Things to Do in Martinique in 8 Days

If you follow us on social media, you may have caught a glimpse of our wonderful trip to Martinique. What we can already tell you is that it wasn’t long enough: there’s no chance of getting bored on this island! 8 days just isn’t enough! In this first article, we share the best things to do in Martinique, our impressions, our itinerary and a few tips for a great trip… Later on, we’ll tell you about some of our days and activities in more detail, all the beautiful beaches in Martinique we managed to see and, of course, we’ve written an article about Martinican food!

Things to do in Martinique at a glance

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Our first impressions of Martinique

➺ It’s hot and humid! But less so than in Punta Cana! (at almost the same time of year)
➺ The weather forecast is completely unreliable… According to the internet, it was supposed to rain all week during our stay…
➺ People are really friendly and warm, even if we got a few stares during the first few days…
➺ It gets dark early… Very early… so you wake up early… Very early! 😀
➺ The mosquitoes could be called “ghost mosquitoes”… You don’t see them, you don’t hear them, but the bites are definitely there!
➺ The island is packed with activities, hidden spots to discover and local specialities to taste…
➺ Lots of little birds (robins, hummingbirds and others) came to visit our terrace in the morning.

Our 8-day Martinique itinerary

We managed to do quite a lot during our short week on the island, mixing sightseeing, walks and lazy days on the beach. To give you an idea of what you can do in 8 days in Martinique, and because we won’t be describing every single day in detail, here’s our day-by-day plan. We organised it as we went along: as mentioned, there was no way to plan ahead with the weather…

Thursday, day 1 – Arrival in Fort-de-France at 5pm, then settling in with our friend’s family.

Friday, day 2 – Glorious weather! So we made the most of it to discover a few beaches in Les Anses-d’Arlet: Grande Anse, Anse d’Arlet (where the village is) and Diamant beach… We also tasted our first poulet boucané (smoked chicken)… Delicious!

Saturday, day 3 – A rainy day, so we set off to visit several sites in Les Trois-Îlets: the pottery village (Village de la Poterie), the Savane des Esclaves, the coffee and cocoa museum, La Pagerie, the Maison de la Canne… Only to discover that the coffee and cocoa museum no longer exists and the Maison de la Canne was closed for a private event… Bad luck! Then, on our way to the Savane des Esclaves… our car broke down. 3 hours later, the tow truck finally arrived, luckily with a replacement car. We headed straight to the Savane des Esclaves.

Sunday, day 4 – Off for a day in the “north of Martinique”: a stop in Fort-de-France, a visit to the Balata Garden, a drive along the Route de la Trace, a stop at the Saut du Gendarme waterfall, a glimpse of Mount Pelée, an aborted swim at Anse Couleuvre, then back down the coast with lunch in Saint-Pierre and a swim at Le Carbet beach.

Monday, day 5 – A more relaxed day after the previous day’s marathon. A long morning swimming at Grande Anse des Salines, said to be the most beautiful beach in Martinique. In the late afternoon, we visited the Clément rum distillery.

Tuesday, day 6 – A boat trip to see the Baignoire de Joséphine (Josephine’s Bath) and the surrounding islets.

Wednesday, day 7 – A boat trip to see dolphins!! Lunch and a swim at Anse Dufour. In the late afternoon, a bit of shopping at the Carrefour supermarket… And surprisingly, I had a great time! I really enjoyed looking at and photographing all the products you never see in mainland France!

Thursday, day 8 – One last swim at Anse Figuier before packing our bags and heading to the airport…

How many days do you need in Martinique?

In 8 days, we saw the main sights… but it was a bit of a rush! Looking back (and with our readers’ feedback in the comments), here’s how we would plan the trip depending on how long you have.

➺ One week in Martinique: focus on the south (Les Anses-d’Arlet, Le Diamant, Les Trois-Îlets, Les Salines) and keep one full day for the north of Martinique, as we did. It’s doable, but you’ll have to make choices!

➺ 10 days in Martinique: for us, this is the ideal length. We’d recommend splitting your stay between two places: around 3 nights in the north (near Le Carbet or Saint-Pierre) and the rest in the south (Sainte-Luce, Sainte-Anne…). You’ll have time to add the Caravelle peninsula and a proper day in Saint-Pierre.

➺ 2 weeks in Martinique: this is the trip we dream of doing again! Enough time to add the Mount Pelée hike, the Domaine d’Émeraude, Cap 110, the Savane des Pétrifications… and above all more beach time, without watching the clock.

What to see and do in Martinique

Les Anses-d’Arlet

A stroll around Les Anses-d’Arlet and a swim at Grande Anse (you can usually see turtles there, but only early in the morning!)… The snorkelling is really good! Don’t miss the church or the local market, where you can buy fruit, spices or souvenirs… Or simply enjoy a fresh coconut!

Diamond Rock (Rocher du Diamant)

This famous rock can be approached on a boat trip. We were happy to admire it from a distance, then enjoyed Diamant beach, right opposite.

The pottery village (Village de la Poterie)

In under an hour, you can wander around the pottery village, where you can watch several demonstrations and buy local crafts. It’s rather nice! You also learn how important pottery is in Martinican culture.

La Savane des Esclaves

Located in Les Trois-Îlets, this site is brilliant! It recreates the villages of the past, with the huts where enslaved people lived, but above all the visit is really informative: we learnt more about the “Neg Marrons” (escaped slaves), their way of life and the benefits of many medicinal plants. Our guide was passionate and knew her subject inside out. The aim of the site is to preserve and share the island’s heritage. Mission accomplished!

Fort-de-France

There was no way we could skip the island’s capital… But we picked the wrong day! As it was Sunday, Mass was being held in the Saint-Louis Cathedral (which was also under renovation), and the market was closed!! Noooo! Don’t miss the Schœlcher Library, a magnificent building to admire from the outside, but don’t make our mistake: come on a weekday!

The Balata Garden

The famous botanical garden is home to exotic plants from all over the world. The walkways zigzag between trees, dense vegetation and breathtaking scenery. Watch where you stop: we came across a huge tarantula!

The Route de la Trace

At 29 kilometres long, the Route de la Trace is a must-do attraction in itself in the north of the island. The scenery is stunning, with hidden gems all along the way. Between waterfalls, churches and rivers, this is where you’ll find the Balata Garden, as well as the Domaine d’Émeraude (which we didn’t visit). We tell you all about that day in our article on the north of Martinique.

Beaches and coves

We’ve written a dedicated article on the beaches of Martinique to tell you more about them. Make the most of your trip to discover black sand beaches such as Anse Couleuvre, and don’t miss the most beautiful of all: Les Salines beach! Among the ones we discovered (non-exhaustive list):

• Anse Couleuvre
• Anse Dufour
• Anse Figuier
• Grande Anse d’Arlet
• Les Salines beach
• Le Carbet ….

Visit a rum distillery

Visiting a rum distillery is a must on any trip to Martinique. We chose Habitation Clément. It didn’t really win us over: the estate is beautiful and very well kept. But for us, it was missing a real guide rather than an audio guide, to bring the visit to life a little more. What we enjoyed most was the tasting at the end… With no limit… 🙂

Josephine’s Bath (Baignoire de Joséphine)

According to the guidebooks, a boat trip to Josephine’s Bath is an absolute must to discover the white sandy shallows and natural pools. So we booked a very full day, stopping at several islets (Iguana Islet, Îlet Madame, etc.), which we really loved! Read our article about our day at the Baignoire de Joséphine.

See dolphins in the wild

When I found out you could see dolphins in Martinique… I immediately added it to my list of things to do… So off we went looking for them for almost 2 hours… They really made us wait, but it’s still a fantastic memory!

More things to do in Martinique

• The Caravelle peninsula
• Hiking on Mount Pelée
• Cap 110: the slavery memorial
• The Savane des Pétrifications

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Martinique travel tips: the practical corner

Where to stay?

We stayed with our friend’s grandmother. But from what we heard and saw during our research, studios and flats to rent are fairly cheap. We almost always book our stays on Booking, so have a look.

Where to eat?

There are small restaurants everywhere, on the beaches or roadside food shacks… Whenever we ate out, we always found something quickly, and it was usually very good! As for prices, expect around €10 per dish. A bit more for fish.

➺ Our article on Martinican food is here 😉

Car hire

A car is essential for your trip to Martinique. Public transport isn’t very developed, services are infrequent, and some areas can’t be reached by bus at all.

Drive very carefully and avoid driving at night: roads aren’t always lit, they’re sometimes damaged by rain or wind, and there isn’t always a sign to warn you! (For example, if a landslide has only just happened.)

Check your hire car even more carefully than usual when you pick it up. Even underneath! While trying to avoid a speed bump, a plastic part broke and came off the car. Not knowing what it was, we had to wait for a tow truck to collect the car (and luckily bring us another one!)… We had fully comprehensive insurance, but the excess we had to pay upfront at the airport was very steep…

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We were truly charmed and surprised by the island: we never imagined there would be so much to discover in 8 days in Martinique! Now all that’s left is to plan a second trip, this time for 2 weeks! In the meantime, you’ll find all our guides on our Martinique page.

Have you been to Martinique? Tell us about your experiences!

FAQ: things to do in Martinique