Fort de France, Martinique
December 28, 2022 - January 7, 2023
Next on our Caribbean island hopping adventure is the French island of Martinique. It's an easy ferry ride from Guadeloupe with L'Express des Iles ferry, taking approximately 4 hours to arrive with several stops along the way. We arrive at the capital and main port city of Fort de France. We're not immediately enamored with the city, nor will we come to really like it...The waterfront promenade is descent to stroll and the tourists shops that line the street cater to the many cruisers who arrive daily. The shops open and close based on the arrival and departure of the cruise ships and beyond this, the city had little to offer. Maybe with a car, you could drive out to other pockets of restaurants and shopping but we thought the port itself was limited and rough around the edges. However, it was a good base from which to settle and get our bearings.
Our Accommodations
We rented an Airbnb apartment just outside the city centre of Fort de France. It was a 25 minute walk to the waterfront which was a bit far since anything you needed was mostly located in the centre and some of the walk was steep. But it also meant a quiet neighbourhood away from the noise. Overall, it was a spacious and comfortable unit.
Waterfront of Fort de France
Tour of Northern Martinique
For Doug's birthday, we did a bus tour to the northern area of the island. We ventured into the high cool rain forest to see a church, a waterfall, views of the volcano Mount Pelee, a stop at a rum factory and a stop at the volcanic black sand beach. It captured all there was to really see in this area so all in all we enjoyed it. We used Visio Tours. The guides spoke English and they were helpful and friendly.