Know before you go : Martinique Edition

In this article, I’ll make an overview of everything useful to know before going to Martinique, including some travel tips.

You’ll find : 

Martinique is a volcanic island and overseas territorial collectivity of France, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The nearest islands are Dominica, Guadeloupe and Saint Lucia.

The administrative capital and chief town is Fort-de-France, and the largest city in Martinique as well.

Martinique is around 80 km long and 35 km wide, the island’s population is around 376.000 people.

The best time to visit Martinique is in May. You’ll have great temperatures (around 28°C). From December to April, it’s the dry season (less rain) but also the busiest time. There’s more tourist at that time, hence the prices increase. Hurricane season technically starts in June but September has the highest likelihood of storms.

We went in December and had a nice weather (around 26-28°C), but a bit of rain almost everyday on the first five days, even though it lasts only ten minutes.

The currency in Martinique is the Euro.

Almost every restaurants and grocery store accept the card for paiements, but you should withdraw some cash for local markets, bakeries, boat rides…

The prices for restaurants vary depending if you go to touristy areas or more local places, but overall it’s quite expensive (minimum would be 14-18€ per person for a basic accra or chicken salad).

As we prefered to eat in local stalls on the roadside at lunch (for a grilled chicken thigh, cod accras and fruits), the bill for 4 people was really reasonable (20-30€ total). In restaurants, it was more or less around 20€ per person, a bit more if you chose fish.

Regarding the places to visit such as the various activities or the different boat rides, to give you some examples, the entrance fee was around 4€ per person for the boat ride to Ilet Chevalier, 11€ for Habitation Clement and 16€ for the Balata garden.

Regarding accomodations, you can find most Airbnb / hotels in Anses d’Arlet (which is the best little town to stay to visit the island) starting at 80€ (at least) per night for two people. We chose to stay on a really typical wooden bungalow overlooking the Grande Anse d’arlet, so we paid 150€ per night for four people.

Clothing : I would suggest packing first a hat or a cap as well as sunglasses and sunscreen because the sun is really strong whenever you come to Martinique.

Of course, bathing suits, sportswear and hiking shoes or at least nice trainers if you plan on hiking.

Raingear : You might want to bring something for the rain if it bothers you (I had a cap to protect my glasses from the rain drops).

Medication : Take with you some mosquito repellent, sunscreen and after sun cream.

Adapter: Martinique uses Type C and F power outlets, like most European countries. Travelers from outside Europe will need a plug adapter. A power bank is also handy for keeping your devices charged during a long day of exploration !

There’s a lot to bring back from Martinique !

Food : When exploring the different villages, you’ll come across A LOT of spices such as nutmeg, colombo, cinnamon, pepper but also vanilla beans or vanilla extract so if you have room in your luggage there are really worth it.

Martinique also has great cocoa, coffee, jam (guava, banana or coconut).

Drinks : Of course, Martinique is famous for its rums and punch, so you can bring back miniature bottles if you only have carry-ons (or want to taste many !), or real size bottle at the duty free zone.

The official language is French, however you’ll find that everyone has a great level in English.

But here are a few words you can use :

Hello : Bonjour [Bon Jour]

Thank you : Merci [mair sea]

You’re welcome : De rien [de ryen]

I understand / I don’t understand : Je comprend / Je ne comprend pas [jeu con pran / jeu neu con pran pa]

Sorry : Pardon [par don]

My name is… : Je m’appelle… [jeu m’apail leu]

Yes / No : Oui [ui] / Non [non]

As we came from France, our mobile plan included internet and calls in Martinique.

However if you need to buy one upon arrival, Airalo e-sim has the best value for money. Otherwise you can buy a Sim card at Orange or La Poste Mobile Caraibes, it has great options available for tourists and it’s not that expensive.

Now for renting a car, I recommend booking via Rentiles. It’s the less expensive option and our was clean and in great conditions (just downside was the small engine for all those uphill roads !).

There’s a lot of things to see in Martinique and around ! You can spend a day in visiting the city center, discover the many islands around, or have a boat tour…You won’t be bored a second !

Here’s a list of the best things to do on the island :

That’s it for my Martinique travel tips ! To have a lot more information and pictures about these places, you can read my ultimate Martinique itinerary.

I have also made a detailed post about the best beaches on the island and one about the food specialties to try out in Martinique.