Nice beach for day in martinique

[lillotis]

Will be in Martinique for day during cruise. Would love to just relax on a beach and maybe walk around teh town. Any recommendations for a nice beach for the day and how do we get there?

[pomliane]

you could take the shuttle accross Fort-de-France Bay and go to the Pointe du Bout; There you'll find hotel beaches were you could do snorkeling or just relax and drink cocktails. You also could shop in the "boutiques" of the "village Créole" a small but very nice mall

[DreadPirateRobert]

I'll second that. It was the high point of the day in Martinique.

The little harbor where the ferry docks is charming.

Just a note of caution to those for whom it might pose a problem. Those beaches are "tops optional"

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Do the hotels there let you use or rent their chairs/restrooms? I've been looking for a fun place to hang out in Martinique.

 

cheryl

[pomliane]

of course you can rent chairs in the Sofitel Bakoua Hotel or the Kalenda Hotel in Pointe du Bout.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Pomliane: Thanks for the response, though you must understand that some hotels do not welcome non-guests on their property.

 

Cheryl

[pomliane]

Be sure that in France (and Martinique is part of France), hotel are obliged to allow access to the beaches to non-guests.Sometimes, hotels rent their chairs to non-guest.

[cruznlobo]

So you're saying, while on Martinique we can use any beach we want and the hotels have to let us?

[pomliane]

yes. Beaches are public domains in France. Hotels are obliged to let free acces to the beach they use. The hotel installations (bars, pool,restroom, chairs..) can be restricted areas but not the beach. In Martinique, only one hotel has a really private beach (but you have an access by sea) : Club Med Les Boucaniers (Sainte Anne) which is now closed for restoration.

So you can go to hotels in Pointe Du Bout, have good time on the beach for free, you can have snacks, cocktails at the hotel bars or at the bars of the area (village creole).

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

which beach would be the best to have some nice relaxing topless fun where the beaches are not overcrowded?

 

Cheryl

[pomliane]

If you take the boat-shuttle from Fort-de-France (named Somatour), you can go to the Pointe du Bout where top less is allowed in all hotel beaches.

These beaches are not overcrowded.

If you rent a car, and want to discover Martinique for a day, go to Pointe du Marin (where the Club Med les boucaniers is located) or Salines in Sainte Anne at the South of Martinique. It will take about 35 min to get to the beach.

For more information and if you want to see nice pictures of Martinique, visitewww.martinique.org

Bon voyage :)

[cruznlobo]

Are there any beaches on Martinique that are not topless and have a decent bar for some partying?

[pomliane]

don't be afraid, these beaches are "top optional". You won't be obliged to be topless or anything.

[kapcruiser]

Is there a beach-hotel area that you can take a taxi to from the pier?

[pomliane]

It's better go downtown (walking, or taking a taxi) and take the shuttle boat "Somatour"to Pointe du Bout where you'll find what you want.

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

We only have half a day in Martinique so thought we would just spend it exploring Fort de France and doing some shopping. The village creole sounds interesting - what is it like and how long does it take to get to Point du Bout?

 

Cheers,

Deb

[pomliane]

the Village Créole is in Pointe Du Bout, just 15 min crossing the Fort-de-France's Bay. You can take the shuttle boat Somatour, it's only, 6.5€.

[Floridamom]

If you take the boat-shuttle from Fort-de-France (named Somatour), you can go to the Pointe du Bout where top less is allowed in all hotel beaches.

These beaches are not overcrowded.

If you rent a car, and want to discover Martinique for a day, go to Pointe du Marin (where the Club Med les boucaniers is located) or Salines in Sainte Anne at the South of Martinique. It will take about 35 min to get to the beach.

For more information and if you want to see nice pictures of Martinique, visitewww.martinique.org

Bon voyage :)

 

 

We were planning on renting and driving a bit to see some of the island. The beaches in Sainte Anne, do they have any facilities like chairs or places to get some drinks? Any place to get out of the sun? Or is it just a beautiful wide open beach? Would you say the facilities at the hotels in Pointe du Bout would offer more as far as a place to enjoy a beach, but also a nice bar with some great drinks? I love to swim in a beautiful ocean, but I don't lay in the sun for hours, so I'm looking for a place that would have some nice facilities as well. Would we be better off going to a beach behind a hotel?

[pomliane]

sorry for answering so late!

 

If you're searching for a nice beach to swim, lay in the sun, but also have drinks in the shadow:D , you have two choices :

- go to an hotel beach such as Bakoua or Kalenda in Pointe du Bout.

-go to more authentic martinican beach : Grande Anse d'Arlet (about 20min from Pointe du Bout with a car). There, you'll find a nice caribbean bay, with quite water, and small restaurants or lounge bar where you'll enjoy drinks or more. 3 places i recommend : Quai sud Lounge bar (they rent chairs), Ti sable or ti plage.

Here are pictures of Grande Anse.

http://martinique.8-d.org/IMG/jpg/grande-anse-arlet-02-99a.jpg

http://martinique.8-d.org/IMG/jpg/grande-anse-avion.jpg

http://martinique.8-d.org/IMG/jpg/grande-anse-arlet-02-99b.jpg

[Momto5boys]

pomliane,

Are there any nice beaches with good snorkeling from shore?

[pomliane]

yes, the closer beach you can go to is in Pointe du Bout . You also can go to Anse d'Arlet or Grand Anse but you'll have to make a choice : go to the beach or have a taxi tour. Martinique, is not a big island but doing both is impossible the same day ...unless you go to the black sand beaches of St Pierre or Carbet, which very nice ...but no snorkeling there.

 

Enjoy,

Pomliane