Martinique Help Please for First Time Visit
 

My husband and I have free airtickets to Martinique and have no idea of where to stay. We are in our 40s, speak no french (but will try to learn a little), and basically want to relax and snorkel. We are low key people and like casual surroundings. I have not been able to find information on the best lodging for us - somewhere that offers snorkeling from the beach. Can anyone offer advice? Thank you!

Martinique is a beautiful island, but not known for good snorkeling, which is typical of volcanic islands. Nicest beache is Salines beach in the southeast (no hotel). But near there in the town of St. Anne is a casual beachfront hotel, Anse Caritan. They have a website. Might be some snorkeling right there.

There are a few snorkeling spots in the North and South of the island. So you may either stay near Ste Anne or at les Trois-Ilets.

In all cases renting a car will be recommended in order to visit all the spots.

You can snorkel from Anse Noire which is south of Fort de France. It is not necessary to speak French, although useful. It is difficult to select the right accommodation in the right area, I agree that Trois Ilets or Ste Anne are probably the best options although I thought St Pierre area was beautiful it might not appeal to all (north has more black sand beaches and south has white sand except for Anse Noire)

This link might be useful:
http://www.antilles-info-tourisme.co...e/index-gb.htm

St Pierre is indeed a beautiful area, but the lodging possibilities are scarce in terms of hotels.

Black or white - we love all beach sand! Thank you all for your help. Does anyone have any personal recommendations for lodging? I have been on tripadvisor also but there isn't much current info on anything but Club Med or the very expensive Sofitel or Cap hotels.

You can find a certain number of three star hotel on the island, like the Carayou at Pointe du bout near les Trois Ilets.

Another poster also mentioned Anse Caritan near Ste Anne.

You may also find on the east cost of Martinique charming addresses (in old houses) like La Fregate Bleue ou St Aubin. These are hotels with a limited number of rooms.

Thank you Joelle for your input - guess I was hoping to hear from people who had actually stayed at any of the lodging to hear what their visit was like. I have found a lot of names of lodging but current reviews are hard to obtain.

We stayed at the Kalenda Hotel in Trois Ilets. We had a nice clean room with seaview, it has a small beach and is next door to the Sofitel. Breakfast was OK-nothing more and we did not want to eat in the hotel as there are so many places around there to eat. I think location was a good point about this hotel. I'm reluctant to recommend it as such, because it has seen better days (used to be a Meridien) but we were happy enough to stay there as it was a good base to explore the island and we spent most time around Anse d'Arlet.

We have stayed several times at Diamant les Bains, both with the kids and without. It is excellent. Great location with cottages on the beach for isolation, yet with pool, beautiful gardens and restaurant, nice folks, local grocery stores with extras for the in-room fridge, and flowers galore. It is delightful and family run so it isn't a cookie-cutter resort. Low key, laid back, clean but not fancy (or too expensive) and in a charming town with safe streets and little cafes on the water and bars where locals also go so it is a chance to experience Martinique and not just visit. Enjoy.

Thank you both for your suggestions! Diamant sounds wonderful Henry - do you speak French? Do you think that someone with very little knowledge of the language would have much difficulty at Diamant? I had read that the water there is rough - have you found that to be the case? Is there any snorkeling to be found on that beach? I know that this island is not particularly known for wonderful snorkeling but since we enjoy it so much we hope to find a little bit off the beach we stay on. Again, thank you for your input - Martinique looks to be a lovely island and I am looking forward to the adventure.