When to go to Martinique?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: December to April (dry season, known locally as carême)
At a glance
Why go to Martinique?
Martinique is an island of contrasts packed into a pocket handkerchief: in an hour's drive, you go from the postcard beaches of the south to the tree-fern forests and waterfalls of the north, from the ghost town of Saint-Pierre to the noisy markets of Fort-de-France. Rhum agricole is as much a culture here as a drink, with a dozen distilleries that open their doors for free, and Creole cooking, from boudin to colombo, can be tasted everywhere, from beach lolos to gourmet restaurants.
It suits families who want a calm beach in the morning and a visit in the evening, couples looking for a charming hotel facing the sea, hikers who come for the Pelée and the Trace des Jésuites, and history lovers who cannot remain indifferent to the memory of slavery, from the plantation estates to Anse Cafard.
Divers find wrecks and drop-offs, surfers find waves at Tartane, food lovers find a covered market and aged rums to take home. It disappoints those who refuse to drive, which is essential, and those who dream of a lagoon lined with overwater bungalows: Martinique is an inhabited, lively island, and that is its strength.
Map of Martinique: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Mount Pelée
- Saint-Pierre
- Les Anses-d'Arlet
- Grande Anse des Salines
- Caravelle Peninsula
- Fort-de-France
How much does a trip to Martinique cost?
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | between €70 and €100 per day per person | a gîte or bungalow for two, a small car booked early, accras and one lolo meal a day come to between €70 and €100 per day per person, excluding flights. |
| Comfort | €130 to €200 per day | a three-star hotel at Pointe du Bout or Sainte-Anne, one restaurant a day, a trip to the fonds blancs and two paid visits add up to €130 to €200 per day. |
| Premium | €300 per day | a charming hotel facing the sea, dinners out every evening, a dive and a private catamaran come to more than €300 per day. The return flight from Paris costs €500 to €1,100 depending on the season, car hire €30 to €60 a day, and fuel costs roughly the same as in mainland France. |
Is Martinique safe?
The island is safe, with the usual precautions against theft from cars parked at beaches and trailheads: leave nothing visible. On the Atlantic coast and above all on Le Diamant beach, the rollers and rip currents cause drownings every year, so swim on the Caribbean coast and at Les Salines, and never shelter under a manchineel, a seaside tree marked with a red band whose sap burns the skin. Sargassum seaweed washes up periodically on the Atlantic coast, from Le Robert to Le Vauclin, with a smell of rotten eggs: check the bulletins before choosing a beach in the east. Mosquitoes transmit dengue, so cover up at dusk and use repellent. On the Pelée, set off early, take water and a warm layer, and give up if the fog is already there at the car park. The hurricane season runs from June to November, peaking in September, when cancellation insurance is a wise move. On the road, Martinicans drive fast and pedestrians walk on the carriageway in the evening, so stay alert at night.
What to see and do in Martinique
- Mount Pelée
- Saint-Pierre and the 1902 Memorial
- Les Anses-d'Arlet
- Diamond Rock and the Cap 110 Memorial
- Grande Anse des Salines
- The fonds blancs of Le François
- Caravelle Peninsula
- Habitation Clément
Mount Pelée
The 1,397-metre volcano that towers over the north of the island destroyed Saint-Pierre in 1902, then had a final eruption between 1929 and 1932 before falling dormant, under the constant watch of the Morne des Cadets observatory. Its slopes carry the densest rainforest on the island, and the Volcanoes and Forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons of Northern Martinique were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in September 2023. Three trails climb to the summit: L'Aileron from Morne-Rouge, the shortest at four to five hours there and back, Grande Savane from Le Prêcheur, drier and steeper, and the long trail from Grand-Rivière in the north. The summit is almost always in cloud by the middle of the day, and the temperature there drops below 15°C, a contrast few visitors anticipate.
Saint-Pierre
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The economic and cultural capital of Martinique until 1902, Saint-Pierre then had 28,000 inhabitants, an 800-seat theatre modelled on the one in Bordeaux, trading houses and a port that exported sugar and rum to mainland France. On 8 May 1902 at 8.02am, a pyroclastic flow from the Pelée razed the town in two minutes, leaving only a handful of survivors, among them the prisoner Cyparis, protected by the walls of his cell. Modestly rebuilt on its ruins, the town now holds the Ville d'Art et d'Histoire label and can be explored on foot between the theatre, the prison cell, the Église du Fort and the Memorial to the 1902 disaster, a museum rebuilt in 2019 on the former Esnotz battery. The harbour holds a dozen wrecks sunk that day, which the town's diving clubs explore, and the Depaz distillery, up on the heights, still produces its rum at the foot of the volcano.
Les Anses-d'Arlet
This commune on the southern Caribbean coast strings together coves of golden or black sand at the foot of wooded hills: the village itself with its jetty and the church of Saint-Henri, Grande Anse d'Arlet and its turtles, Petite Anse, and the twin coves of Anse Dufour and Anse Noire, separated by a hill you cross on foot in ten minutes. The green turtles grazing the seagrass beds of Grande Anse can be seen with a mask from the beach, without a boat, making it one of the easiest snorkelling spots in the Caribbean. The Morne Champagne path links Grande Anse to the village in half an hour with views of Diamond Rock, and fishermen still sell their catch straight from their yawls in the late morning. In the evening, the light falls right along the axis of the bay and the seafront restaurants fill with people from Fort-de-France who come for dinner.
Grande Anse des Salines
At the southern tip of the island, in the commune of Sainte-Anne, this crescent of beach more than a kilometre long is the most visited in Martinique, with fine white sand, wave-free water and coconut palms that have survived the storms. It takes its name from the salt pond that stretches behind it, a former saltworks used until the 20th century and now a protected wetland where herons and sandpipers nest. To the east, the Trace des Caps follows the coastline to the Savane des Pétrifications, a semi-desert landscape of red rocks where fossilised wood was once found, then on towards Anse Trabaud and Cap Chevalier. The village of Sainte-Anne, five kilometres away, keeps a shady square, a church and lolos serving the best smoked chicken in the south.
Caravelle Peninsula
A national nature reserve since 1976, this twelve-kilometre peninsula in the north-east of the island packs into 400 hectares habitats found nowhere else in Martinique: dry forest with gumbo-limbo trees, mangroves, cliffs battered by the Atlantic and cactus savannahs. Two waymarked trails go round it, a short ninety-minute loop through the mangroves and a long three-hour loop via the cliffs and the lighthouse, both starting from the Château Dubuc. These ruins of an 18th-century sugar plantation, with its curing house, prison cells and animal-driven mill, can be visited with an audio guide and overlook the Baie du Trésor. The village of Tartane, on the other side of the peninsula, is Martinique's surf spot, with schools on Anse Bonneville beach and consistent waves from November to April.
Fort-de-France
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The island's capital is best discovered on foot from La Savane, the large public garden facing the bay, between Fort Saint-Louis, still occupied by the French Navy and open to visitors by reservation, and the Schœlcher Library, an iron and glass pavilion built in Paris for the 1889 World's Fair then reassembled here piece by piece. The Grand Marché covered market on Rue Isambert sells spices, rum punches, madras cloth and jams, with Creole restaurants upstairs serving the dish of the day for around fifteen euros. Saint-Louis Cathedral and its stained glass, the shopping streets around Rue Victor-Hugo and the fish market on the Canal Levassor give the pulse of the city in the morning, though it empties after 6pm. Up in the hills, the Jardin de Balata, ten kilometres along the Route de la Trace, displays 3,000 tropical species and a walkway through the mahogany trees for €16 per adult.
How many days, and which itinerary?
A week lets you split the island in two: three days in the south for the beaches, Les Anses-d'Arlet and Le Diamant, three days in the north for Saint-Pierre, the Pelée and the Route de la Trace, with a day on the fonds blancs. Ten days leave time for the Caravelle, Grand-Rivière and proper lazy days. A long weekend only makes sense as a relaxed stay in the south, as the 8h45 flight from Paris and the time difference cost two days.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Martinique guide (PDF)
long weekend (4 days)
Day 1, arrival at Aimé-Césaire airport in the early afternoon, pick up the car and settle in at Les Trois-Îlets or Sainte-Anne, first swim at Anse Mitan or Les Salines. Day 2, turtles at Grande Anse d'Arlet at sunrise, lunch in the village of Les Anses-d'Arlet, the Anse Cafard memorial and sunset over Diamond Rock. Day 3, a boat trip to the fonds blancs of Le François in the morning, Habitation Clément in the afternoon. Day 4, the Fort-de-France covered market, the Jardin de Balata, return flight in the evening.
five days
Day 1, arrival, settle in the south, Les Salines beach. Day 2, Les Anses-d'Arlet, Anse Dufour and Anse Noire, the Cap 110 memorial at sunset. Day 3, the fonds blancs of Le François then Habitation Clément, drive north and spend the night in Saint-Pierre or Le Carbet. Day 4, climb the Pelée via L'Aileron before 7am, lunch in Morne-Rouge, the Depaz distillery and the ruins of Saint-Pierre in the afternoon. Day 5, the Route de la Trace with a swim at the Saut du Gendarme waterfall, the Jardin de Balata, the Grand Marché in Fort-de-France, evening flight.
one week
Day 1, arrival, settle in Sainte-Anne or Le Marin. Day 2, Les Salines at dawn, the Trace des Caps to the Savane des Pétrifications, a siesta and a lolo. Day 3, Les Anses-d'Arlet and Le Diamant, the Cap 110 memorial. Day 4, the fonds blancs of Le François and Habitation Clément, night in Tartane. Day 5, the Caravelle peninsula and the Château Dubuc in the morning, drive along the northern Atlantic coast to Grand-Rivière for a fish lunch, back via Morne-Rouge, night in Saint-Pierre. Day 6, Mount Pelée at daybreak, Saint-Pierre and Depaz in the afternoon. Day 7, the Route de la Trace, the Jardin de Balata, Fort-de-France, last night near the airport.
Getting there and getting around
Air France, Air Caraïbes and Corsair fly non-stop from Paris-Orly in about 8h45, with fares starting at around €500 return in low season and topping €1,000 during the Christmas and February holidays. Martinique Aimé-Césaire airport is in Le Lamentin, fifteen minutes from Fort-de-France, and the hire companies are on site: a car is essential, allow €30 to €50 a day for a small city car booked in advance, more at the last minute in the dry season.
The main road between the airport and the south gets seriously congested at office hours: allow an hour and a quarter for Sainte-Anne and 45 minutes for Saint-Pierre outside rush hour. Between Fort-de-France and Pointe du Bout, Anse Mitan or Anse à l'Âne at Les Trois-Îlets, the ferry shuttle crosses the bay in twenty minutes for €7 return, from 6.30am to 10.30pm on some evenings, which saves driving round the bay.
The Martinique Transport bus network and its dedicated-lane line link the centre to the airport and Le Lamentin, but do not let you explore the island.
Where to stay in Martinique?
Budget: the southern Caribbean coast has the most apartment residences and small hotels under €100 a night, at Les Trois-Îlets around Pointe du Bout, in the bungalow villages of Sainte-Luce and at Le Diamant. Gîtes and guest rooms in Les Anses-d'Arlet, Le Vauclin or Sainte-Anne let you cook and cost €50 to €80 a night for two. In the north, Saint-Pierre and Le Carbet keep a few simple addresses that are handy for the Pelée.
Comfort: Pointe du Bout, at Les Trois-Îlets, is the most convenient base, with three- and four-star hotels facing the Bay of Fort-de-France, the ferry shuttle on the doorstep and the beaches of Anse Mitan, between €130 and €220 a night. Sainte-Anne and Le Marin offer quieter beachfront hotels, twenty minutes from Les Salines, and Tartane, on the Caravelle, has addresses with Atlantic views for surfers and walkers.
Our favourite: the Creole plantation houses turned into charming hotels in the north, at Le Carbet, Saint-Pierre or on the Atlantic coast at La Trinité, with wooden verandas, tropical gardens and fruit breakfasts facing the hills. On the southern Caribbean coast, charming villas clinging to the hillsides of Les Trois-Îlets or Les Anses-d'Arlet open their pools onto Diamond Rock, and in Tartane, a few guesthouses turn their backs on everything to look only at the ocean.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Martinique?
Martinican cooking is first tasted at the counter: salt cod accras at €1 each, spicy Creole boudin, féroce of avocado and salt cod, and ti-punch, white rhum agricole, cane sugar and a twist of lime, which everyone mixes to taste. At a beach lolo, smoked chicken or grilled fish with rice, red beans and christophine gratin comes to around €15 to €20, while a sit-down restaurant charges €25 to €45 for goat colombo, fish blaff, conch or octopus fricassee.
The Grand Marché covered market in Fort-de-France, on Rue Isambert, sells spices, fruit punches and jams, with restaurants upstairs serving a dish of the day for around fifteen euros, and the markets of Le Marin and Sainte-Anne are lively at weekends. Martinique rhum agricole is the only rum in the world protected by an AOC, awarded in 1996: Depaz in Saint-Pierre, Clément in Le François, Saint-James in Sainte-Marie, Trois Rivières and La Mauny in the south, and JM in Macouba open their cellars, almost all of them for free, with tastings.
Hand-churned coconut sorbets at the markets and tourments d'amour cakes cost €2 to €3.
Entry requirements
Martinique is part of France and the EU but outside the Schengen area: EU citizens need only an ID card, and UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports get 90 days visa-free. Carry a return ticket, you may be asked for it.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Martinique
When is the best time to go to Martinique?
The carême, from December to April, is the dry season, with steady trade winds, little rain and a sea at 27°C, but also the highest prices and the Christmas and February crowds. May, June and November remain very pleasant, with short showers and gentler prices. From July to October, the hivernage brings humid heat, storms and hurricane risk peaking in September, which does not rule out a trip but calls for flexibility and cancellation insurance.
Do you need to hire a car in Martinique?
Yes, unless you are staying put at Pointe du Bout, linked to Fort-de-France by the ferry shuttle. Buses do not serve the beaches or the trails, and the major sights, the Pelée, Saint-Pierre, Les Salines and the Caravelle, are an hour or more apart. Book several weeks ahead for Christmas and February, and choose a small car: the roads in the north are narrow and beach car parks tiny.
How many days should you spend in Martinique?
A week lets you cover the south and the north with a day on the fonds blancs; ten days give time for the Caravelle, Grand-Rivière and proper beach days. With four days, stay in the south between Les Trois-Îlets, Les Anses-d'Arlet and Les Salines, with a single excursion. The 8h45 flight from Paris and the time difference of five to six hours with mainland France, depending on the season, are good reasons not to go for less than a week.
North or south: where should you stay in Martinique?
The south for white sand beaches, hotels and boat trips, with Pointe du Bout at Les Trois-Îlets as the most practical base and Sainte-Anne for peace and quiet. The north for nature, the Pelée, Saint-Pierre and the waterfalls of the Route de la Trace, with Le Carbet or Saint-Pierre as a base. Over a week, the best plan is to spend five nights in the south and two in the north to avoid driving back and forth.
Can you see turtles in Martinique without a boat?
Yes, at Grande Anse d'Arlet, where green turtles graze the seagrass a few metres from the shore, visible with just a mask, and at Anse Dufour or Anse Noire, two neighbouring coves. Come early in the morning or late in the afternoon, keep your distance, do not touch them or chase them: the species is protected and the gendarmes issue fines. Leatherback and hawksbill turtles nest on certain beaches between March and October, to be watched only with approved associations.
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