Fort de France is not a great place to be. Like capital cities in most parts of the world, there are parts of it with a lot of druggies and they can make you feel a bit uncomfortable at times.


However, the rest of Martinique is brilliant... St Anne down in the south then Grande Anse d'Arlet, Trois Islets, up the west coast to the pretty little village of Case Pilote (spent some time there having my generator rebuilt), then on to St Pierre (go up the volcano, you can drive most of the way then walk) magnificent views and much cooler than at sea level so very welcome. Then down the wild east coast to watch the guys fishing off the beach. Lovely island.

To finally answer some of your questions...

Driving is easy except in FdF itself. You can't get lost for long as you can usually see the sea.

Money... I never change money before I go anywhere, just use ATMs to get cash, and use credit cards whenever I can but that's just me.

Snorkelling... I did snorkel in some of the smaller coves around Grande Anse d'Arlet area but don't really remember that much about them.

Safety... I've mentioned FdF not being great but it is probably no worse than your local city (wherever that may be) so just take your normal precautions. Away from FdF it feels fine.

Food... It's part of France so quite difficult to eat badly.

Rhum... The local stuff is pretty disgusting, in my opinion, but it gets the job done. Worth doing one distillery visit but probably not two.

Language... Mostly you'll be talking to people in shops, restaurants, hotels etc. If people want to sell you something they'll find a way to communicate with you <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />


Some photos and lots of descriptive text in my Wife's blog from one of our trips back in 2009 http://sailingjeannius.blogspot.co.uk/2009/08/20-miles-off-guadaloupe-to-anse-lane.html . Work forward in time from that post.