Our Grand Adventure

26th November 2025 | Odometer: 299nm | Martinique

We decided that doing constant boat work and waiting for shipping was driving us both crazy so we decided to get off the boat and go exploring for a few days!

We kicked off by going straight to a lookout in our tiny hire car. The road was so steep we didn’t think the car would make it! We got to the top and Ryan had to reassure the car it was all ok!

Driving in Martinique is very busy, fast paced and loads of traffic when you are near Fort-De-France, but as soon as you are out of the main town it turns into very pretty countryside. Lots of agriculture and winding roads with tree branches spreading over the top.

The coastal roads are very slow with loads of speed bumps, but its nice because you can take it easy and admire the views.

The cemeteries in Martinique usually have the best view and the inhabitants get to enjoy it through huge glass door’d mausoleums. Very unusual, but pretty and bright also. We saw quite a few of these around the various parts of the island.

We stopped by “THE” Martinique beach; a long stretch of white sand called Saline Beach for a very enjoyable swim. There are loads of ladies selling things from handcarts and for some reason they have all decided that ringing a cow bell is the best way to make a sale (it’s not). What a bloody racket hahaha.

There is a long stretch of beautiful trees lining the beach and walking in the shade is a delight. If you stand still you hear a soft, shuffing, murmuring sound constantly… which after a moment of staring at the ground you will realise it is seething with hermit crabs and red crabs. There are so many dragging themselves through the brush it is like the ground is moving en masse.

We passed by so many cute little towns overlooking the sea, and pulled into every viewpoint we came across.

And of course we ate a ridiculous amount of delicious foods…

Visiting the Jardin de Balata was a highlight despite the cold, rainy day. The gardens have hummingbird feeders all around and the birds can be seen flitting throughout. The flowers are abundant and in a beautiful profusion of colours. The gardeners have scattered koi ponds and bamboo throughout creating different moods and lighting making the entire garden feel like you are constantly encountering a new vision of loveliness. A high walkway suspended amongst the trees gives you the opportunity to see it all from a novel perspective too.

It was a delight driving through the mountainous regions in the northern end of the island. We pulled over for a few random things marked on Google maps including an abandoned hot spring water station and an enormous bridge over it. There was hot water piped from deep underground, and a gorgeous stream with cold, refreshing water to wade in. We both loved this spot and it felt like the type of place you could picnic and explore the river for a whole day.

Driving in the mountains is so hard to describe adequately. The road twists and turns, sometimes there is a break in the view and you can see the steep, volcanic mounts rising to the sides reaching up into the clouds. The air is thick and humid, and a little cool, with soft breezes carrying the clouds across the road. Driving with the windows down is a little damp and chilly but entirely refreshing also. I kept hoping for a break in the clouds to capture the majesty of the peaks we were wending our way between; but the breaks were few and far between.

There are many rum distilleries all over the island; and we stopped in for a delightful lunch and walk around the old water-driven equipment.

The coastline scenery at the northern end is full of agriculture on promontories overlooking the ocean, ruins of old rum distilleries (a genuinely surprising number of distilleries) and banana plantations stretching as far as you can see. We made our way to the very tip of Martinique, to a little fishing village with a truly enormous port and seawall. We could just make out Dominica in the haze in the distance.

The beaches here have an interesting mixture of black and white sands, often deposited in layers. In some spots, when you walk on the black sand, it sticks to your feet and reveals white sand in the footprints. Pelicans are ubiquitous throughout Martinique and I never tire of watching them fish. They are such enormous birds and they plunge from high up straight into the water with such gusto. I particularly love it when three or four go plunging in right after each other like a synchronised dance.

There is a little peninsula sticking into the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern side of Martinique; and way out on the point is a little red lighthouse. The hiking here was really satisfying, taking around three hours to progress from coastal, to hillsides, to rocky cliff faces and winding down through mangroves and marshland. On the eastern side, the open pathway exposes you to a refreshingly strong wind, then rounding the point brings you to a still but shady walk amongst the trees.

At the end of the hike there was a beautiful old chateau that you could explore all through the ruins. It was such a beautifully manicured lawn and gardens amongst the old, crumbling brick ruins. I was sitting in a delightfully cool shady patch under the tree and fell asleep. Ryan explored the grounds and assures me they were very interesting as you could still trace all the processes used to make sugar from start to finish down the hillside.

When it was time to head back to the boat, we finished with a swim at one of the windward side beaches; then enjoyed some Fort-De-France traffic on our back.

I’m not sure what is going on with indicators in Martinique but hardly anyone uses them as you get around, but then there is a ridiculously high number of cars just getting down the motorway with one indicator on. 😂