Martinique Shore Excursions
Martinique Shore Excursions: French and West Indian Culture
On cruise to Martinique, shore excursions will introduce you to breathtaking beaches and stunning scenery born of the island’s ancient volcanic past, French-inspired sophistication, the proud culture of the island, and some of the best crafted rum in all of the Caribbean.
Visits to the island’s pristine white sand and volcanic black sand beaches are easy to arrange through Martinique cruise excursions. Also available are combo itineraries that pair beach time with tours that showcase the biodiversity of the island, from bat caves to sea turtles and many species of colorful tropical fish.
Many Martinique shore excursions offer Caribbean cruise passengers a peek into the island’s French and West Indian history and culture. See where Napoleon Bonaparte’s wife, Josephine Beauharnais, lived as a child on a guided tour of La Pagerie Museum. On a narrated walking tour of Fort de France, get an in-depth look at the capital city and visit the Balta Cathedral, a replica of the Sacred Heart Basilica in Paris, and explore the ruins of St. Pierre, the old capital felled by an eruption in 1902 of Mount Pelée. On your travels to the Southern Caribbean islands, you can also visit a preserved 18th century Creole home and watch a native dance performance that speaks to the island’s African and European roots.
The island’s most abundant crop, sugar cane, and the spirit distilled from it, rum, is the focus of popular Martinique shore excursions. One option is Clement House, an old island distillery that served as a meeting place for Presidents Franҫois Mitterand and George Bush, Sr. on the eve of the Gulf War. You can also visit the Depaz Distillery of St. Pierre, one of the oldest on the island, and St. James Rum Distillery, where rum was first crafted by Father Edmund Lefebure. On each tour, you’ll learn the history of the spirit, how sugar cane becomes rum, the difference between rum, rhum, and agricole rum, and of course you’ll taste several varieties.
