Recent Visit. Loved it even more!

[Arzeena]

We visited Martinique on the Celebrity Equinox in the end of October. We have been there many times before and have always loved it.
 

This time we first walked around town. Most stores were closed. Some restaurants and cafes were open or opening up since this was early on in the morning. The local guides informed us that most will open for lunch and if we keep walking past their McDonald's we would come to something like a restaurant/cafe row. We will try that next time.
 

We walked to St Louis Cathederal and there was a Sunday mass going on. The mass was in French. It was great hearing a mass in French and not quite understanding but feeling one with the people. After that we walked around a bit, looked at some historic buildings and browsed around a grocey supermarket which was quite "up to date".

We then walked back near the dock and got on to the noon ferry for Trois Islet. The ferry was packed like sardines. It seemed like an "Equinox exclusive ferry" LOL.

We got off at the Marina and walked around town there. Love the ambiance of that town. More things were open. Lots of cafes and restaurants, lots of tourists. Most stores that I asked at accepted US dollars. We walked up to Hotel Bakoua and to use their beach. We have had great memories at the Bakoua. We then had a delicious French lunch buffet at their terrace restaurant. They had a lovely Caribbean band and people were dancing. The views from the restaurant were excellent. Had a great relaxing day. Then back to the ferry.

 

There were local guides for help, and all types of tours can be booked right at the port.

[EatonDoolittle]

8 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

We then walked back near the dock and got on to the noon ferry for Trois Islet. The ferry was packed like sardines. It seemed like an "Equinox exclusive ferry" LOL.

We got off at the Marina and walked around town there. Love the ambiance of that town.

 

There were local guides for help, and all types of tours can be booked right at the port.

 

Great, informative review. Much more helpful than the usual "don't get off the ship here, people are unfriendly". Thanks for posting.

 

I will be there in a few weeks, and also want to get the ferry to Trois Islet. I'm guessing "near the dock" would mean that if I exited the ship from the main pier, I would walk towards the right and along the waterfront to find it. 

In previous visits, there have been white vendor tents along the walkway. 

Am I heading in the correct direction to find the ferry?  Do I recall a carousel down there? 

 

Thanks. 

[Arzeena]

18 hours ago, EatonDoolittle said:

 

Great, informative review. Much more helpful than the usual "don't get off the ship here, people are unfriendly". Thanks for posting.

 

I will be there in a few weeks, and also want to get the ferry to Trois Islet. I'm guessing "near the dock" would mean that if I exited the ship from the main pier, I would walk towards the right and along the waterfront to find it. 

In previous visits, there have been white vendor tents along the walkway. 

Am I heading in the correct direction to find the ferry?  Do I recall a carousel down there? 

 

Thanks. 

Thank you. I am glad I helped.

Yes the white vendor tents are there. You can catch many tours from there.
The ferry dock is exactly where you described it. It seemed much closer to walk to than in previous times....but I am sure that is just my imagination. 😉There is a ticket office where they give you a wrist band as your return ticket. Very helpful workers to guide you.

I saw an "amusement park ride" in the parking lot beyond the ticket office, which opened in the evening.

And the public restrooms in the port area were immaculately clean (at least when I went). I did not have to deposit any coins to use the bathrooms.
 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Arzeena

[rjrpar]

On 11/14/2022 at 4:55 PM, Arzeena said:

We visited Martinique on the Celebrity Equinox in the end of October. We have been there many times before and have always loved it.
 

This time we first walked around town. Most stores were closed. Some restaurants and cafes were open or opening up since this was early on in the morning. The local guides informed us that most will open for lunch and if we keep walking past their McDonald's we would come to something like a restaurant/cafe row. We will try that next time.
 

We walked to St Louis Cathederal and there was a Sunday mass going on. The mass was in French. It was great hearing a mass in French and not quite understanding but feeling one with the people. After that we walked around a bit, looked at some historic buildings and browsed around a grocey supermarket which was quite "up to date".

We then walked back near the dock and got on to the noon ferry for Trois Islet. The ferry was packed like sardines. It seemed like an "Equinox exclusive ferry" LOL.

We got off at the Marina and walked around town there. Love the ambiance of that town. More things were open. Lots of cafes and restaurants, lots of tourists. Most stores that I asked at accepted US dollars. We walked up to Hotel Bakoua and to use their beach. We have had great memories at the Bakoua. We then had a delicious French lunch buffet at their terrace restaurant. They had a lovely Caribbean band and people were dancing. The views from the restaurant were excellent. Had a great relaxing day. Then back to the ferry.

 

There were local guides for help, and all types of tours can be booked right at the port.

Great post!  We will be in Martinique in March. Can you tell me if the beach (and chairs) at the Hotel Bakoua is open to the public. Sounds like fun. 

[PORT ROYAL]

6 hours ago, rjrpar said:

Great post!  We will be in Martinique in March. Can you tell me if the beach (and chairs) at the Hotel Bakoua is open to the public. Sounds like fun. 

They used to allow day use of beds, must book lunch, on reservation in advance, but this was subject to availability.  Don’t know if they still do.  It’s not a just rock up establishment.  Best to contact the hotel in advance.  Think the fee was around €15 pp for the beds, plus lunch, drinks, tips etc.
Nice if they allow the booking.  Budget on say about €200 for 2 pax.

[rjrpar]

On 11/20/2022 at 6:53 PM, PORT ROYAL said:

They used to allow day use of beds, must book lunch, on reservation in advance, but this was subject to availability.  Don’t know if they still do.  It’s not a just rock up establishment.  Best to contact the hotel in advance.  Think the fee was around €15 pp for the beds, plus lunch, drinks, tips etc.
Nice if they allow the booking.  Budget on say about €200 for 2 pax.

Thanks

[Arzeena]

On 11/20/2022 at 12:37 PM, rjrpar said:

Great post!  We will be in Martinique in March. Can you tell me if the beach (and chairs) at the Hotel Bakoua is open to the public. Sounds like fun. 

When you get off the ferry at the marina and walk up to the Bakoua, there is a chair rental place on the left. They have prices for chairs, day beds, umbrella. There are not many chairs and we did not see many people renting them. As you keep walking, you will see more chairs, which we have used in the past and someone comes to collect $10.

They still allow use of their chairs and day beds for a fee. No need to book anything in advance.

We did not book any lunch or reservation in advance.

[rjrpar]

6 hours ago, Arzeena said:

When you get off the ferry at the marina and walk up to the Bakoua, there is a chair rental place on the left. They have prices for chairs, day beds, umbrella. There are not many chairs and we did not see many people renting them. As you keep walking, you will see more chairs, which we have used in the past and someone comes to collect $10.

They still allow use of their chairs and day beds for a fee. No need to book anything in advance.

We did not book any lunch or reservation in advance.

Thanks again!  We plan on trying Bakoua and walking the town.

[ValerieJo]

On 11/14/2022 at 4:55 PM, Arzeena said:

We visited Martinique on the Celebrity Equinox in the end of October. We have been there many times before and have always loved it.
 

This time we first walked around town. Most stores were closed. Some restaurants and cafes were open or opening up since this was early on in the morning. The local guides informed us that most will open for lunch and if we keep walking past their McDonald's we would come to something like a restaurant/cafe row. We will try that next time.
 

We walked to St Louis Cathederal and there was a Sunday mass going on. The mass was in French. It was great hearing a mass in French and not quite understanding but feeling one with the people. After that we walked around a bit, looked at some historic buildings and browsed around a grocey supermarket which was quite "up to date".

We then walked back near the dock and got on to the noon ferry for Trois Islet. The ferry was packed like sardines. It seemed like an "Equinox exclusive ferry" LOL.

We got off at the Marina and walked around town there. Love the ambiance of that town. More things were open. Lots of cafes and restaurants, lots of tourists. Most stores that I asked at accepted US dollars. We walked up to Hotel Bakoua and to use their beach. We have had great memories at the Bakoua. We then had a delicious French lunch buffet at their terrace restaurant. They had a lovely Caribbean band and people were dancing. The views from the restaurant were excellent. Had a great relaxing day. Then back to the ferry.

 

There were local guides for help, and all types of tours can be booked right at the port.

 

Hi Arzeena!  Hope you are well.

 

We just booked a cruise for January 2024 that includes Martinique as a port stop.  This is one of the few places in the Caribbean we have not been to before, so I'm looking forward to a new "to us" port.

 

This sounds like a great way to spend the day.  I'll be keeping this information for my reference.

 

Thanks for posting.

[Giraffes]

On 1/29/2023 at 2:02 PM, ValerieJo said:

 

Hi Arzeena!  Hope you are well.

 

We just booked a cruise for January 2024 that includes Martinique as a port stop.  This is one of the few places in the Caribbean we have not been to before, so I'm looking forward to a new "to us" port.

 

This sounds like a great way to spend the day.  I'll be keeping this information for my reference.

 

Thanks for posting.

Please follow up when you return...

[scoob]

We are looking for what to do in Martinique.  We are on the 3/4 Equinox sailing.

[PORT ROYAL]

59 minutes ago, scoob said:

We are looking for what to do in Martinique.  We are on the 3/4 Equinox sailing.

Take a tour with the best…. Suggest the tour with a visit to the distillery.

You’ll need nothing else…. Enjoy

Edited February 21 by PORT ROYAL
Typo

[Arzeena]

On 2/21/2024 at 5:04 PM, scoob said:

We are looking for what to do in Martinique.  We are on the 3/4 Equinox sailing.

We are also on the same sailing.

Check my post #1. That's what we did.