Our visit to Martinique

There's been so little information available, I hope this might be helpful to others.

We were on Martinique last week. The dock Is a long, clean, dedicated cruise ship facility. The industrial port is located elsewhere. There are English-speaking tourist ambassadors and guides dressed in brightly colored uniforms in the port area, and vendors have set up tents immediately adjacent to the pier. A tourist ambassador making announcements on a PA system said all prices were in USD. Walking through, we saw prices in USD and euros, but didn't buy anything, so don't know if all the vendors took dollars. I expect they all spoke at least some English, it feels as if, at least in the port area, they are making a concerted effort to appeal to cruise ship passengers.

If you walk past the tents, there is a parking area with taxis for taxi tours. We were approached by an English-speaking driver named Bob. He had a 7 passenger vehicle, already had 2 passengers, and was looking to fill his van. He offered the 5 of us a tour for 40 euros each. When we explained we had only 170 euros, he agreed to take the balance in dollars. We drove through Fort de France, ended up on a modern freeway, went to a beautiful church, Sacre Couer, made a scenic stop in the rainforest, went to a rum distillery, St. Pierre, and some other scenic spots. It was a an enjoyable tour of about 4 hours, and we were back on board about 1:30. It appeared that many people were back on board by then, or may have even just stayed on board. I wouldn't recommend that; it's a pretty island, the people we met were friendly.

There's been so little information available, I hope this might be helpful to others.

 

We were on Martinique last week. The dock Is a long, clean, dedicated cruise ship facility. The industrial port is located elsewhere. There are English-speaking tourist ambassadors and guides dressed in brightly colored uniforms in the port area, and vendors have set up tents immediately adjacent to the pier. A tourist ambassador making announcements on a PA system said all prices were in USD. Walking through, we saw prices in USD and euros, but didn't buy anything, so don't know if all the vendors took dollars. I expect they all spoke at least some English, it feels as if, at least in the port area, they are making a concerted effort to appeal to cruise ship passengers.

 

If you walk past the tents, there is a parking area with taxis for taxi tours. We were approached by an English-speaking driver named Bob. He had a 7 passenger vehicle, already had 2 passengers, and was looking to fill his van. He offered the 5 of us a tour for 40 euros each. When we explained we had only 170 euros, he agreed to take the balance in dollars. We drove through Fort de France, ended up on a modern freeway, went to a beautiful church, Sacre Couer, made a scenic stop in the rainforest, went to a rum distillery, St. Pierre, and some other scenic spots. It was a an enjoyable tour of about 4 hours, and we were back on board about 1:30. It appeared that many people were back on board by then, or may have even just stayed on board. I wouldn't recommend that; it's a pretty island, the people we met were friendly.

Sounds like passengers shouldn't have any problem getting transportation around the island. Thanks for sharing your experience there.

I spent months trying to figure out what to do in Martinique and read many "stay on the ship" type responses. I'm so glad I didn't pay attention. We had one of our best days in Martinique and met many very nice people despite a few language barriers.

We took the ferry to Point du Bout. We rented lounge chairs at a nice beach resort and shopped and dined in the small village area that reminded me of a village in France.

The guides in the port were very helpful in directing us to where we wanted to go. We met a couple of local artisans at the booths set up by the dock. The tourist booth showed us maps with options for multiple different tours which cost 30 Euro's per hour (per guide, not per person). They said the average tour was about 3 hours.

It cost us a total of $10 US dollars which were accepted at many establishments to take the ferry round-trip and $20 US dollars to rent a lounge chair at the resort. With the rental, we had access to the bathrooms and outdoor showers.

It was a great day! All it takes is a little planning and adventure to have a great day in Martinique.

I spent months trying to figure out what to do in Martinique and read many "stay on the ship" type responses. I'm so glad I didn't pay attention. We had one of our best days in Martinique and met many very nice people despite a few language barriers.

 

We took the ferry to Point du Bout. We rented lounge chairs at a nice beach resort and shopped and dined in the small village area that reminded me of a village in France.

 

The guides in the port were very helpful in directing us to where we wanted to go. We met a couple of local artisans at the booths set up by the dock. The tourist booth showed us maps with options for multiple different tours which cost 30 Euro's per hour (per guide, not per person). They said the average tour was about 3 hours.

 

It cost us a total of $10 US dollars which were accepted at many establishments to take the ferry round-trip and $20 US dollars to rent a lounge chair at the resort. With the rental, we had access to the bathrooms and outdoor showers.

 

It was a great day! All it takes is a little planning and adventure to have a great day in Martinique.

Were you able to rent an umbrella too or just lounge chairs? We love the beach but need shade.

MissVickie, thanks for posting this information. DH just agreed to an 11 day cruise in 2016 and one of the ports is Martinique. I'm looking at researching everyone's inputs to make a well informed decsion on what to do on this island. I like your positive post.:)

We also were in Martinique in March 2014. Unfortunately - or maybe not - it was a holiday - the day after Fat Tuesday which they celebrate in a Black and White Parade. Almost everything for the holiday is closed down. However, we got off the ship and walked through the downtown area and found a café for a beer/soda. We ended up watching the parade which was a hoot as everyone was just having fun in outrageous costumes and decorated vehicles. In all - we truly enjoyed the laid back day.

We are going again in 2015. This time I think we are very comfortable with purchasing the ferry tickets to the other side of peninsula inlet where there are beaches, shops, cafes and spending the day in a "do it ourself" style. The ferry is right there where the cruise ship docks.

I hope this helps someone. By the way - we did purchase a few Euros from the money exchange booth at the airport since we just wanted a pocket money for the day. I am glad we had the 100 Euros as the ship did not (RCL) have Euros and it was good to just have the pocket money without having to run around for an ATM or wiggle around with negotiating using dollars. That would be my only other "hint" to the day - have Euro pocket money.

Miss Vickie

Thanks for info re Martinique. I will be visiting there soon.

Did you by chance get a business card or phone number for Bob (taxi driver)

Miss Vickie

Thanks for info re Martinique. I will be visiting there soon.

Did you by chance get a business card or phone number for Bob (taxi driver)

I'm Miss Vickie's other half, sorry to say we didn't. All I can remember is we found him in the parking lot by the port.

We, too, had a wonderful port stop in Martinique. We had an excellent tourguide on the St. Pierre, DePaz Rum Distillery, Balata Church tour thru RCL. We learned a lot about the history of the island including how many times the island shifted back and forth between the French and the British, saw the traveller palms planted by the Jesuit's through the mountains marking the route (still used today) between settlements, and the love-hate relationship islanders have with Empress Josephine, who was born here.

I had also done some research using traditional guidebooks to learn more about the country and the sights available in Fort de France which we enjoyed on a self-guided walk thru the town. This port stop impressed us as a regular city, not a tourism-created place. Residents just went about their normal business. Most shops were for regular people, not tourists. Seemed a more vibrant economy than many ports. Some shops displayed signs indicating that they would accept USDollars. St. Louis Cathedral and the Scholecher Library are two standout buildings you can see for free and the headless statue of empress Josephine makes quite a statement! Easy to get a ferry across to the close in beaches after a tour.

Thank you to all those that provided information about their time spent on Martinique. We will be stopping there next month on the Norwegian Pearl.

Great information!

While we haven't had a port stop in Martinique recently, we always enjoyed our port stops there back when we had them. :)

Would love the opportunity to go to Martinique again! :)

LuLu