White sand in the south, black sand in the north, sea turtles at the Anses d'Arlet and sandbanks out in the Atlantic — where to go, when, and where to park, written by a rental agency based on the island all year round.
The trade winds blow from east to west all year round: they expose the Atlantic coast and shelter the Caribbean coast. That single fact explains why two beaches half an hour apart can feel like different countries.
Martinique measures barely 70 kilometres from north to south, and yet two beaches half an hour apart can have nothing whatsoever in common. On one side, flat warm water where you can wade thirty metres out and still be knee-deep; on the other, a swell that knocks you over and black sand too hot to stand on. This is not a detail — it is the single most useful thing to understand before choosing where to lay your towel.
This guide is organised by area, because that is how you actually travel here. For each beach: what you really find there, how to reach it by car, where to park, and what time of day to go.
Martinique is bordered to the west by the Caribbean Sea and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Between the two, the trade winds blow constantly from east to west.
The direct consequence: the Caribbean coast is sheltered. The water is calm, often clear, and swimming is easy for everyone, small children included. It is also the side where the sun sets, straight out over the sea.
The Atlantic coast takes the wind head-on. The swell is real, the currents are sometimes treacherous, and this is the coast that receives the sargassum. In exchange it offers what the Caribbean side does not: huge empty beaches, surfing, kitesurfing, and the fonds blancs — sandbanks in the open ocean where you stand waist-deep a kilometre from shore.
If you remember only one thing: for easy swimming, go west or south. For something spectacular, go east.
This is the postcard, and it earns its reputation. The south of the island, around Sainte-Anne and Le Marin, holds the pale-sand beaches lined with coconut palms and sea grapes. Allow one hour to an hour and a quarter from Fort-de-France on the dual carriageway, a little more on Saturdays.
The most famous beach on the island, and the one everyone will name. A kilometre of golden sand curving in an arc, leaning coconut palms, shallow turquoise water. It is beautiful, it is genuine, and it is very busy.
The advice that changes everything: come early. Before nine o'clock you will have the beach almost to yourself, the light is better for photographs and the car park is empty. From eleven onwards, and especially on Sundays, it becomes the meeting point for the whole island — cheerful and full of families, but a completely different experience.
Parking is free along the road running behind the beach. The further you walk towards the eastern end, the fewer people you meet. Snack vans and coconut sorbet sellers are on site.
A few kilometres from Les Salines, and another world entirely. Access is via a dirt track crossing private land, where a small contribution is asked at the gate. The track is rough but passable in an ordinary car if you drive slowly — simply avoid it the day after heavy rain.
At the end: a long wild beach, very few people, no facilities of any kind. Swimming needs a little care, as the bay opens onto the Atlantic and the backwash can be strong. Bring your own water and your own shade — there is nothing there.
In the commune of Sainte-Anne, on the Atlantic side. Anse Michel is the island's kitesurfing spot: even if you never touch a board, the ballet of coloured sails above turquoise water is worth the detour. The water is shallow and warm, and the wind almost always blows.
This is also where the boats leave for Îlet Chevalier, a few minutes offshore. Access is by a small road then a track; parking on a gravel apron.
Further north, in the commune of Le Vauclin. A long, windswept, beautiful beach, often deserted on weekdays. The access track is rough and the beach is unsupervised: this is a place for walking and looking rather than for swimming with young children.
If you only had time for one area, this would be it. Four bays follow one another along the southern Caribbean coast, roughly 45 minutes from Fort-de-France, each with its own character. The road linking them is narrow and winding, with views that justify the drive on their own.
A wide sheltered bay lined with restaurants standing directly on the sand. Calm water, sandy bottom, palm trees: this is the family beach par excellence, and the most practical one for lunch on the spot. Park in the car park at the entrance to the village or along the road; it fills up by the middle of the day.
The most photographed spot in Martinique, and you will recognise it instantly: the small fishing village, the white church at the end of the beach, the wooden jetty reaching out into turquoise water. This is where the island's best photographs are taken.
It is also one of the best places to see sea turtles. They come to graze the seagrass beds a few dozen metres from shore, most often in the morning. A mask and snorkel are all you need. Never touch them and keep your distance: they are a protected species, and a disturbed turtle surfaces to breathe in panic.
Two twin bays separated by a headland, joined by a staircase, and yet complete opposites. Anse Dufour is a tiny fishing village with pale sand and two or three fish restaurants. Anse Noire, just behind it, owes its name to its black volcanic sand — a striking contrast with the turquoise water — and is reached by a long flight of steps down from the car park.
Both are known for snorkelling and turtles. The car park, shared between the two bays, is small: arrive before ten o'clock or expect to wait.
North of Saint-Pierre the island changes completely. The beaches turn black, the vegetation comes right down to the water, and the crowds disappear. This is the wildest Martinique, about 1 hour 15 from Fort-de-France.
Black sand, clear water, the islet of La Perle sitting offshore, and rainforest running all the way to the sand. A freshwater river runs out across the beach — children love it. Equipped, shaded and with a car park, it is the most accessible beach in the area.
At the end of the Le Prêcheur road, where the tarmac stops. You leave the car and walk about fifteen minutes along a shaded path to reach a black-sand beach wedged between two cliffs. It is also the starting point of the Couleuvre to Grand'Rivière hike, one of the finest walks on the island.
A word of caution: the Le Prêcheur road is narrow, and swimming here calls for care as the bottom shelves away quickly.
Long grey-black sand beaches, barely touristy, where you mostly meet Martinicans at the end of the day. Le Carbet is where Christopher Columbus came ashore in 1502 and where Gauguin painted. It is also an excellent area for scuba diving: the wrecks from the 1902 eruption lie in the bay of Saint-Pierre.
The peninsula reaching out into the Atlantic, on the east of the island. Anse l'Étang is the best-known surf spot in Martinique, with schools on site. The beach at Tartane, in the fishing village itself, is more sheltered and better suited to swimming.
The Caravelle nature reserve occupies the tip of the peninsula: two walking loops, a lighthouse, and a 360° view over the ocean. Allow half a day and set off in the morning — there is no shade.
These are not beaches, and yet they are one of the most memorable experiences on the island. One or two kilometres offshore from Le François, white sandbanks rise almost to the surface in the middle of the ocean: you stand waist-deep in open water with the horizon all around you. The best known is the Baignoire de Joséphine, Joséphine's Bathtub.
They can only be reached by boat — excursions leave from the harbour at Le François and from Sainte-Anne. If you only book one outing during your stay, this is the one.
Let us be straightforward about it. Sargassum is a brown seaweed that drifts across the Atlantic and washes up on exposed coasts. When it arrives in quantity it makes swimming unpleasant and gives off a strong smell as it decomposes.
Three things to know:
It affects the Atlantic coast and almost never the Caribbean coast. Le Vauclin, Le Robert, Le François and the eastern shore of Sainte-Anne can be affected. The Anses d'Arlet, Grande Anse, Le Carbet and Anse Céron practically never are.
It varies enormously from one week to the next. A beach buried on a Tuesday can be clean by the Friday, depending on currents and wind.
There is an official bulletin. Météo-France Martinique publishes landing forecasts — that is the source to check before deciding on your day, rather than the alarming photographs circulating online. The bulletin is available at meteofrance.mq.
In practice, with a car the whole issue is settled in twenty minutes: you check the bulletin in the morning and switch to the other coast if you need to. That is exactly what the locals do.
Leave nothing in the car. This is rule number one, here as everywhere in the Caribbean. No visible bag, no phone in the glovebox, nothing on the seats. Isolated beach car parks are the most exposed.
There is almost never a lifeguard. A handful of beaches are supervised in high season; the vast majority are not. Swim within your ability, especially on the Atlantic side.
Shade is rare and the sun is directly overhead. Between 11am and 3pm the UV index here is among the highest in the world. Bring a parasol, a UV shirt for children, and sunscreen — ideally oxybenzone-free, which damages coral.
Beware of manchineel trees. These trees, marked with a red band around the trunk, are toxic: never shelter under one, especially in the rain, and do not touch the small green fruit.
Take water with you. Many of these beaches have neither a kiosk nor a tap.
| What you are looking for | Where to go |
|---|---|
| The postcard | Les Salines, early in the morning |
| Swimming with turtles | Petite Anse d'Arlet, Anse Dufour, Anse Noire |
| With young children | Grande Anse d'Arlet, Anse Céron |
| Having the place to yourself | Anse Trabaud, Petite Anse Macabou |
| Surfing and kitesurfing | Anse l'Étang (Tartane), Anse Michel |
| Lunch with your feet in the sand | Grande Anse d'Arlet, Anse Dufour |
| Something spectacular | The Fonds Blancs of Le François, Anse Couleuvre |
| A sunset | Any beach on the Caribbean coast |
Distances are deceptive in Martinique: 40 kilometres can easily take an hour. From Fort-de-France, in normal conditions:
| Destination | Distance | Realistic driving time |
|---|---|---|
| Anses d'Arlet | 35 km | 45 min |
| Les Salines | 50 km | 1 h to 1 h 15 |
| Tartane / Caravelle | 40 km | 50 min |
| Anse Céron | 45 km | 1 h 15 |
| Anse Couleuvre | 50 km | 1 h 30 |
Add thirty minutes at rush hour around Fort-de-France, both in the morning and in the late afternoon. For the detail of the roads and the traffic traps, see our page on driving in Martinique.
Les Salines is the most famous, and it deserves its reputation if you go early in the morning. But Petite Anse d'Arlet, with its white church and wooden jetty, is the most photogenic, and Anse Couleuvre the most spectacular. It depends on what you are after: quiet, easy swimming, or scenery.
No. The Caribbean coast, to the west, is sheltered and swimming is easy almost everywhere. The Atlantic coast is exposed to swell and to currents that can be dangerous: swim there with care, and treat some of those beaches as places to walk rather than to bathe. The vast majority of beaches have no lifeguard.
No, every beach in Martinique is public and free. The one common exception is Anse Trabaud, reached by a track crossing private land, where a small contribution is asked towards the upkeep of the road.
Petite Anse d'Arlet, Anse Dufour and Anse Noire are the three best spots. The turtles come to graze the seagrass beds close to shore, most often in the morning. A mask and snorkel are enough. Touching or chasing them is prohibited.
Check the landing forecast published by Météo-France Martinique on the morning itself. Sargassum affects the Atlantic coast and almost always spares the Caribbean coast: with a car, you simply switch coasts for the day.
In practice, yes. The finest beaches — Anse Couleuvre, Anse Trabaud, Anse Noire, Petite Anse Macabou — are not served by any regular transport. Even Les Salines requires a car to be reached at the hour when it is at its best, which is early in the morning.
These beaches are reached by car, and rarely any other way. All-inclusive rates, insurance and unlimited mileage included, delivery to the airport and the cruise port.
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