antilles and Guiana, and we could not confirm how consistently boutiques enforce that with visitors. You will need a passport or national ID card in any case, and should be ready for a request for a local address. If you do not need a French number, an eSIM on the same Orange network is cheaper for a first month and skips the question entirely.
How much data do Orange's recharges give in Guadeloupe?
The internet recharges are 3 euros for 1 GB and 5 euros for 2 GB, both lasting ten days, 15 euros for 10 GB over thirty days, and 50 euros for 40 GB over sixty days. They work in the local zone, in Europe and in the other overseas departments. The Recharge Max bundles at 10, 15 and 20 euros add unlimited local calls with 1, 3 or 5 GB, but their data only works locally.
Is there a SIM card shop at Pointe-a-Pitre airport?
Not according to the airport's own shop directory, which lists a supermarket, a pharmacy, a currency exchange and cash machines on the arrivals level but no phone operator. The Milenis shopping centre in Les Abymes is the closest retail cluster, reachable by taxi or on the AE5 bus. Most visitors are better off arriving with an eSIM installed or, for EU contracts, simply turning on roaming.
Will my Italian SIM work on Marie-Galante and Les Saintes?
Yes, under the EU roaming rules, which apply throughout Guadeloupe including its outer islands, subject to your plan's fair-use cap. The practical issue is signal, not billing: service is dependable in the main villages and weaker on hillsides and remote beaches. Near the southern coasts, switch to manual network selection so your phone stays on a Guadeloupe operator rather than roaming onto a network from Dominica, which is outside the EU.
Does Free Caraibe have a cheap plan visitors can use?
Free Caraibe's 150 GB plan costs 9.99 euros a month plus a 10 euro SIM, and covers Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthelemy as its local zone. It is a monthly subscription rather than a prepaid pack, and the operator targets people who live in the region, so it suits someone relocating here rather than a two-week holiday. It also runs on the grid Free shares with Digicel, which trailed Orange and SFR in nPerf's 2024 tests.