Martinique Travel Blog

Still traveling the Caribbean this 2025.  Martinique - Another Windward island of the Lesser Antilles,  part of the French West Indies.

Arriving from Barbados.  Just a 45 minute flight.  After stopping in Bridgetown three days for some needed R&R !!  ...  So now,, I’m ready to get back in the ocean. 😊

French.  Ahhh.. That’s a challenge.  Maybe a bigger challenge than visits to Malaysia, or Philippines, or a 100 other destinations where English is widely spoken.  In French countries (and departments) ..  it seems only French is spoken.  No translation on road signs,,, or usually anywhere..  Not on the menus, not on emails from hotels/dive shops, not at museums, not on websites..  Get used to it Bruce!!  Your on an adventure.  Fortunately,  I usually can read French fine.. and can often understand enough to follow a conversation… But me speaking French .. no-way. A dive briefing is a dive briefing in any language :)

I arrive late(ish) in Fort de France  – 4pm.  Find an ATM,  get some Euro .. Pick up my rental car, and head out.  First stop, a giant Carrefour Shopping center – exactly like in Europe. Like a big Walmart and mini-mall combined.  They have everything!!  I stock up on breakfast foods and water.. My destination tonight has limited food options,, and I’m diving in the morning..

It’s already dark as I continue my drive. I’m lost.  Driving their amazing expressways.  This is intense!!  N2 to N45 to D5 .. another round about, another exit.  Opps. Missed it,, loop back.. Not easy for the first hours in a new country,, but somehow I make it to Arse D’Arlet.  A small village on the far west coast.  Isolated, on a beautiful beach.. with 3 dive shops!!  I’m diving with Deep Turtle Pongee..

I attempt to greet people in French.. Bonjour, Bonsoir ...  I’m a language idiot.  Zero skills. Uggg!! It’s a wonder how I thrive as a world traveler… 😊

I’ve arranged to stay at my Dive Shops Airbnb..  a converted old house, where I’m the only true guest .. The other rooms are occupied by French ‘student/employees’  -  working at the dive shop.. while also working to become Dive Instructors or Dive Masters.  Theres a study group just below my room each evening,, exam time.  I’m in with a bunch of dive geeks!!  I love it.

This isn’t luxury.  Not even a 3 star.. the old house is pushing 2 stars. But it’s comfortable and I’m at home.  We all speak the language of Plongee here!!

I’m diving the reefs the next day. Checked in at the dive shop,  back on a boat.. another adventure.   And it starts fast!!  I’m leading another diver that I have been randomly paired up with.  Steel tanks, DIN adaptors, kit-up!!

I get a good dive site brief, and we’re off.  First site is easy to navigate, only 20m deep with little current..  All goes well.  Good photography, a good dive..

But,, the next dive is at the epic site Diamond Rock.  A giant rock off the coast, soaring 200-300 meters straight up. A scenic sight to behold.

My new dive buddy and I enter first from the dive boat,, pulling ourselves down the mooring line… We off.   I navigate the swim thru’s and stunning cut’s.. Wow, this is some diving!!!

But the current is strong.. and while returning to the boat at the finish of our dive – he is low on air.. and becomes scared.. skipping his safety stop,, and getting a little panicky.   Ultimately, he’s fine.. but the important topic of safety stops, micro-bubbles, dive profiles,  and slow slow assents becomes paramount..  I hope to blog on that very topic one day.. Few divers, few dive masters, few dive instructors understand these topics..  not cool. SSI certified divers seem to be the worst at this topic... kinda surprising.

I wander the beach front of Arse d’Arlet for dinner each night.  Eat breakfast at the old-house with my Carrefour grocery foods.. Dive, Dive,  Dive.  About half the dives are excellent,  the other half so-so,  Sadly,, there are fish traps everywhere here.. capturing all the fish worth eating..  How long can the reef hold up to this?  I can only guess.  But for my visit.. I get tons of Macro shots, crabs, squid, cleaner shrimp ,, I’d come here again anytime.  I’d recommend Deep Turtle and its staff every day..  a small but well organized dive shop.

At the close of the day,, the divers gather around the dive shop.. and share rum-punch for a cooler.. Telling their tails..  I must give these French credit for living the moment!! Cheers to them.

Pushing on from a week at Arse d’Arlet..  I arrange another room in the North of Martinique.. Hoping to dive there.. Saint-Pierre..  famous for the 1902 Volcanic eruption here that killed 30k.

But,, unfortunately, none of the dive shops in Saint-Pierre are available/open ... so, I end up with a room in Case-Pilot.  I spend my extra free time visiting the Rainforests and exploring Martinique..  Also, downtown Fort de France. The capital city.

I find outstanding adventures everywhere..  In the old city, I stumble upon a Library with an excellent Art Gallery.. Wow.. totally cool.  And another day, a visit to a mountain top garden .. in a cloud Rainforest . .  Jardin de Balato….  Hummingbird central.  This is gorgeous.

And still on another drive, I find a zoo that is amazing!!! Absolutely cool, built among the ruins of an old French Habitate (estate),, that Paul Gaugin once visited.    I’m Loving Martinique.

Although,  I struggle for proper dinners, struggle with the language, never find a good hotel ..… I do manage to exit Martinque without incident.  It’s not an easy visit.. Not what I expected.  But everyone is polite.  Zero possibility of crime or a bad experience my entire stay .... This is a well run and well administrated  ‘country’.

Martinique has the best roads I’ve seen in all of the Caribbean.. Only Puerto Rico can compare.  But strangely,  everything else seems caught in a time warp.  Maybe back in the 80’s or 90’s.. years behind the world.

Curiously,  I find very few true hotels.. And end up renting Airbnb’s and random rooms...  Not easy to figure out without French. It’s as-if only a minimal financial investment has been made here for years .. other than the outstanding roads...  At times,, it seems like every building is 30-40 years old.. without even a new/recent one anywhere.  It seems on purpose.  Preserving this life-style?? . Keeping out the hotels, and fast track growth.. Maybe it’s a good idea,, I can’t say.

Very few non-French tourists visit here.. .. except possibly by cruise ships that stop at the port..   I never see another American here.  Or cruise ships for that matter - but I'm told they visit here sometimes.

I do find a patch for my backpack from Department 972 – as Martinque is identified by France. Success !

One final observation about Martinique.  Regarding the costs.  Martinique, uses the Euro,, and is surprisingly inexpensive.  Food at the Carrefour grocery store ... maybe 50-80% cheaper than in the US… Wow.  And rooms,, also 50-80% cheaper,, and dinners out.. much less.  Even the diving was less than we pay in the US.  And my car rental.. 25% of what I paid in Bonaire… or any of the other Caribbean islands – and NO extra fake international license tax.

Actually,  the only thing that was expensive was the gas/petrol.. And since Martinique is not a big island,, the expense is nominal.. requiring just a half tank total during my visit of 2 weeks.   All this,  with an exchange rate that favors the Euro over the Dollar $1/.90e.  Why is this the case ?  How can everything in the US be so expensive ?  Maybe it’s our leaders pumping Inflation and printing money like candy? I can only guess.

Time to push onward  - more of the French West Indies up next.