Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
19.8km²
Area
44km
Coastline
276m
Highest point
1,306
People
29°C
Warmest sea
September
620km
To the mainland
When to go to La Désirade
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in September (29 °C) and coolest in February (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island of Lesser Antilles
La Désirade is an island in France. It belongs to Lesser Antilles. It covers 19.8 km², with 44 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 276 m. About 1,306 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 620 km away.
Getting there
- Maryse Condé International Airport (PTP)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 52 km in a straight lineCar hire at PTP airport (Pointe-à-Pitre)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesLigne Saint-François - La Désirade
- 620 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on La Désirade.
- 12beachesPlage à Fanfan, Plage à Fifi, Plage des Galets and 9 more
- 4viewpoints
- 1lighthousesPhare de la Pointe-Doublé
- 2ferry terminals
- 2marinasPort de Beauséjour
- 2named peaksMorne Souffleur, Morne Cybèle
- 4ruins and archaeological sitesAncienne Cotonnerie and 3 more
- 10hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 12restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
La Désirade in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside La Désirade, each with its own numbers.
19beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
28.9°C
Plage à Galets
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
19 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Plage à Galets28.9°C
- Plage à Fanfan28.9°C
- Anse à Muletscove28.9°C
- Anse des Galetscove28.9°C
- Anse d'Échellecove28.9°C
- Anse du Bord de la Mer au Fraiscove28.9°C
- Anse du Grand Nordcove28.9°C
- Petit Bateaucove28.9°C
11 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 113 m above the sea. 76 % of it is below 200 m.
- 35 %0–50 m
- 41 %50–200 m
- 24 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Beauséjour1,716 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Night low (°C) | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Sea (°C) | 27 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 41 | 32 | 36 | 51 | 83 | 96 | 115 | 130 | 134 | 161 | 130 | 67 |
| Wet days | 14 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 16 |
| Sun h/day | 7.9 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 7.8 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 7.5 |
| Wind (km/h) | 26 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 25 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −0.2 | ±0.0 |
| 2023 | +0.1 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.7 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.6 | +1.3 | +1.7 | +1.6 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +1.2 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Grande-Terre
France595 km²130 m40 km away
Dominica
Dominica787 km²1,447 m105 km away
Marie-GalanteFrance160 km²200 m49 km away
Basse-Terre IslandFrance850 km²1,467 m68 km away
Montserrat
United Kingdom102 km²1,042 m132 km away
Terre-de-Haut IslandFrance4.5 km²303 m76 km away
Antigua
Antigua and Barbuda272 km²402 m117 km away
Terre-de-Bas IslandFrance6.8 km²292 m81 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1024682) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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