Martinique

Travel to Martinique

We arrived in Martinique on the 10th January 2023 on our cruise ship Marella Explorer 2. There is a lovely walk way from the ship. At the end of the walk way there were men, women and children all dressed in white greeting us off the ship. They had flowers and chocolate to give to the cruise guests. This was a lovely touch and made us feel quite special.

Island Tour

We hadn’t booked an excursion as all the other Caribbean islands had tour guides selling them a lot cheaper than Tui. We wasn’t disappointed either as we were approached by a tour guide offering an island tour for $20 US dollars.

The guide escorted us to a mini bus where there were already a number of people waiting. The mini bus did not set off until it was completely It wasn’t long before it was completely full and we were on our way.

The guide on the bus was very informative. Throughout the journey he spoke about buildings, areas, plants, wildlife, culture and tourism.

Eglise Sacre Coer church

Our first stop was Eglise Sacre Coer church which is just a short drive from where we were picked up. The church is on top of hill with spectacular views. It is a beautiful church in a quite a remote location. We were given around 15 minutes to look around and take photo’s. Although the church is relatively small it is lovely to walk around it. There is also somewhere to buy souvenirs, have a toilet break and get a drink her

River in rain forest

After the church we were taken to her river in the rain forest. Although the river looked like any over river the surroundings were spectacular with lots of different species of vegetation and a mountainous background.

Saut Gendarme Falls

Our next stop was the water falls. Again we were given a short time to wander around and take photo’s. There is a short walk from the road to the waterfall which is steep in some areas. We would advise not to wear opened toed shoes as it can be quite slippy. It wasn’t the best of days as we encountered some rain. The falls were nice to see but not breath taking as some other falls we have been to. We like to get in to the water and go under the falls but we were unable to do so as there was nowhere to dry our selves and we needed to get back on the mini bus.

Rum Distillery

Next on to the Depaz Rum Distillery which we were looking forward to. There is a lot of history surrounding this distillery dating back to 1917 when Victor Depaz started up this distillery. This was only 15 years after the Mount Pelee Volcano eruption which killed over 30,000 people.

When we arrived we were taken to the shop selling the Rums we were given a taste of 2 different Rum Punches (Coconut and Tropical). Both of which were very nice. Then we were given the opportunity to buy some Rum if we wished to do so. There was no pressure to buy any and we were able to look around at our leisure with nobody trying to sell anything. We bought the Coconut Rum Punch which does not taste very strong but it does pack a punch lol.

As nobody was rushing us we were able to walk around the grounds of the distillery. in the grounds you can see the large stills (We think that what they are called) of various rums.

Banana Plantation

We were due to go and see the volcano but as the weather wasn’t too great we went directly to the banana plantation. Here we were given a guided tour and informed of how the banana’s taste better than some due to them being organic. We were given 1 or 2 banana’s each to taste. They did taste very nice but not sure if they tasted any different to other banana’s.

Plage Beach

Our final destination was Plage Beach. We were able to go in to the sea if we wanted to do so. As we had brought our snorkels we decided to do so. The sea wasn’t as clear as we had expected or what we had experienced at other Caribbean islands. As the day wasn’t really beach weather not many people got in the sea (only 2 of us from the mini bus).

Where we stopped there was a little stand selling drinks and food. Most people just got a drink and a bite to eat before we got back on the mini bus and headed back to ship.

Summary

As with most islands we have visited on the cruise there is never enough time to do all you want to do. The island tour was worth every penny. We seemed to experience so much in one day. It is a shame the weather wasn’t too great though. The guide and the driver were excellent. The driver did not speak much English but the guide obviously did. There are some lovely beaches in Martinique which we did not get a chance to see. We would also have liked to have a meal and some drinks of an evening too but unfortunately we were limited for time. Martinique is a beautiful island and well worth a visit

Images

Things to do

• Visit the Rum Distillery
• Visit the Banana Plantation
• Spend a day at the beach
• Visit Mount Pelee
• Sample the local cuisine
• Visit Saint – Pierre
• Do an island tour
• For history and culture visit Les Troisllets

Top Tips

• The currency in Martinique is Euro but they except US Dollars.
• If on a cruise ship the tours are cheaper with the local tour operators.
• If you have limited time plan your day in advance.
• Carry a rain coat as we had quiet a bit of rain whilst we were there.
• Check weather below best time to visit Martinique.
• Official hurricane season is June – November
• Check out government travel advise when visiting the island https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/martinique
• Check out other destinations in the Caribbean we have visited Jamaica , Mexico , Cuba , Barbados , St Maarten, Antigua , Dominica ,
• Check out our general travel tips. Click on the following link Travel Tips

Weather

Temp – Celsius Rain – mm	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp	27	28	28	28	29	31	31	31	32	31	30	27
Low Temp	22	22	22	22	24	25	24	24	24	23	22	22
Rainfall	100	80	60	70	70	140	170	200	220	230	200	150
Number of days	11	19	18	15	16	20	22	22	20	20	21	20