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Review of Martinique Taxi Tour


queenL
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This was our first visit to Martinique. We were really excited because it is rare we get to visit a port we’ve never been to. We got off the ship about 9:30 and found a taxi tour. We haggled back and forth trying to negotiate a rate. They started off about $60pp and we were able to talk them down to $40pp. The tour lasted about 3-4 hours. We stopped at a Depaz Rum distillery and Sacre Coeur de Balata. If you have been to the one in Paris there is probably little need to see this one as they are very similar. We stopped at two lookout points for photos, travelled through St Pierre, a rainforest and stopped at a black sand beach. Martinique is a pretty island and we enjoyed our day here. It was difficult finding any tours. The tour that is popular on cruise critic was booked and it was slim pickings for other options. I did see buses from Caribbeanopentour.com at several of our stops. I got our tour guides (Erick) business card but I didn’t look at until I was back on the ship. It only has a Martinique mobile phone number listed: 06 96 25 02 76-06 96 32 28 12. I would use him again, but his English was limited. We had a fluent French speaker in our group so this wasn’t a problem for us but it might be a problem for some. All in all it was a nice way to spend the day.

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Thanks for your review. I am leaning towards a private tour in Martinique and don't know whether to book in advance. Was it easy to arrange the taxi tour? Were other drivers available. (I speak French if that makes a difference for your answer). Am I correct to assume that just your group went on the tour (rather than stuffing the cab full of strangers)?

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Thanks for your review. I am leaning towards a private tour in Martinique and don't know whether to book in advance. Was it easy to arrange the taxi tour? Were other drivers available. (I speak French if that makes a difference for your answer). Am I correct to assume that just your group went on the tour (rather than stuffing the cab full of strangers)?

 

There were quite a few drivers available. They were just to the left as you debarked the ferry. It was easy to arrange the tour. We did go by ourselves just because we shopped first and the other cruisers went to the taxi stand first.

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Hmmmm ... I've prearranged a tour with Thomas Vincent (he was mentioned on cc) ... He's $60/pp only if he has 8 in his van ... I only have 6 people right now and he's saying that will be $80/pp unless we come up with 2 more or he can find 2 more ... Going to all of the same places that you listed above except for 6 hours ... Supposedly he speaks fairly good English which I like since no one in our group speaks French.

 

I wonder if we should keep him or just find someone at the port for cheaper?

 

Was there anything that you would have like to have seen or stayed longer at? If we can customize the tour, I'd like to tell him ahead of time. TIA

 

Marianne

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Hmmmm ... I've prearranged a tour with Thomas Vincent (he was mentioned on cc) ... He's $60/pp only if he has 8 in his van ... I only have 6 people right now and he's saying that will be $80/pp unless we come up with 2 more or he can find 2 more ... Going to all of the same places that you listed above except for 6 hours ... Supposedly he speaks fairly good English which I like since no one in our group speaks French.

 

I wonder if we should keep him or just find someone at the port for cheaper?

 

Was there anything that you would have like to have seen or stayed longer at? If we can customize the tour, I'd like to tell him ahead of time. TIA

 

Marianne

 

Saving money is almost always a priority for me. I'd take my chances but that's just me. There were many taxi vans available at the pier. If you decide to find someone when you arrive, get off when you first dock. The taxis left as soon as they found enough people to take their tour. You will have more options available than you will if you wait. We were a party of 6 and we recruited 2 cruisers to our group. Most of the cab tours appeared to go the same route. We negotiated where we wanted to go. We only wanted to stay at the beach long enough to scoop up some black sand for my daughter to bring for show and tell. :) He asked if we were interested in spending more time. We said no. I wish that we had stayed longer in St Pierre. We kind of just drove through.

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Enjoyed your review. How long was the beach stop?

 

 

For those considering a tour, check the Balata Gardens website.

We went to St. Pierre, through the rain forest, to Balata Gardens, and then

to the church.

 

Just about 10 minutes. He asked how long we wanted to stay. I would work that out with the driver before the tour started.

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Saving money is almost always a priority for me. I'd take my chances but that's just me. There were many taxi vans available at the pier. If you decide to find someone when you arrive, get off when you first dock. The taxis left as soon as they found enough people to take their tour. You will have more options available than you will if you wait. We were a party of 6 and we recruited 2 cruisers to our group. Most of the cab tours appeared to go the same route. We negotiated where we wanted to go. We only wanted to stay at the beach long enough to scoop up some black sand for my daughter to bring for show and tell. :) He asked if we were interested in spending more time. We said no. I wish that we had stayed longer in St Pierre. We kind of just drove through.

 

I hear you about saving money ... I'm all about that! I am thinking that you paid about $40/pp for a 3-4 tour, so $60/pp for a 6 hour tour is comparable --- although, I would love to save more. We are still a party of 6 and I am hoping to get 2 more people from the ship (as we are the only ship in port that day) - or he'll get 2 more people ... we can always check with the drivers when we get to port and see if we get a better rate and then maybe negotiate. St. Pierre is where the volcano is, right? I'm thinking my group would want to spend more time there as well.

 

Thank you!!!

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  • 8 months later...
I hear you about saving money ... I'm all about that! I am thinking that you paid about $40/pp for a 3-4 tour, so $60/pp for a 6 hour tour is comparable --- although, I would love to save more. We are still a party of 6 and I am hoping to get 2 more people from the ship (as we are the only ship in port that day) - or he'll get 2 more people ... we can always check with the drivers when we get to port and see if we get a better rate and then maybe negotiate. St. Pierre is where the volcano is, right? I'm thinking my group would want to spend more time there as well.

 

Thank you!!!

I see you didn't post how things turned out, but if you booked with Vincent, as it sounds you were going to, then negotiated with others at the pier before loading into his van, shame on you! You're conducting business in an awful manner, the same way that tour operators get a bad name for leaving people stranded at the dock because they got a bigger group or whatever. Honesty and integrity are rapidly being lost in this world. I too, try hard to save money, but not at the cost of screwing someone over!
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I see you didn't post how things turned out, but if you booked with Vincent, as it sounds you were going to, then negotiated with others at the pier before loading into his van, shame on you! You're conducting business in an awful manner, the same way that tour operators get a bad name for leaving people stranded at the dock because they got a bigger group or whatever. Honesty and integrity are rapidly being lost in this world. I too, try hard to save money, but not at the cost of screwing someone over!

 

I would never commit to someone and then negotiate after .. Once I commit that's it. FYI, we were able to find 2 additional people prior to the cruise and Vincent and I communicated up until the date of departure. Vincent was an awesome tour guide and I would highly recommend his services for anyone visiting Martinique.

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  • 2 weeks later...
For Vincent's Tour how many people were in the van and did you find the roads really windy? Some tours warn of motion sickness. thanks

 

We had a total of 8 people ... Some of the roads were winding especially coming down the other side of the mountain, but it wasn't too bad ... Just side more in the middle or back of his van and not look out the windows ...

 

I highly recommend taking his tour ... Very knowledgeable, spoke good English, professional and overall nice man 😊

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