Martinique Excursion

[cflower04]

Looking for some recommendations for an excursion in Martinique... anyone know of a good private tour company? Had a look at RCIs excursions and nothing looks that exciting. If all comes to all, we'll do the walking tour but i'd like to see more of the island. We'll be on a B2B cruise in March 2014 and there is very little information available about this port in comparison with the others.

 

Thanks :):):)

[khm1]

I have the same problem. I will cruise here on Jewel in November. I am having a hard time deciding what to do. I don't speak French and I get the feeling that can be a problem. I like the idea of renting a car here but I am nervous since I haven't been here before. I have rented cars in St. Martin, St. John, St. Thomas, and Aruba with no problems.

 

I may book the RCL excursion: MT13 4x4 Adventure. It takes a ride through the countryside and rainforest. I have read that taxis and private guides are very expensive. Also, unless you speak French, options are limited. I think that a lot of their tourism is from French nationals.

[tigger-ttfn]

I have the same problem. I will cruise here on Jewel in November. I am having a hard time deciding what to do. I don't speak French and I get the feeling that can be a problem. I like the idea of renting a car here but I am nervous since I haven't been here before. I have rented cars in St. Martin, St. John, St. Thomas, and Aruba with no problems.

 

I may book the RCL excursion: MT13 4x4 Adventure. It takes a ride through the countryside and rainforest. I have read that taxis and private guides are very expensive. Also, unless you speak French, options are limited. I think that a lot of their tourism is from French nationals.

 

One site I found discibed a taxi tour but no way to book it. also said drivers did speak english. going in Dec and having a hard time finding things to do

[JandBR_PHX]

I have the same problem. I will cruise here on Jewel in November. I am having a hard time deciding what to do. I don't speak French and I get the feeling that can be a problem. I like the idea of renting a car here but I am nervous since I haven't been here before.

 

We haven't been here either, and our French is not so good, but you're welcome to walk up to the spice market with us and watch us stammer/stutter :).

 

We're probably going to book an RCI tour too, just not sure what sis and her DH will want to do.

[JandBR_PHX]

I just sent a note to La Favorite rhum distillers (in La Lamentin) with a request for information - transportation from the pier and if they conduct tours in English. Will advise.

[JandBR_PHX]

"We will make you visiting our Distillery, and tasting our beautiful rums with a lot of pleasure !

 

Generally, visits are free, but if you want, you can have an appointment in english, to make you discover our making process, but you have to know that in november, any distillery is producing, harvest season during from january to july. We are at the end currently.

 

Unfortunately, we have not own transport from cruise port to our, but by taxi or city bus, it is possible.

 

Address of Distillery La Favorite : 5.5 km route du Lamentin - 97232 Le Lamentin (near from the Hospital CHU Zobda Quitman)"

=====================================

 

So, no transportation, but they can do a tour (of the non-operating factory?) in English... will continue to look for other things to do

Edited June 7, 2013 by JandBR_PHX

[jenwrendorset]

We have visited Martinique on cruise ships on a number of occasions and it is definitely improving with each visit. We last visited in December and decided to try out the local buses. We walked into the town (about 20 minutes walk following the blue pavement) with the intention of catching a local bus (minibus) to the south of the island. The bus station is located on Boulevard Alfassa – just follow the blue pavement until it stops at La Savane, carry on past the fort and head towards the ferry station. We caught a bus to Le Marin which is about 40kms south of Fort-de-France. The fare was E6.50 each one-way. We were first on the bus and had about a 25 minute wait until it filled up and the driver was happy to leave – on reflection it may have been better to have boarded any bus which was already nearly full and was about to leave. The journey took 40 minutes and was very interesting. Le Marin is a pretty harbour town, very large marina and quite up-market. We spent 1.5 hrs walking around, weather was lovely. We then made our way back to the main road and picked up a bus within a few minutes. From the bus station you would be able to pick up a bus to anywhere on the island. Allow plenty of time for the return journey as buses fill up pretty quickly.

[Keith1010]

You may want to negotiate with a taxi driver to take a drive around the island.

 

Keith

[nvnv]

please post if anyone has any recommendation for private tour or taxi that can be arranged in advance

[Bargainista]

I posted a response on one of the other threads, but I'll put it here too since I know there is very little information about Martinique and that can make it difficult to plan. You can hire a private taxi driver for 60 euros an hour, that is the government rate. They do not accept usd, so be prepared with euros. Many drivers did not speak English, we were lucky to find one that did, so we went with him. I believe his name was Marcus, he drives a white Mercedes. Very nice, but not talkative. If you do take a taxi anywhere outside of the city, be sure to take something like bonine or Dramamine.

 

We took a taxi through the rainforest, stopped at a church and a waterfall. Then we visited Mt. Pelee to take pictures and use the bathroom. Beautiful sight, but often covered by clouds. Then we went to the Depaz Rum Distillery at the suggestion of our driver. I had originally wanted to go to Clement House, but he suggested this route with the rainforest and volcano. On the way back we drove through a fishing village where you can see the remains of buildings from the eruption. He offered to stop for the museum that is there, but we chose to go straight back to the ship. It took about 4 hours for this driving tour. I'm sure many of the drivers in that small private lot could offer a similar tour. It is a lot of time in the car and if we had to do it again, I wouldn't.

[NCTribeFan]

Is that 60 euros for however many people? IOW, per vehicle, not per person? I'm solo but I know we'll have lots of people on our Roll Call looking for tours here.

 

I spent a month in France but that was nearly 20 years ago and have had virtually no opportunity to use my (limited) French since then. Like others, I'm having trouble finding anything online about island tours.

 

This is a one-off itinerary (repositioning cruise) and there are no ship excursions available yet, and I really dislike ship excursions. But I'll do one if it's the only reasonable option.

[jenwrendorset]

We took a taxi in Guadaloupe which is also french speaking and the price for a taxi then was 40 euros per car - we also spent 4 hours in the car but there were 4 of us and the exchange rate was better then!! Martinique is not overly impressive, we took the local bus (see my earlier comment) which is a much cheaper option but you end up guessing where you're going.

[Bargainista]

NCTribeFan the 60 euros is for however many you can fit into a car. We fit all 4 of us very comfortably. If you don't want to do a ship excursion (I'm with you there) and you don't want to pay the taxi rate, you can easily spend 3-4 hours walking around the city. There are tour ambassadors wearing red vests and red hats as soon as you walk off the pier. They will have maps and can describe where to go to see different things in the city. We walked around for 3-4 hours with our 2 little girls and saw many things, but not even half of what was on the map. We saw the cathedral and walked around inside, a school, the library (go inside it is very beautiful), the spice market (again very interesting), the savanne, the 'local' beach, and fort st. louis (which you can't go inside or near). There are many other things marked on the map and it is pretty easy to navigate the city. There were also several tourist ambassadors wearing the same red cap and red vest in the city to help with directions as well.

 

Martinique is just a very different port than most of the others in the Southern Caribbean. I wouldn't have felt comfortable taking a local bus, because my French speaking skills are non-existent and we have two little children (they are more demanding/impatient than an adult). I also don't have a strong sense of adventure and get stressed out about making it back to the boat before all-aboard time. But if you did have someone in your roll-call group who was fluent or even semi-fluent you could have a great time!

[Dessert Diva]

Thanks for your tips Bargainista! I will be looking for the red hats and vests!

[afcj1]

NCTribeFan the 60 euros is for however many you can fit into a car. We fit all 4 of us very comfortably. If you don't want to do a ship excursion (I'm with you there) and you don't want to pay the taxi rate, you can easily spend 3-4 hours walking around the city. There are tour ambassadors wearing red vests and red hats as soon as you walk off the pier. They will have maps and can describe where to go to see different things in the city. We walked around for 3-4 hours with our 2 little girls and saw many things, but not even half of what was on the map. We saw the cathedral and walked around inside, a school, the library (go inside it is very beautiful), the spice market (again very interesting), the savanne, the 'local' beach, and fort st. louis (which you can't go inside or near). There are many other things marked on the map and it is pretty easy to navigate the city. There were also several tourist ambassadors wearing the same red cap and red vest in the city to help with directions as well.

 

Martinique is just a very different port than most of the others in the Southern Caribbean. I wouldn't have felt comfortable taking a local bus, because my French speaking skills are non-existent and we have two little children (they are more demanding/impatient than an adult). I also don't have a strong sense of adventure and get stressed out about making it back to the boat before all-aboard time. But if you did have someone in your roll-call group who was fluent or even semi-fluent you could have a great time!

 

Thanks so much for this info:) I'm on the same cruise as NCTribeFan, so this sounds perfect to me. It's also good to know that we'll need euros.

Edited January 4, 2014 by afcj1

[sippican]

Having been to a number of other Caribbean islands, nothing unique is really jumping out at me. I've tried finding a catamaran excursion, found Delphis - but even after translating their pages I'm not really sure of exactly what they offer. Tripadvisor does not seem to have any sailing/catamaran reviews. Anyone have any "on the water" ideas?

[island girl 27]

Can a large ship like the new Divina( MSC) dock at pier or is tender necessary?

One excursion from ship, states taking a water taxi back to ship if weather permits.

Teresa

[Three hills]

@ Island girl 27

 

Yes a big ship is possible to go into the port alongside the pier, in Martinique. We were there this past January on MSC Musica and no tenders were needed.

[slabeaume]

I have some pictures and comments on what we did in Martinique here (along with the other ports of our 11 night southern Caribbean cruise):

 

http://travelingwithsue.blogspot.com/2012/11/2012-hal-11-night-caribbean-cruise.html#more

 

It was a rather different stop. The 60 euro/hour seemed like a lot, especially when they set a minimum of 2 hours. We ended up walking to a ferry about 1.4 miles from the port and rode it to the other side of the bay. Then walked about 1 more mile to some beautiful beaches. We were there on a Sunday when not much was open and the few souvenir shops that were open did not take US dollars or speak much English. We did find one place to get an ice cream and drink that did. What started out as a frustrating start, turned out to be a fun day. We're heading back there next month on a cruise and will probably end up doing the same thing.

Edited March 7, 2014 by slabeaume

[IslandDreamers]

I have some pictures and comments on what we did in Martinique here (along with the other ports of our 11 night southern Caribbean cruise):

 

http://travelingwithsue.blogspot.com/2012/11/2012-hal-11-night-caribbean-cruise.html#more

 

It was a rather different stop. The 60 euro/hour seemed like a lot, especially when they set a minimum of 2 hours. We ended up walking to a ferry about 1.4 miles from the port and rode it to the other side of the bay. Then walked about 1 more mile to some beautiful beaches. We were there on a Sunday when not much was open and the few souvenir shops that were open did not take US dollars or speak much English. We did find one place to get an ice cream and drink that did. What started out as a frustrating start, turned out to be a fun day. We're heading back there next month on a cruise and will probably end up doing the same thing.

 

 

 

I have to ask - what kind of a camera are you using?? Those underwater pictures are fantastic!!!:)

[raynvic]

Just an FYI regarding Kalonji, I was looking at different tours and he was very responsive and answered all of my questions. At least ask the questions.