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Martinique: Nautique

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Highlights of Fort-de-France
  • Marché aux Epices
  • Cathedral Saint-Loius & Schoelcher Library
Highlights of Northern Martinique
  • Gorges de la Falaise bouldering adventure
  • View from Sacre-Coeur de la Balata
  • Musée Gauguin
  • Saut Gendarme Waterfall
  • Mount Pelée & Ruins of Saint-Pierre
  • Caravelle Peninsula & Château Duboc
  • Canyon de l'Alma & Le Robert Bay
Highlights of Trois-Îlets
  • Empress Joséphine's childhood home
  • La Savanne des Enclaves
  • La Diamont, "Cap 110" & Cocao Plantation
Highlights of Southern Martinique
  • Summit of Piton Creve-Cœer
  • Yole Sailing Lessons
  • Etang des Salines & Savane des Petrifications
  • Catamaran Sailing & Snorkeling

Introduction

Since 2009 we’ve been offering all-inclusive international travel programs for students interested developing real world travel skills while exploring some of the world's most interesting places as part of a small group.
Our programs seize every opportunity to practice foreign language, navigation, scheduling, collaboration, and budgeting skills with real world activities like cross-referencing street and metro maps, purchasing transit passes, researching opening days/times, navigating an itinerary and staying on schedule, choosing restaurants and making reservations, and eating well while staying within a meal allowance.

Itinerary

Martinique is actually a part of France - The language is French, the currency is the Euro, and the grocery stores carry a distinctly "Continental" (European) selection of items. Most visitors are from France and they like it that way - few accomodations are made for those who don't speak French.
This itinerary is essentially our "Expérience" itinerary — it includes the same selection of places and activities that introduce you to this island's spirit, character, culture, language, history, and natural environment — with an additional three days exploring the island's most beautiful nature reserves: Mount Pelée and the Caravelle Peninsula, kayaking the mangroves of Le Robert Bay, either canyoning on Absolon Waterfall or hiking on Mount Pélee Volcano, and sailing/snorkeling along the coast in a catamaran.
Your French language skills will develop quickly while you earn about the island's complex history, develop an appreciation of it's cultural identity, and experience the breathtaking beauty of it's massive volcano, rainforests, mountains, and waterfalls.
Day City Overview
1 Airborne Meet your Program Director for an overnight flight to Martinique!
2 Fort-de-France On arrival we'll drop luggage at the hotel, change into clothes more appropriate to exploring Fort-de-France under a beating sun, and have our first taste of Martinique's cuisine for lunch. After lunch we'll kick off a student-led orientation walking tour with the students working together to find Marché Couvert Fort-de-France aka Marché aux Epices (Spice Market), Rue Victor Hugo (popular street for fashionistas), Cathedral Saint-Louis, Place de Savane (a palm shaded park with a statue of Empress Joséphine), the Schoelcher Library (inspiring back-story, incredible architecture), ending at La Francaise Beach.
3 Northern Martinique Our morning will be spent on a food tour that brings us into the Tropical Rainforest where we'll visit Sacre-Coeur de la Balata (replica of the famous basilica on Montmartre in Paris, and similarly located high above the city, it has a great back-story and a wonderful view), the Alma River, Saint-Pierre (like Pompeii this city was left in ruins by a volcanic eruption), Saut Gendarme Waterfall, and Anse Turin (a fascinating gray sand beach). Local cuisine for lunch, and then we're off to explore Musée Guaguin (the artist painted in Martinique for a few months), Jardin de Balata (beautiful botanical gardens), ending at the Gorges de la Falaise (invigorating bouldering adventure ending at a waterfall).
4 Trois-Îlets This morning starts at La Savanne des Enclaves (an open-air museum where you'll discover the history of slavery on the island), La Pagerie (explore the childhood home of Empress Joséphine), and Village de la Poterie (former Jesuit Convent turned into a pottery village with lots of locally made artisinal items like soaps and perfumes). Lunch at Anse Matin is followed by a tour that takes us to La Diamont (a beach town that faces the infamous Diamond Rock), "Cap 110" (Anse Caffard's Slave Memorial), a Cocoa Plantation (follow the journey of a cocoa bean from fruit to chocolate), and ends relaxing on Anse Noire (a black sand beach) and it's the neighboring Anse Dufour.
5 Mount Pelée
Canyoning		 It's hiking and canyoning day! If you prefer mostly hiking then we'll spend the morning on "Aileron" - one of the famous trails on Mount Pelée - before visiting Absolon Waterfall for an afternoon of canyoning. If you prefer mostly canyoning then we'll spend most of the day in Canyon de l'Alma - the most beautiful canyon of the Pitons, it's 5,741' high with a 2,000' waterfall - before driving north to Mount Pelée where we'll take a short hike to the summit.
6 Caravelle
Le Robert Islets		 Our day starts with a hike on the Caravelle Peninsula (Martinique's most beautiful hike, it includes deciduous forests, mangroves, and ruins of the formidable Château Dubuc). Lunch is followed by an afternoon kayaking Le Robert Bay - visiting mangroves, crossing the “fonds blancs”, exploring the ruins of a sugar plantation, and finding "Trapeze" beach on Chancel Islet.
7 Sailing Learn the basics of sailing - terminology, lift, points of sail, navigation, safety, and "rules of the road", before testing your sailing skills while admiring the unique beauty of Martinique's coast from a catamaran, visiting secluded beaches, discovering underwater wonders on a snorkeling adventure, and simply enjoying a day on the water with your friends.
8 Southern Martinique We'll start with a short climb to the summit of Piton Creve-Coeur (for a phenomenal 360° view of Martinique) before we learn how to sail a Yole - essentially a huge canoe with an oversized sail that's steered by leaning it to port or starboard. Yole sailing a team sport with some crew members "hiking out" on long poles to lean the boat and others bailing with buckets if they lean too far! It's a massively entertaining way to enjoy the warm waters and trade winds. After lunch we'll visit Etang des Salines (a salt-lake nature reserve crossed on a wonderful boardwalk) and La Savane des Petrifications (a semi-desert wildlife park), watch the sun go down on the beach, then freshen up for our Farewell Dinner.
9 Departure Flight from Fort-de-France. "Au revoir Martinique!"