I went to Martinique for 5 days in August. It's not a very popular tourist destination for English speakers, I'm guessing because not many people on the island speak English and the island is against "all inclusive" places that most American tourists like on tropical islands. In fact, it was difficult to even find a flight here from the US. AA and Air France only have flights to FDF once or twice a week, and only during certain times of the year.
The high tourist season is December - March so I thought going in August would be interesting. Overall the island felt really empty because so many people leave Martinique for vacation during the month of August. As expected, the weather was hot and sticky. The mosquitos were brutal at dusk, so I was stuck under the mosquito net after 6pm or so.
Anyways, my journey started at ORD, had a connecting flight in MIA, then finally landed at FDF. It took a lot of time to get checked bags. Welcome to island time! I believe we waited for 30-45min and unfortunately the wifi was barely usable in the baggage claim area. The view from the terminal was very beautiful.
After exiting the airport, I headed over to a little "shack" that had all of the offices for rental companies. I signed the paperwork, handed over my credit card for a deposit and was told to get in a van which will take you to the main office with car lot. At this point it was close to 6pm and was already getting dark so this day was pretty much over.
My AirBnB had an amazing view! Not too shabby for like $35 per night.
OK, so I am a HUGE rum fan so one of my main priorities on this trip was to visit as many distilleries as possible. My goal for the first day was to drive to Grand Rivière, the northernmost city in Martinique to go to Rhum JM. It was about a 1hr drive according to Google Maps but because the roads are so narrow and winding it ended up taking 1.5hr.
On the way I stopped in Sainte Marie and saw a beautiful church.
The views here were amazing!
I also stopped by Saint James distillery. This place was interesting because there is a train ride that takes you through fields and they tell you about types of trees and plants that grow on the island. The tasting wasn't great and they seemed to cater to locals who prefer cheaper white rum, so I bought a few bottles and left without doing a tasting.
After another 45min or so, I finally arrived at Rhum JM. Holy cow, the views were amazing!
The rum tasting here was very good! They had about 8 different varieties to try. Since I was driving, I limited myself to 5.
After leaving JM, my next stop was the beach at Anse Couleuvre which is known for having black sand. It's relatively close to Rhum JM and Grand Rivière but there is no road at the very northern part of the island, so you have to go back south, then back west, then north again. The way the crow flies, it's probably about 20km but the drive is 1.5 hours.
Also, some roads in Martinique are VERY scary. They are narrow and there are tons of blind corners. And the locals like to drive very fast. I was driving 40-50km/h and they were passing me going 65 around corners. At one point I was going up a very steep hill and the car was in 3rd gear and was really struggling. By the time I downshifted into second gear, the car had come to almost a complete stop. By the time I got it into 1st gear, it stalled. Getting the car going again on such a steep hill was VERY challenging. Fortunately there were no cars around.
Finally made it to Anse Couleuvre! It was about a 15-20min walk through the woods to find the beach but it was well worth it. It was about an hour from getting dark and I wanted to be at least halfway back to the AirBnB (which was 1.5hr drive), so I only stayed 30min or so.
I mentioned the scary roads earlier. See for yourself here. I was about halfway back to the AirBnB when it got dark. And when I say dark, I mean dark! No lights of any kind except for on your car.
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The next day I went to Fort de France. It's the capital city of Martinique and sort of feels like a mix of New Orleans French Quarter, Paris, and a dirty city in Eastern Europe. Highlights included a beautiful church, and market selling spices, fruits, homemade rum, and other little trinkets.
The next day I went to the La Caravelle nature park and hiked up to the lighthouse for some great views.
The food on the island was quite good but a little expensive. Seafood and creole cuisine are the most popular. This fish, beans, and salad was around 17 euros.
And in the afternoon I headed down to Plage des Salines which is rated one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I certainly believe it. The waves were minimal and the water was sparkling clean. In August it wasn't very busy but I can see this place being packed in the tourist months. Unlike some of the other remote beaches, this one has bathrooms, vendors, and restaurants.
The next morning I went to Trois Rivières distillery. It's a nice facility with a decent tasting program.
And then I headed over to Les Anses d'Arlet which is one of the most beautiful beach towns I've ever seen.
Then I stopped in Carrefour to do some rum shopping. The impression was impressive with very low prices.
Next stop was La Favorite distillery. I really liked this one because it felt very "mom & pop". You can see the entire operation from where the sugarcane arrives to where they distill the product. The bottling operation was a small shelter shack near the parking lot.
Other distilleries I visited were HSE and Neisson but I forgot to take pictures at these.
For those who are interested, there are several duty free shops at FDF airport with decent selections. The price is higher than at the distillery or Carrefour, but much cheaper than what it would cost in France or the US.