The Best Martinique Travel Guide – Martinique is volcanic in origin and is a mountainous stunner crowned by the still-smoldering Mont Pelée, the volcano that wiped out the former capital of St-Pierre in 1902. Offering a striking diversity of landscapes and atmospheres, Martinique is a cosmopolitan and sophisticated island that boasts stunning beaches, superb hiking, top-notch culinary experiences, an enormous array of activities and rich cultural life.
Numerous scattered ruins and other historical monuments reflect the richness of Martinique’s sugarcane plantation past, rhum, and the legacy of slavery. Called the Rum Capital of the World, it is widely considered the best gourmet island in the Caribbean.
Martinicans work hard and enjoy their time off, celebrating everything from le fin de la semaine (the weekend) to Indian feast days, sailboat races, and Carnival. Once you experience it, you’ll be back. To learn more about all the beautiful beaches on Martinique, visit here. Now view our Martinique Travel Guide to help plan your next Caribbean vacation!
Martinique Weather – Best Time to Visit Martinique
Martinique has a tropical and humid climate with an average temperature of 75°- to 85° F. The climate is moderated by trade winds, which bring refreshing breezes from the northeast throughout the year. The rainy and humid season is from June to October, but in general rainstorms pass quickly and the sun shines on most days. The island is vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average. December through May is considered the dry season. The warm coastal water temperatures stay between 68º and 74º F.
The best time to visit Martinique is either May. Temperatures stay consistent in the 80s throughout the year, but there is a chance of hurricanes in summer and fall. Planning a trip for late spring will ensure you squeeze your vacation in before the worst storms hit, and that you also avoid the crowds and marked-up prices of the island’s peak season, from December to April.
Best Martinique Beaches
Les Saline
Les SalineFamilies can’t stay away from Les Salines beach in the village of Ste-Anne for several reasons. The clear waters here are calm enough for children to play freely. There are plenty of food vendors walking the sand hawking tasty Martiniquais treats. And there are restrooms and accessible showers to rinse your little ones off before making the trip back to the hotel. Les Salines is absolutely breathtaking, with miles of palm trees and glistening sand.
Anse Turin
Anse TurinAnse Turin is a nice sandy half moon beach. It is calm and a nice beach for families. On a clear day, you can see nearby islands off in the distance.
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Anse Dufour
Anse DufourAnse Dufour is part of the group of Les Anses d’Arlet and is tucked away on a hillside corner. This beach is easy to miss, so keep your eye out for it!
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Anse Noire
Anse NoireAnse Noire is a black-sand beach reached by a long staircase, but it’s well worth the trip. It’s located in a protected bay with terrific snorkeling. You’ll also find the eclectic Domaine de Robinson hotel on this beach.
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Grande Anse
Grande AnseGrand Anse is one of the more popular beaches on Martinique. It has a lot to offer as far as activities go on the beach. This beach is also well protected from rough waters, making it great for swimming and boating, with the boat dock right on the beach.
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Best Martinique Restaurants
La Mandoline $31 – 60
Inside this adorable complex of shops and restaurants, about 1km down a dirt road from the main road, is the most charming restaurant in Trois-Îlets. Choose between sitting outside surrounded by greenery, or inside the historic building’s cozy dining room, before sampling the famous piña colada and then perusing the refined gourmet-style traditional French cooking on the menu. For more information call 596-69-48-38, or visit them on the web at La Mandoline.
Beach Grill $11 – 30
This hugely popular sand-floor place on Carbet’s beach (about 4km south of St-Pierre) is very professionally run, with attentive staff and an excellent menu of fresh seafood and meat dishes. The salads are huge – if somewhat unwieldy in their boatlike presentation jugs – and the fish is fresh and delicious. For more information call 596-78-34-02, or visit them in the web at Beach Grill.
Restaurant 1643 $31 – 60
This delightful restaurant is in the same historic property as the Hotel de l’Anse, even though it’s separately run. The name refers to the year in which the Habitation Anse Latouche was founded, and 1643 is the best place in St-Pierre for an extravagant gastronomic experience. The house specialty is magret de canard (duck fillet) with foie gras. For more information call 596-78-17-81, or visit them on the web at Restaurant 1643.
Le Mabouya $31 – 60
This superb restaurant is one worth splurging on, with a fantastic and inventive French-Creole menu that is way more sophisticated than your average Martinique beach shack. Try signature dishes such as lobster ravioli, scallops with risotto or just the life-affirming crème brûlée. Reservations are a good idea. For more information call 596-62-11-01, or visit them on the web at Le Mabouya.
La Table de Mamy Nounou $31 – 60
This much-lauded restaurant at the Hôtel Restaurant Caravelle is a winner, thanks to its breezy veranda with lovely sea views, sophisticated mains and wonderful homemade desserts. Stand-out dishes might include grenadin de porcelet (larded fillet of suckling pig) and lamb with aromatic herbs. The flambéed-banana dessert is a treat, but do be mindful of the restrictive opening hours. For more information call 596-58-07-32, or visit them on the web at La Table de Mamy Nounou.
Best Martinique Bars & Nightlife
Maximus Nightclub
High-quality DJs from across the Caribbean, an easygoing island crowd One of the hottest and most enjoyable clubs in Martinique. Banging out a frothy brew of house, top 40, soca, reggae, zouk, hip hop and more. Whether you book bottle service or just show up to dance, you’ll experience an old-school- style club night where Chuck Taylors are welcome and the dance floor is the center of the show. For more information call 812-482-5555, or visit them on the web at Maximus Nightclub.
Soho Beach Bar
Soho is the only sports bar on the island. Swing by and grab your favorite drink and watch your favorite team on one of our flat screens. Don’t miss out on your favorite team just because you are on vacation. They also offer complementary food at the bar, it may be pizza, burgers or hotdogs depending on the day. They have a DJ if you decide you need to dance a bit. Grab your vouchers and swing by for a good time. For more information visit them on the web at Soho Sports Bar.
Le Cloud Rooftop Bar
Enjoy a nice rooftop, sunset, cocktails, wine, music, lounge, live music, a night full of surprises. Stop by for a view overlooking all of Fort de France. The bar has entertainment almost every night, so sit back and enjoy an appetizer and a nice cocktail. This is an exclusive bar, so you will feel like a celebrity once you are here. This bar has the NYC/LA feel to it, with the loft like furniture. For more information call 596-673-376, or visit them on the web at Le Cloud Rooftop Bar.
Casino Batelière
Casino Batelière Plaza offers table games and slot machines in a fun and friendly environment. Stop by and try your luck at one of the games in a Caribbean style casino. Print out a voucher and receive a free drink just for stopping by. For more information call 596-617-323, or visit them on the web at Casino Batelière.
Complexe Le Crazy (Nights)
This club remains popular because it’s all about having one crazy time. With upward of 1,000 partying people, your chances of enjoying yourself are good. Live concerts are frequent, but dancing and hip-swinging are the priorities. Islanders are drawn to this club, and some young ‘n’ fun tourists follow suit. Like most clubs here, Crazy Nights has a hefty entrance fee, especially if there’s a popular group in concert. For more information call 696-107-052, or visit them on the web at Complexe Le Crazy (Nights).
Top Martinique Hotels
Just stumbled across your website, and I have to say I love it. It rocks! We have been looking into a beach vacation to Martinique. You have sure provided everything we need to start making our plans. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
You are very welcome and I am glad you found our Martinique Travel Guide helpful in planning your vacation. Please let me know if you need any further information.
Great information on this Beautiful island. I am definitely interested in knowing this place. I like history and would love to visit the Slave Memorial, Habitation Clement and Fort St. Louis. The beach with black sand (Ans Noire) also got my attention. Are there any entrance fees for Habitation Clement?
Hi Dira, I am glad you enjoyed reading the Martinique Travel Guide, and learning more about this beautiful Caribbean Island. Yes, there are entrance fees for the Habitation Clement. Adults are 12€, children 7 – 18 are 7€, children 7 and under are free, and a family (2 adults, 2 children 7-18) are 31€. You and your family would enjoy visit the Habitation Clement. It is a wonderful tour. They also offer audio guided tours. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
What a beautiful place. I never even knew of this island and my wife and I love vacationing in the Caribbean. We often did cruise ships but felt they do not let us enjoy the islands as much and you alsways see the same ones. This one looks like an tame adventure on so many levels!!! Food, sites, and fun…it has it all! You made this super easy to make a reservation too…I’m going to tell my wife about Martinique and this site! Thanks!!!
You are very welcome Bruce! I am glad you enjoyed reading the Martinique Travel Guide. Come back and visit when you are ready to plan 🙂
Fantastic site Leahrae. Have bookmarked your site and will return often to plan, and to dream. The information you have provided on Martinique is great. Everything I need to start planning. Excellent job!
Thank you so much Colin 🙂 Come back often, as I do add updates quite frequently. You might find another vacation spot that you just have to plan, or put on your bucket list!
Hey Leahrae,
Real detailed post you have here. You have provide really good information on Martinique. It’s excellent to see you have the outdoor activities in your list. The reason why I would now consider to travel Martinique. Always wanted to go for a great kayaking. Thank you for this great post:)
You are very welcome! Thank you for reading the Martinique Travel Guide. I hope that you can vacation there soon and enjoy kayaking at this great Caribbean Island 🙂
Two words: Le Mabouya! I love good food, and this place sounds great. I’ve had the pleasure of sampling many Creole dishes, and they are very hard to beat. And to find this kind of fare in such a lovely locale…I’m in!
I agree Nathan! It is right up there with Barbados for sure. Thank you for visiting the Martinique Travel Guide, and glad you enjoyed! I hope you get to take a vacation there very soon 🙂
I so appreciate your detailed travel guides! You’re making it very hard for my husband and I to choose our anniversary trip, though, with so many great destinations to choose from — ha ha! Martinique sounds like it offers just about everything we could want, from the historical rum plantations to rainforests. And who could pass up lobster ravioli or a hotel that lets you borrow books from their library? As always, you’ve given us another great destination to add to our list of possibilities, and a lot of great info to work with — thank you!
You are very welcome Deedee. I am glad you enjoyed the Martinique Travel Guide. Martinique is going to be a little less crowded than Barbados, and for an Anniversary, I think that Martinique is going to be perfect. Please let me know if you have any questions that I can answer for you 🙂
Hello! This is a great post and perfect timing! We are going to Martinique next year, so your information is VERY helpful! Thanks so much for all the tips and the informative post. We now cannot wait to go! Thanks!
Great Anna, you are going to have a fantastic time! I am glad I could help provide some information that will help you with your planning. Let me know if you need anything else, and thank you for reading the Martinique Travel Guide.
It looks like an absolutely beautiful place to visit. I am wondering though whether 1902 was the last time the volcano did erupt? Or have there been small eruptions since then? I’m just conscious about it if/when I do go and visit.
Thank you.
Yep, that was the last eruption. That does not mean it could not erupt again, but no indications that it will be happening the near future, thankfully. I don’t think you need to worry about the volcano, and you are safe to plan your visit for anytime. Thanks for reading Owain!
Hi, I love the way you always write such thorough and unique reviews about your holiday destinations. I’m always sold by the second paragraph :-). You have some amazing holidays on your books and this one is no exception. Martinique is an absolutely beautiful place and I love the fact it is steeped in so much history, and I especially like the fact that they pay homage to those poor slaves on that ship that went down. This would be an ideal holiday destination for me as it has a little of everything I like; history, water sports, gorgeous beaches and good food. Fantastic!
I agree Stefanie! Martinique has everything, not just gorgeous beaches and sunshine. To top it off, it is not visited as much as some of the other islands, so the crowds are a little bit more tolerable. You would love vacationing to the beautiful Caribbean Island of Martinique. Thanks for reading the Martinique Travel Guide!
Your Martinique Travel Guide is amazing! You have included something for everyone and given me all the details I need to plan a trip. It looks and sounds like a wonderful place to visit. I will have to add it to my bucket list of destinations 🙂 Thank you for providing such a thorough guide!
Thank you for visiting BeachTravelDestination.com Keli. I am glad you enjoyed the Martinique Travel Guide. Definitely a place that belongs on the bucket list!
Nice Post!
I feel like I am vacationing while reviewing your post.
Martinique as has been on my bucket list. Now I have all the information, and then some, to start planning my vacation here!
Thank you so much for the wealth of information.
Cheers!
Thank you Albino for vising BeachTravelDestinations.com. I am glad you found everything you need to start planning your trip to Martinique. If you need any help with travel packages, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email.
Hello!
Martinique is definitely the place that I am looking to visit in the very near future. I love your site, and all the information that I have been searching for, is all right in one great article, thank you! I do have one question, will I have any issue speaking with the locals in English. Is English spoken here? What is the native language for Martinique? Thank you!
Hi Erik and thank you for visiting the Martinique Travel Guide. You will have no problem conversing on the beautiful Caribbean island of Martinique, as English is spoken, as well as their native language, French. Let me know if you have any other questions!
The Depaz Distillery looks amazing! I will definitely check that out. Do you happen to know if there are restaurants nearby? We’re trying to plan our trip and get some logistics in place. It’s helpful to know what to expect since we haven’t been to Martinique before. Thanks in advance and for sharing all your great insights.
Hi Laura and thanks for visiting the Martinique Travel Guide. Yes, there are LOTS of restaurants nearby, and the ones I have listed are probably the highest rated ones in the area. I am glad I could help with your travel plans to Martinique!