Martinique travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

Martinique‘s Creole chic is a Caribbean wonder. As a Department of France, the island gets all the benefits of the north European Euro – zone, allied to the technicolor brilliance of West Indian music and culture. It’s a heady and glamorous mix. The downside of the French umbilical is overdevelopment and overcrowding, which can be dismaying if you arrive from another island, but after a day or so the sheer of the island will captivate you. Photo by: *** Olivia ***

Martinique is big enough to have mountains, rivers, forests and flower-filled wolds – all of which have more than 350 years of history . Fort de France is itself set on one of the world’s loveliest bays. At St Marie et Macouba, perched on a cliff over the Atlantic, are some of Martinique’s most famous rum distilleries – but remember local rum is often twice the strength of the other islands. Photo by: cnszym

The Caravelle Peninsula is especially beautiful at Baie du Tresor and Chateau Dubuc. Further south, you can watch the fishing fleet come home from the hills above Le Vauclin, among the hundred secluded coves and offshore sandbars that make south Martinique so attractive to yachts. Photo by: ziboom

When to go: Year-round. Come for a really spirited 5-day Mardi Gras in February/March. Population: 400,000. How to get there: By air from Miami, Puerto Rico or Paris; or from New York or London via Antigua, St Lucia or Barbados. Photo by: cnszym