A very detailed resource for a Martinique trip is the Civilized Explorer site ( http://www.cieux.com/martinique/ ). It's not the easiest island to get to from the US however, American started flights via San Juan in December.

Thanks Roberto that's a gret website. The trip is on. Air transportation to Martinique isn't all bad. We have a one night layover in Barbados (going) and a long day coming home, but overall I feel that Martinique offers more of the things I appreciate of a Caribbean Island. I do expect to experience some aloofness or unconcerning people since I know absolutely no French, but this will not detract from my vacation.

Anyone else care to comment? I think that's part of the allure of Martinique (and the reason you find so little talk about it)is that it's not overrun by your typical tourist or spring breaker.

It's not over run by Spring Breakers - but beware it is over run by the french!

It is also quite expensive - for good food/wine, expect to pay almost Parisian rates.

Yes, I am aware that dining can be quite expensive on Martinique. Many of the hotels or more specifically, "Residences" have kitchenettes which we will surely have to take advantage of. I just hope our room is comfortable enough to hang out in for extended periods of time (ie. cooking breakfast-dinner). As far as the French go I hope to dispel the notion that they are all excessively rude to non-french speaking people. I just don't think that is the case with the majority of them. I did experience "rudeness" flying into Paris last year when a "boy" of 18-19 years old elbowed me (hard) between the shoulder blades trying to be the first off the plane (it was about 90 minutes late, we were all upset and we all missed our connections), but a well placed (discreet)forearm to his neck & shoulder area took care of that problem, ha!

We were in Mar. as part of a cruise stop 2 yrs. ago. I had heard all the warnings about the locals being rude but found quite the opposite to be the case. We were very well treated albeit for our brief time there. I don't believe in painting all from a group with one stroke from the same brush. JM2C. Larry.

Brewer2: I hope you'll post a report if you go/when you come back. Would love to read it. We've wanted to go for awhile but the travel time from the Northeast is just a pain, especially with a toddler in tow. I went to Martinique a good 10 years ago and people were great (but then again, my first language is French). Too long ago to give you good suggestions/thoughts. My personal opinion: the rude behavior "some" encounter is because "some" EXPECT everyone there to speak English when it IS a French island. The response you'll get will most likely result from the attitude you'll give out. You seem pretty open from your post so I think/hope you'll be just fine. Have a great time.

Thanks CaribTraveler. I'll try to do a trip report, sometimes I feel a little odd writing about my experiences on discussion boards though (I say more than I should). Your comment about the travel time to Martinique is fair (true). I spent hours & hours on different web-sites trying to find inexpensive air fare (without overnight layovers), that bypassed San Juan. I just didn't want to pay the high cost of a hotel there. To compound matters my lovely wife does not travel well if it's a long flight so as a result, I was initially torn between Tortola (fairly easy to get to) and Martinique. I kept searching & searching and finally found an acceptable itenerary which puts us in Barbados for only one night (We're traveling from out west). I just figure that sometimes you have to sacrifice a little to get to the more alluring places. Anyway, thanks for adding to this thread it helps pass the time until vacation!

Brewer 2...I,also, live in the West, and am considering a trip to Barbados and Martinique. Can you please tell me what airline(s) you're flying and the routes you're taking? I sure wish some airline would fly nonstop from the west coast to the caribbean.

Several years ago we went to Martinique, and this was my report:

"We went with ABC tours and stayed a week at hotel Bakoua, which was supposed to be the nicest place on the island. It was only fair - the rooms were small by our standards. It was a "motel room". There was not enough room to put a chair to sit and read. And other rooms were smaller. The beach was acceptable. We were so disappointed that we made a reservation to stay one night at Layritz Plantation which we heard was great - but it was awful, and we were happy to get back to Bakoua.

Road signs were awful - we got lost many times.

The best beach was Grand Salines - a very good beach with shade -which was about an hour drive from Fort de France.

The people were very nice - helpful, friendly, even in the very small towns. But if you do not speak French reasonably, you will have a hard time.

There really isn't anything which I would say don't miss. F de F is a few small crowded streets. The museum was good but small. St Pierre and Mt Pelee were unremarkable. The banana plantation and rum distilleries were not worth going out of your way.

Food was fair.

If you want to go somewhere, go to St. Pierre, Mt. Pelee, and Layritz Plantation. At least you will see what's there, and see most of the northern half of the island. Or go directly to Grand Salines beach which is the other way."

FYI - ABC still flies directly from JFK to Martinique.

Martinique has a beautiful rain forest that is well worth seeing.

Marthag--IMO the best way to go to Barbados from West Coast is to fly redeye to Miami on American. AA has an early morning nonstop to Barbados which gets in midday. Gives you plenty of time to check in and enjoy the beach and the evening. Otherwise, it's all day, and you get in to go to bed.
Brewer2--Barbados is a wonderful island with a British culture. At least as interesting as Martinique. Best beaches on Martinique are Salines near the town of St.Anne. There is also a nice hotel on the beach @ St. Anne called Anse Caritan. This area is in the quiet countryside, as opposed to the more congested areas where the major hotels are. Emperor Napoleon's Josephine's birthplace is interesting to visit. Also the tropical jungle areas in the middle of the island, and
the ruins of St.Pierre (where Mt.Pele erupted.)

I had 2 years of high school French, which is very little. We tried a few words here and there and made out okay.
The important thing in Martinique, as in France, is to not expect them to speak English. If they know that you are trying to communicate, most people will be gracious and try to help you. Sometimes an attempt at French on your part will result in English back. We once wanted to go to Monet's birthplace @ Giverny, so I called to find out if they were open on Monday. I asked if they spoke English. "Non."
So I asked, "Vous ouvret Lundi?" from my weak French. The reply was, "No, we are closed Mondays." Lesson learned.

Hi Martha...First of all, I considered flying into San Juan and then on to Martinique via American Air. It would have been a fairly easy flight to Miami/San Juan the first day with 4-5 hours to explore Old San Juan the following day. However, airfare was over $300 more per person and also involved an additional night layover on the return trip.

I ended up choosing American Air Denver-Miami-Barbados (4 hour layover in Miami) arriving in Barbados at 8:30pm. I then booked directly with Liat Airlines to fly the following day from Barbados (departing 7:30 am)-St. Lucia-Martinique arriving in Martinique (0845). Liat airfare is very reasonable/affordable!!

Depending where you're flying from you may be able to bypass Miami and make connections to Barbados thru Atlanta, Houston or Charlotte I believe...

Anyway, the return trip, Martinique to Barbados via Liat Air departs 9:05am with a 4 hour layover in Barbados before continuing to Miami-Denver (arriving Denver 10:30pm) via American Airlines again. Since this travel day is quite long it was scheduled for a Friday, so I have a full two days to recooperate before returning to work. I'm afraid if you're anywhere west of Colorado you'd likely need an overnight layover in both directions.

A strange sidenote to this: I had this all mapped out on Orbitz and when I went to purchase the flights online it stated that all seats were sold out. So I called them and they said the same thing & to make matters worse this operator had never heard of Martinique, she couldn't tell me which flights were sold out or anything!!! (Maybe I should have gone the travel agent way). Anyway, I was able to book directly with American and Liat Airlines (with many choices of seats I might add), for the same price and all has worked out well to this point.

So that's what I went through. It probably won't be as fun as the midnight flights to Tahiti and experiencing the International Terminal at LAX but I'm still excited!
Good luck with your planning!

Thank you Brewer2 and xkenx for the flight information. What a lot of work! I'll have to do quite a sales job on my husband for him to consider all those connections and layovers.

We live in Phoenix, and I'm hoping that the new, combined America West/USAir will someday offer at least a weekly non-stop from PHX to STT. I think the demand is here....but they're not answering my e-mailed suggestions.

In the meantime, I'll keep learning about the Caribbean, and I'll be ready to book a trip if and when easier airline connections present themselves.

Martha..yeah...for anyone out west travel arrangements to the Carribean can be difficult. It's not bad if you have a cruise departure from San Juan, but on this trip I wanted to spend a full week and get a better feel of the island.

Jed, I've seen a few other bad reviews of the Karibea Layritz Plantation, it makes me a little nervous in that we'll be staying at a Karibea property in St. Luce. The property we're at seems to have a nice pool anyway. We'll keep our fingers crossed. It's a little strange that most of the accomodations seem to be on the budget side (at least in terms of quality). This is on an island that seems to take pride in the latest fashions, etc.

As far as my "must see/do" things on Martinique, I've got a leisurley agenda. 18 holes of golf, do some people watching/have lunch & find a T-shirt(s)and maybe a small painting in FDF, 1 day exploring St. Pierre and northern Martinique, visit the slave memorial, explore a few beaches and try a bit of snorkeling, and the #1 "must do" is attend the Crab Festival in Ste. Marie (musical entertainment, crab races and "ragout" or crab/rice dish served on the beach). Of course, we'll try a few beachside and out-of-the-way restaurants and by the end of the week I should be thoroughly broke & exhausted!!
xkenX...I have a feeling that when they hear my dreadful attempts at French they'll either totally ignore me or hurry to speak English too...haha

Brewer2: Even though I'm cringing at your travel time I hope you have a fabulous time (love your leisurely agenda).
Do you at least know how to say hello/good morning (bonjour) and thank you (merci)? Make sure you start any conversation with anyone with bonjour and you'll be fine.
xbenx gave me a good laugh with his/her 2nd post. On a serious note, that post is on the money. At least look like you're trying and people will help.
If you want a few more words/phrases, let me know and I'll be glad to help.

I was only on Martinique for a day, and would go back.

I took two years of French and it was fun *trying* to communicate. I only encountered Friendly locals. Maybe once the French make it to the Caribbean, the snooty 'tude wears off!

St.Piere was actually pretty boring, unless you are a history freak. We took a ferry over to a beach, from Fort de France, I can't remember the name. (sorry)

We had a wonderful dinner in Fort de France: lobster and wine...I will try and find the name of the place.

It does help to learn some French, at least

Thank You: Merci (mare cee)
Please: Si vous plait (see voo play)
Hello: Bonjour (bon juuur)
Goodbye: Au revoir (oorrv wa)
Yes: Oui (weee)
No: Non (noh)

When you leave a shop, it's nice
to say, "Merci, Au revoir!"

I applaud your decision to go somewhere a little harder, a nice
challenge. My new years resolution is
to continue to travel and do things out of my 'comfort zone'!!

Bon Voyage!

Hi Carib...Thanks for the well wishes. I've begun compiling a list of phrases that will be helpful while ordering breakfast/dinner or making small talk in different situations. I'm mainly concerned with ordering from a menu and converting currency (not necessarily in that order).

Since I was instrumental in choosing Martinique as a destination I've been slowly advising my wife as to what to expect of the French Carribean. I informed her that we'll have to learn and speak a little French to communicate and to my surprise she informed me that she had taken two years of French and started speaking bits and pieces right there on the spot. Needless to say I was relieved, now I just have to find a way to inform her of the topless pools/beaches..haha.

Beachkomer....I previously have spent only one day on Martinique also, but it was by far one of the highlights of the cruise. There was just something about the island which captivated me. I agree with you about St. Pierre it was really just a sleepy little village, but if memory serves me right I believe the scenery was very nice. I was wondering about the ferry which runs to St. Pierre from FDF. I saw there are a few party boats which make the trip, but I should probably try to avoid those. The last time I decided to partake in one of the rum, calypso, limbo, snorkel boats on Grenada, I paid dearly....almost didn't make it back on ship..(sigh)...but I'll leave that for the Discussion, "Stupidist things we've ever done in the Carribean". Hey, that's an idea, might make for good reading!!!

Anyway, your comment about traveling outside of our comfort zones is precisely my shared opinion too. I still enjoy traveling stateside and to familiar places, but by no means do I want a simple language barrier to discourage me from any destination.

Do you know how many people who tried to talk me out of going on my "Easy Cruise"? Why did they?

-It was an unknown cruise line.
-I was going (gasp!) ALONE.
-One friend told me I would be drugged
and kidnapped.
-I didn't speak the language(s).
-I am a woman.
-I read on 3 cruise forums different
coversations about 'easy cruise' and how it would be "horrible" and a bad decision. None of these people had been on the Easy cruise!

My cruise was a blast, I met wonderful
people and saw amazing places. And it was Cheap!

How many comfort zones is that?
It was one of my better decisions.
In fact, now, in my everyday life, I look for routes I've never taken, just to see what's there.

hmmm, maybe I should read the book that has been on my shelf for 10 years, "The Road Less Traveled"....

Each day on my cruise, I met up with my new friends and we planned our "Next Adventure"... It was a highlight of my day: The unknown.

Just smile alot and say, "bon" if things are good, give it a little nod.
I learned on my cruise that shrugs, gestures and expressions (smiles) go a long way! You will begin to speak in
tiny, simple English sentences! Ha.

I can't wait to read about your adventures. We got to ride a bus filled with middle school kids and they
loved to try out their English on us.

I hope you have a great time, because I want a reason to go back!

I don't know how to post a pic online, but will send you my favorite picture from my entire week,

it's in Martinique...

you can email me personally
and give me your email if you
trust a stranger from Fodors...
Ha.
avonnas@sbcglobal.net

(Gasp)....you went ALONE & trusted Easy Cruise....AND knowing you could get drugged and kidnapped....OMG That IS a lot of comfort zones!!! That's brave though, I admire people that can open up and meet others easily. I'm usually worried I'll come off as a moron. Wait...which is worse, moron or idiot??? Anyway, some people are just a little more adventurous, I fall into that group too. I'm usually the one with the near death experience or the person everyone talks about in the coming weeks...(sigh)....but the thing is, I wouldn't change my life for a minute. Well...maybe I'd change a few things....ok - quite a few....but that's it!!!

Well, it was either be the loner freak on the boat or just be sociable. I was the one who met a lot of different people and then pulled stragglers into the group. We had fun. It was a group of people all off on a crazy adventure...we were the band of Easy People... aka "the Simple Life goes to the Caribbean" There was no one I would have voted off the boat!

After booking my trip, I had to go, I couldn't back down and let the naysayers be right!!