The Americans’ Guide to Martinique

The American’s Guide to Martinique

We decided to go to Martinique purely because we found insanely cheap tickets direct from Boston. Norwegian Airlines had a non-stop flight from Boston to Fort de France for $220 which almost sounded too good to be true, so we jumped at the opportunity. Prior to stumbling upon these flights, we knew absolutely nothing about the island, but after our week-long adventure we consider ourselves borderline-experts and wish to share our new-found knowledge with any other American travelers whose curiosity was piqued by the absurdly cheap tickets they discovered on Kayak or Expedia. Our trip ended up being a fun and memorable, but it wasn’t without it’s fair share of mishaps and lessons learned. These things are bound to happen when four American’s with a collective French vocabulary that consists of bonjour, baguette, and les miserables spend a week on a French island. We hope anyone reading this can learn from our successes and our failures.

First things first. Where on earth is Martinique??

Martinique is an overseas region of France. This basically  means they use the Euro, French is the official language, and there is an abundance of croissants and crepes with which to stuff one’s face. Tourism on Martinique is targeted 100% at visitors from mainland France, so there are none of the typical resorts that you would see on many of the other Caribbean islands that cater to American tourists. This is nice because it creates a more authentic experience without having to deal with huge crowds pouring off of cruise ships. At the same time, unless you want to stay at one of the small handful of Euro-centric resorts on the island, you’ll have to take a more DIY approach to your stay.  We stayed at an Airbnb that we absolutely loved, and went to a nearby market to get most of our food.

Important Things to Know

Since people on the internet seem to be obsessed with lists these days and don’t have the attention span to read anything in paragraph form, here are what we think are the most important things to know for any Americans considering a vacation in Martinique.

1. Very few locals speak English. Only French. The signs, menus, etc. will all be in French. So either invest in Rosetta Stone or be prepared to have some communication struggles. Since we can get by in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, this was the first time in several years we visited a destination where we flat-out could not speak the local language. It was challenging at times, but we managed to make it work.
2. Martinique is a mountainous, volcanic island, and many of the beaches have darker sand due to the island’s volcanic origins. While Martinique is extremely beautiful, there are very few beaches with white sand and crystal clear water like you might expect to see in places like the Bahamas.
3. The Caravelle Peninsula is where you should spend a good amount of your time. You won’t see this advice in many guide books, but just trust us. This is the most laid back part of the island with the best, most secluded beaches.
4. L’Etang is arguably the best beach on the island (you guessed it…it’s on the Caravelle Peninsula). It’s more rugged than the more popular Les Salines, but much less crowded and equally beautiful in its own way.
5. Driving here can be a challenge. The island is absolutely beautiful because of the mountainous landscape, but at certain times you might as well be driving through the Himalayas. Also, almost all rentals will be manual transmission which is no fun when stuck in traffic on the side of a mountain. You can specifically request an automatic transmission rental, but the default option will likely be manual.
6. Try to hike Mt. Pelee on a clear day if possible and go early in the morning. This is easier said than done since the summit is almost always covered in a blanket of thick fog, but leaving at dawn is your best shot at being able to see the views from the top. Views or no views, hiking the third deadliest volcano in the world is still an incredible experience.
7. Expect some nudity on the beaches. It is a French island after all.
8. If you’re there during Carnival, expect everything to shut down by mid afternoon. Stock up on food, because depending where you are on the island, you probably won’t find a place to eat unless some of the locals invite you to their bbq. Our first dinner consisted of potato chips and “orange drink” because we were ill-prepared after our flight landed in the evening.
9. While France is a world-renowned culinary destination, Martinique certainly isn’t Paris. The food is by no means bad, but we weren’t blown away by the dining options. We found a couple restaurants that we really liked, but overall it was mediocre.
10. When in doubt, just say you’re Australian. This is kind of a joke, but there was one instance when an officer directing traffic thought we were Australian for some reason, and even though he couldn’t speak English, his face lit up like a Christmas tree and he waved us right through. Lets be honest. Everyone loves Australians. Americans…not so much.

We drove just about every square inch of the island and hit all the hot spots in the process. Here are a handful of the places on Martinique worth visiting

    1. Les Salines

Located a few miles outside of St. Anne in the southeast corner of the island, Les Salines is the most popular beach in Martinique. Everything you’ll read online will tell you to go to Les Salines if you’re going to go anywhere at all. There’s no doubt that this large palm tree-lined beach is incredibly picturesque, but like most popular beaches, it gets crowded. Les Salines reportedly gets over 2 million visitors per year. We would recommend going for a day or a half-day but the real hidden gems with smaller crowds are on the Caravelle Peninsula.

     2. Le Diamant

The quaint seaside town of Le Diamant is named after the prominent rock feature just off the coast (Diamond Rock). The town is quiet, with a few small restaurants, shops, cafes and hotels on the main road along the water. Although the beach in town is nothing to write home about, the area off the coast of Le Diamant is popular among divers.There is also a museum entirely dedicated to seashells in case you aren’t satisfied with those you find on the beach.

Read More: Top Things to do in Martinique 

     3. Anses d’ Arlet

This is a charming little town with a beautiful church right on the beach and nice views of the surrounding hills. The Church of St Henry of Les Anses-d’Arlet is easily one of the most recognizable and most photographed sites in Martinique.  While the town is very beautiful, there is not much in the way of shops or restaurants. There were a lot of people snorkeling when we passed though town.

     4. Grande Anse

Grande Anse is a small but fairly lively part of the island. There is no shortage of places to eat right on the water with your feet in the sand. Great spot to stop for lunch.

     5. Robert and Francois

There are several boat tours that leave from Robert or Francois that take you around the small islands and crystal clear waters of the eastern side of Martinique. We took a half day tour that included some snorkeling and a final stop at Josephine’s Bath. Josephine’s Bath is located between several islets and is basically an area of waist deep water and white sand. Pretty much all of the tours that leave Robert and Francois end up at Josephine’s Bath and everyone hangs out in the shallow water and drinks local cocktails provided by the tour guide. All of the boats congregate around the baths, many of which are playing local music. It’s basically a little party in the middle of the water.

6. Mt. Pelee (see full post)

7. Caravelle Peninsula (see full post)

The one place on the island we did spend much time was the capital, Fort de France. I’m sure there are plenty of things to do and see there, but we wanted to avoid the “big city”.

Summary

Martinique is a beautiful island and a great place to visit for a budget Caribbean getaway; however, we recognize that it’s not for everyone. We don’t mind doing things ourselves and being a little more adventurous, but if you like Caribbean resort life, you might be better off visiting a different island. If you like a nice mix of adventure and relaxation and aren’t afraid to feel like a fish out of water sometimes, go for it. If you do it right, Martinique is an amazing place to visit.