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Ferry Info 101: Fort De France to Pointe De Bout/Anse Mitan Beaches


chschn87
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I just returned from a stop in Martinique and took a ferry to Pointe De Bout. From there, Anse Mitan beach was a 10-15 minute walk. It was pretty easy and hopefully this helps for future visitors interested in this cheap excursion.

 

After exiting the cruise dock walk to your right along the water to the ferry pier. It is a 5 minute walk from the cruise ship dock. You can not miss the ferry pier because there will be people gathered there and blue/white boats coming in going.

 

Ask the ferry dock worker for the boat to Pointe De Bout and he will tell you how long until the boat comes and where to stand.

 

There is also a schedule here: http://www.vedettes-tropicales.com/horaires-et-dessertes-des-vedettes-tropicales/ These schedules are posted in big signs at the dock. Tip: Take a picture with your cell phone so you can view the schedule at your convenience.

 

The two schedules you are looking for are: "Departe de Fort De France / Vers Pointe De Bout" and "Departe de la Pointe De Bout / Vers Fort De France".

 

Translation 101:

Départ de = Departure From

Vers = Towards

Lundi-Jeudi = Monday-Thursday

Vendredi = Friday

Samedi = Saturday

Dimanche = Sunday

 

When the boat arrives everyone boards without paying. On the ride, an attendant will come around and collect your money. He will hand you a ticket which you keep to give back on your return trip. The cost is $7 (US American Dollars) per person for a round trip.

 

The ride takes approximately 20 minutes each way. The ferries do run a bit behind schedule so be aware. Tip: Check your arrival time in Pointe De Bout with the ferry schedule to see how "off" the schedule is.

 

After arriving in Point De Bout there are two choices for beaches. The closer option is less than five minutes. Just walk straight off the boat and cross the street and you are there. You can see pictures of the beach here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=46091205&postcount=8

There are food/drink/bathroom/lounger facilities all run by the resort which makes it convenient. However, the beach is much smaller and therefore feels more popular.

 

The other option is Anse Mitan which is a 10-15 minute walk from the ferry dock in Pointe De Bout. After exiting the ferry dock, just hang a left on the main road and keep walking south. You will see the beach on your right and small alleyways to cut through to get to the oceanfront. This beach is much larger and has different vendor/restaurant options spread along the oceanfront. There are also watersport rentals and chair rentals.

 

My advice is to stop by Option 1 since it is right by the ferry dock in Pointe De Bout. Continue on to Anse Mitan (my personal recommendation) if you are not satisfied. There are food options along the main road on the way to Anse Mitan as well as on the beach.

 

For $7 USD per person, we got to go on an adventure on our own which is rewarding. All is all its a great way to spend anywhere from 2-6 hours on the cheap side! Hope this helps.

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Yes, thank you for this nicely detailed info. Can you not take a ferry to Anse Mitan from Fort de France? Do you have to walk from Pont du Bout as the only way to get to Anse Mitan? I realize it's not a long walk but thought there was a ferry directly to AM.

 

Also, did the restaurants and lounger rental vendors take US$ or did you need euros for some?

 

Thanks so much

Cathy

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Yes, thank you for this nicely detailed info. Can you not take a ferry to Anse Mitan from Fort de France? Do you have to walk from Pont du Bout as the only way to get to Anse Mitan? I realize it's not a long walk but thought there was a ferry directly to AM.

 

Also, did the restaurants and lounger rental vendors take US$ or did you need euros for some?

 

Thanks so much

Cathy

 

Yes you can, but I believe it makes 2 stops where this is point-to-point. Also this allows for a short walk through town which I recommend.

 

I did not rent any loungers so I can not confirm. We only spent $14 in Martinique.

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Yes you can, but I believe it makes 2 stops where this is point-to-point. Also this allows for a short walk through town which I recommend.

 

I did not rent any loungers so I can not confirm. We only spent $14 in Martinique.

 

Good point, so maybe we'll take the ferry to Pont du Bout, walk through town to Anse Mitan, enjoy the beach and lunch and then take the ferry back to the cruise pier. Thanks for your info, very helpful!

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Thank you so much for this great information! I think this is exactly what we'll do while in Martinique. :)

Does anyone know if there's a restaurant that accepts US$ so we can maybe have a snack and drink while we're at the beach?

If not, I'll bring some Euros but I'd rather not have to go through the hassle :rolleyes:

Edited by 67Chevy2
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So we took an 8:30 am ferry direct to Anse Mitan because we just missed the 8:15am to Pointe du Bout. Maybe about only 10 passengers from the ship were with us. Sitting on our chairs on the beach at 9:00. Glad we came directly here because there are very few lounge chairs available to rent to people not staying at the hotel. The palapas are only for hotel guests so we took two flat loungers in front of the restaurant because the sun is behind us. $7 US each. Toilets and showers available at the hotel. Restaurant has a beautiful European breakfast buffet laid out in a very simple looking open air beach bar setting. Really lovely but I can see this getting crowded. I'll report more at the end of the day. I'm trying but I can't post pictures. I'll try when I get back on the ship.

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So we took an 8:30 am ferry direct to Anse Mitan because we just missed the 8:15am to Pointe du Bout. Maybe about only 10 passengers from the ship were with us. Sitting on our chairs on the beach at 9:00. Glad we came directly here because there are very few lounge chairs available to rent to people not staying at the hotel. The palapas are only for hotel guests so we took two flat loungers in front of the restaurant because the sun is behind us. $7 US each. Toilets and showers available at the hotel. Restaurant has a beautiful European breakfast buffet laid out in a very simple looking open air beach bar setting. Really lovely but I can see this getting crowded. I'll report more at the end of the day. I'm trying but I can't post pictures. I'll try when I get back on the ship.

 

Thank you so much, great info! Hope you have a lovely day and I look forward to hearing more and pics as well if possible!

Cathy

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So we took an 8:30 am ferry direct to Anse Mitan because we just missed the 8:15am to Pointe du Bout. Maybe about only 10 passengers from the ship were with us. Sitting on our chairs on the beach at 9:00. Glad we came directly here because there are very few lounge chairs available to rent to people not staying at the hotel. The palapas are only for hotel guests so we took two flat loungers in front of the restaurant because the sun is behind us. $7 US each. Toilets and showers available at the hotel. Restaurant has a beautiful European breakfast buffet laid out in a very simple looking open air beach bar setting. Really lovely but I can see this getting crowded. I'll report more at the end of the day. I'm trying but I can't post pictures. I'll try when I get back on the ship.

 

 

Thank you! Looking forward to hearing more......

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We had a really nice day. As the day went on the ferry's started coming a little later and later each time. The 12:30 actually left a little early and the 1:00 ferry got there at 1:20 so we took the 2:00pm ferry which came at 2:20 and got us back to the port by 2:50. It was very full- standing room only and we were the only ship in port. There was a reef that some people were trying to snorkel around but I thought the water was too cloudy and murky. We found the bathroom but never found showers. The loungers turned over pretty quickly as people didn't stay long. Quite a few only stayed for one ferry. They were the most uncomfortable sun beds ever. Just flat hard plastic.

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We had a really nice day. As the day went on the ferry's started coming a little later and later each time. The 12:30 actually left a little early and the 1:00 ferry got there at 1:20 so we took the 2:00pm ferry which came at 2:20 and got us back to the port by 2:50. It was very full- standing room only and we were the only ship in port. There was a reef that some people were trying to snorkel around but I thought the water was too cloudy and murky. We found the bathroom but never found showers. The loungers turned over pretty quickly as people didn't stay long. Quite a few only stayed for one ferry. They were the most uncomfortable sun beds ever. Just flat hard plastic.

 

Thanks for this info. Glad at least that there are bathrooms and good to know about the ferry schedule! You mentioned in a previous post about the restaurant breakfast buffet...was there anything you could get for lunch? What were the costs for the buffet/other food? Also was everything foodwise in euros or $US? It's sounding more like a ship day to me :(

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I wouldn't stay on the ship for the whole day. The ferry was just a short walk from the ship. Take the ferry that goes directly to Anse Mitan for $7 round trip. Some came just for lunch in the out door restaurant. Very easy and quite a few places to get lunch. Even if you just take the ferry ride and walk back to the ship through the little port area market it is worth it and very doable.

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Thanks for the extra info! I def do want to check this ferry and beach out...was concerned about the lack of umbrellas/shade as that Caribbean sun can be nasty to us sun-deprived Canadians:D We'll try and get chairs in the shade of the restaurant. Will we be fine with just $US for the chairs as well as buying food in the restaurant? Sorry for all the questions!

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