Having heard of Martinique over several years, I was really looking forward to our visit there. It seemed that the ship tours were unusually expensive so we did as we usually do, research local attractions and traveled independently.
Of particular interest on this trip was the Jardin de Balata (botanical garden) which is located about a 15 minute drive outside of the capital of Fort du France. The plan was to take the public bus to the Gardens, however, we discovered upon our arrival that the public transit workers were on strike! So, we thought we’d take a cab. We were quoted $190 round trip for 4 people….ridiculous!! Time for Plan B!
Seems that most people we met from the ship were also on their Plan B. So, we elected sightseeing and shopping in the downtown area. From the port terminal we took a shuttle to downtown which was $3 per person. On the recommendation of the shuttle driver we explored the Indoor Market which sold a variety of merchandise, crafts, and fruits and vegetables.
The next stop was the local Cathedral which was quite beautiful and finally the Library, which was very interesting architecturally. Afterwards we attempted to tour the Fort but it was closed so we enjoyed the adjacent park where we found wild iguanas in the far corner next to the Fort. The iguanas tend to hang out there and are not bashful about wanting to be fed. Our friend Harry actually got bit feeding an apple to an iguana but thankfully he lived😁.
After enjoying the park and iguanas for a couple of hours we headed back to the ship. On another note, if you want to do a beach day on your own you could take the shuttle from the ship to downtown and then take the ferry across the harbor to the beach. Finally, Martinique only takes euro and they are not happy if you try to give them U.S. dollars so if you do go there make sure you have a few Euro’s on hand.
