What Time Is It in Guadeloupe Right Now?

Four hours behind UTC, always. Guadeloupe keeps Atlantic Standard Time at UTC−4 every day of the year, with no summer time and no seasonal switch. Subtract four hours from UTC and that is local time across the archipelago; the converter above does the same sum against any city you name.

• Offset: UTC−4, unchanging

• Zone name: Atlantic Standard Time (AST)

• Seasonal change: None

• Islands on separate clocks: None

Guadeloupe Time Zone Quick Reference

The directive excludes itself. Guadeloupe is a department and region of France, part of the European Union and inside the euro area, so EU law applies here - except the one piece of it that governs clocks. The summer-time directive states in terms that it shall not apply to the overseas territories of the member states, and its preamble gives the reason as geographical. Metropolitan France therefore switches twice a year under a rule that expressly stops at the Atlantic, while Guadeloupe holds a single figure from January to December. That differs from the Dutch Caribbean, which sits outside EU territory altogether: here the union's law reaches the islands and simply declines to touch the hour.

Local Time Against the Other French Departments

Three other departments, three different answers. The overseas departments no more share a clock with each other than with Paris. Martinique keeps the same UTC−4, so those two read identically; French Guiana sits an hour ahead; Réunion is eight hours ahead, and Mayotte further still. None changes seasonally, so all those gaps are fixed - which makes Paris the only French reference point on this page whose distance from the islands moves at all.

Why One UTC Offset Covers the Whole Archipelago

Several islands, one reading. Guadeloupe is a cluster rather than a single landmass, and every part keeps the same figure at the same instant: Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre either side of the Salée River, plus Marie-Galante, Les Saintes and La Désirade. Ferries between them need no arithmetic at either end.

Two cells read the same, for different reasons. Fort-de-France matches in both columns because Martinique holds the identical fixed offset. New York matches only in summer, climbing to UTC−4 each spring on its own seasonal clock and dropping back each autumn. Cayenne, Bogotá and Saint-Denis never vary either, each holding a fixed offset. Paris and Los Angeles are the rows that move, and neither moves from this side.

Two directions, two kinds of gap. Administrative business runs through Paris, five hours ahead in the French winter and six in the French summer, so a French office opens in the middle of the local night and closes early in the local afternoon - a workable overlap only in the local morning, and narrower for half the year. North America is easier: level with New York through the American summer, an hour ahead in winter. Ferries and regional flights publish departures in local time throughout, which here means one clock at both ends. Always confirm schedules directly with the operator.

Does Guadeloupe change its clocks with France?
No. Metropolitan France switches twice a year; Guadeloupe holds UTC−4 throughout, so the gap to Paris is five hours in the French winter and six in the French summer.

Is Guadeloupe in the European Union?
Yes, as an outermost region, with the euro and EU law applying. The EU summer-time rule is the exception: it states that it does not apply to overseas territories.

Is Guadeloupe the same time as Martinique?
Yes, in every week of the year. Both hold a fixed UTC−4.

Is it the same time as New York?
Through the American summer, yes. Once New York returns to standard time in autumn, Guadeloupe is an hour ahead.

Do Marie-Galante and Les Saintes keep island time?
No. Every island in the archipelago reads exactly as Pointe-à-Pitre and Basse-Terre do.

Do timetables here use the 24-hour clock?
Yes. Ferry, bus and airline schedules use 24-hour notation, so an evening crossing reads 20:15. Dates run day first, as in France.

Related Guides

• Time in France

• Time in Martinique

• Time in French Guiana

• Time in Réunion