American flies to Guadeloupe from most major U.S. cities, changing planes in San Juan. If your layover in San Juan is an hour or less, the total travel time is about the same as the Air France flight, due to the Haitian vacation. Many of the more scenic and less visited locations are accessible only by car. Guadeloupe has wonderful, well maintained roads. I drove extensively, and did not ever see a pot hole.
Some roads are scenic and very interesting drives.
Terre twists along the cliffs on the sea side before swooping down into the town of Deshaies. I have concluded the the extra money spent on the roads in Guadeloupe must have come from the Guard Rail Fund, as there aren't any. In four days of driving, I did not see any police, unless they were undercover as skinny cows. One thing is for sure - no one has ever received a speeding ticket on Guadeloupe. Traffic is quite fast on the open roads.