Ferry Service To Martinique any used it?
 

We will be in St Lucia late October and the ferry service to Martinique sounds interesting. Anyone done that? Is it feasible to do as a day trip, over early morning with early evening return? I have found only limited information on the web regarding this. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

We are staying at St James Club just outside Castries.

One more try then no more....

thanks

Hi, Curt. While we did not take the ferry over to Martinique when we were in St. Lucia, I have heard the crossing can be somewhat rough at times. For schedule and fees log-on to Stlucia.org, click on Vacation Planner, then click Inter-Island Travel. Hope this little bit helps. Enjoy your trip to St. Lucia!

Where did you stay? Any good hints for dining, shopping, so on?

We stayed at the Windjammer Landing. A must is dinner at the Coal Pot in Castries, and The Buzz in Rodney Bay. Friends of ours recommend Tao at The Body Holiday LeSport resort. Worth it is to take a day trip to Soufriere. We did a trip by jeep, stopping at the waterfalls, Anse Le Ray (small fishing village), rainforest, volcano and then lunch at Ladera (between the Pitons), returning to Castries by catamaran with a stop at Anse Cochon for snorkeling and a quick "cruise" through Marigot Bay (stunning!). I found that the shopping in Castries didn't have a great selection of things (they basically all sell the same things - tee-shirts, handmade dolls, liquor, etc.) and we did well with the offerings at the resort gift shop (prices weren't that much different than Town). Are you traveling with children? There is also a tall ship (the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean movie), which offers several different type cruises, there is one day where they have an actual pirate cruise, which I am sure children would enjoy.

Squiggy
Thanks for info. We are alone no children along with us (that was in our past!). Did you rent the jeep or was that a tour? I am debating renting a car for a day or two, but unsure. I am not concerned about the driving on left, as I have much experience doing that. I am concerned about the stories I hear about the road conditions. Anyone that cares to chime in on pros and cons of renting car in St. Lucia please post. We like the freedom a rental car offers, but do not want to rent one if the driving is so stressful it takes the joy out of the holiday. Also, for those that have rented, how is the parking situation in the various towns? Thinking of things like closeness, availability, safety, so on.

Thanks in advance.

Hi, Curt. We did not rent a car, we took a group tour. Personally, I did not want to rent a car not so much as driving on the left, but because of the deep ditches on the side of the twisting, steep roads. However, I have a friend who stays in St. Lucia frequently on business and she always rents a jeep to travel one end of the island to the other, thankfully never without incident.

Meant, never with incident.

Curt, we were there in July for two weeks. Stayed at Jalousie and loved it. I had reserved a car, but just to aggravating to drive there----roads steep, some in real bad condition and just a pain (time-consuming getting places). I hired a minivan with a driver all day for $130 for 4 people plus tip. We did that about twice, went to Castries then switched to water taxis---very convenient, quicker and cheaper.

As far as the ferry to Martinique----there are two options----a daily one in Castries harbor and then a high speed catamaran that goes on two other days a week. We didn't do either because so much to do on St. Lucia. The cheapest is the one in Castries, but I was told the cat is good because tours are provided and food and otherwise cabs etc once in Martinique are pricey.

Good luck. You will love St. Luciaa!!!

Curt, sorry I forgot. Had a friend that took the cat and it was rough one day. Sometimes it doesn't go if too rough. If rough seas is a concern and it is rough when there go on the regular ferry. Be prepared to speak a littly french, enjoy shopping in a big city--Fort de France and get out to the beach and other outlying areas to see the relaxed beauty of M. according to my friend who (he and wife) took the cat.

Thanks to both of you for the responses. The Martinique idea is just that, an idea that is floating around in my head. I suspect that we will be so busy on St Lucia that we won't do it, but is still interesting.

I think we will wait until we are there and play it by ear as to car/jeep rental. If we do rent most likely be a one day deal.

Counting the days until R&R - we need to get away ASAP!!!

Thanks again.

Curt, try sunlinktours.com---this is the travel services the Hilton uses and has several travel options on St. Lucia and other islands.