A postcard-perfect French-Caribbean fishing village where a red-domed church aligns perfectly with a wooden pier — and sea turtles graze just offshore.
⚓ Confirm ship landing / transfer🕒 Typical call: 5–7 hrs💶 Euro (€) — cash recommended🗣️ French (little English spoken)
Docking
Confirm actual anchorage, landing or mainland transfer with your operator
Walk to center
Depends on confirmed landing or drop-off
Best For
Snorkeling, sea turtles, French-Creole dining
Don't Miss
Anse Dufour for near-guaranteed turtle encounters
📄 Take this port with you
A printable port guide — key info, things to do & tips. Includes an editable “My Day in Port” box for your ship times & booked excursions.
Your itinerary determines whether you visit Les Anses-d’Arlet by ship tender or a road/boat transfer from elsewhere on Martinique. Confirm the actual landing, meeting point and return arrangements with your operator.
Getting Ashore
1
Confirm the arrival planDo not assume the village pier is your ship’s tender landing. Check your cruise line’s instructions; a Fort-de-France call and a Les Anses-d’Arlet village visit are different arrival plans.
2
Orient yourself in the bourgThe coastal bourg includes the beach and Église Saint-Henri. The map shows the town area, not an assigned ship berth, landing or pedestrian route.
3
Get to other beachesGrande Anse is about 2.5 km north (steep walk; water taxi is easier). Anse Dufour and Anse Noire are roughly 10 km by the winding coast road — take a taxi (about 15 min) and agree on a return time before you depart.
💡 Pro move: Euro cash is essential for small vendors, water taxis, and beach stalls. ATMs are scarce here — withdraw in Fort-de-France if possible.
Piers & Tendering by Cruise Line
The village waterfront is not an assigned cruise terminal. Confirm your ship’s actual landing or transfer before planning your shore day.
Typical cruise-line arrival arrangements; confirm your ship’s assignment.
Cruise Line
Typical Berth / Arrival
Dock or Tender
Your ship / excursion operator
Actual anchorage, landing or mainland transfer must be confirmed📍
Check itinerary
Top Excursions
From snorkeling with turtles to black-sand volcanic beaches, Les Anses d'Arlet punches well above its size.
Nature
Sea Turtle Snorkel at Anse Dufour
Green sea turtles graze on seagrass in waist-deep water at Anse Dufour — arguably the most reliable turtle encounter in the Caribbean. Bring your own snorkel gear or rent locally.
Swim or snorkel off the main Anse d'Arlet beach, then walk the iconic wooden pier for the classic photo of the pier aligned with Saint-Henri Church and the green volcanic hills behind it.
⏱ 1–2 hrs🚶 Easy📷 Most-photographed pier in Martinique
A dramatic pitch-black volcanic beach accessed by stone steps, sitting side-by-side with golden-sand Anse Dufour — a geological contrast found almost nowhere else in the Caribbean.
A longer crescent of golden sand 2.5 km north of the village with lively beachfront bars and restaurants, including Ti Sable beach club. Livelier vibe than the town beach.
⏱ 2–4 hrs🚕 5-min taxi or water taxi🍹 Beach clubs available
Clear water and healthy coral just offshore from the village. Local dive shops operate directly from the beach, offering beginner dives and reef excursions for all levels.
The following walks start in the village, not at an assumed ship landing.
Village to Church Pier Loop
0.5 km · 15 min · Easy
Once in the village, walk along the beach to the wooden pier, stroll to the end for the classic church-pier-hills photo, then double back through the village past Creole restaurants and small shops.
Village to Grande Anse
2.5 km one-way · 35 min · Hilly
A scenic but steep walk north over the headland to Grande Anse beach. Worth doing one-way if you're fit; most visitors prefer a water taxi for the return.
Weather & Best Time to Visit
Coastal gridded climate proxy for Les Anses-d’Arlet (2014–2023 ERA5 daily averages), not an on-site land station. Rainy days average days with at least 1 mm total precipitation.
Month
Avg High
Avg Low
Rainy Days
Sunrise
Sunset
Jan
78°F / 26°C
76°F / 24°C
14
6:33 AM
5:54 PM
Feb
78°F / 26°C
75°F / 24°C
11
6:28 AM
6:08 PM
Mar
78°F / 26°C
76°F / 24°C
12
6:11 AM
6:14 PM
Apr
79°F / 26°C
77°F / 25°C
11
5:50 AM
6:18 PM
May
80°F / 27°C
78°F / 25°C
11
5:36 AM
6:24 PM
Jun
81°F / 27°C
78°F / 26°C
15
5:35 AM
6:34 PM
Jul
81°F / 27°C
78°F / 26°C
21
5:43 AM
6:37 PM
Aug
82°F / 28°C
79°F / 26°C
20
5:50 AM
6:26 PM
Sep
83°F / 28°C
79°F / 26°C
17
5:53 AM
6:05 PM
Oct
82°F / 28°C
79°F / 26°C
20
5:55 AM
5:43 PM
Nov
81°F / 27°C
78°F / 26°C
20
6:05 AM
5:32 PM
Dec
80°F / 27°C
77°F / 25°C
14
6:21 AM
5:37 PM
Climate source: ERA5 / Copernicus via Open-Meteo; explicit ERA5 model, 2014–2023 complete daily record. Coastal grid centre 14.5°N, 61.0°W; requested town-area point 14.4906°N, 61.0806°W. CC BY 4.0.
Representative sunrise/sunset — 2025, 15th of each month; local civil time including DST (America/Martinique). Source: Astral; not a forecast or climate average.
Insider Tips
💶
Bring euros in cash. Many beach stalls, water taxis, and small vendors don't accept cards. Withdraw cash before arriving — ATMs here are scarce.
🐢
Don't touch the turtles at Anse Dufour. Keep a respectful 15-foot (5 m) distance. Martinique actively protects its marine life, and touching or chasing turtles is prohibited.
🕐
Watch tender and ferry schedules. If transferring from Fort-de-France by ferry, confirm the last return time before heading out — missing it means a 50€+ taxi back.
🌞
Use reef-safe sunscreen only. The marine park ecosystem is protected. Chemical sunscreens (oxybenzone) are damaging to the corals you're here to see.
🗣️
French is essential. Very little English is spoken in the village. Download Google Translate's French offline pack before your cruise. Even a few basic phrases — Bonjour, Merci, S'il vous plaît — go a long way.
🍽️
Don't skip the accras. Creole salt-fish fritters (accras de morue) and a Ti' Punch (rum, lime, cane syrup) are the quintessential Martinique beach lunch — and Chez Fred near the pier does them well.
Getting Around
Transport options from the pier — taxis, shuttles, transit passes, and whether ride-share apps work here.
🚗 Ride-share: ❌ Not available — use taxisNo Uber, Lyft, Grab, or Bolt operate in Martinique. Traditional taxis and private transfers are the only hire options.🚍 Hop-on hop-off: ❌ No HOHO bus
🚶 Walk the Village
Free
Once you are in the coastal bourg, the beach, Saint-Henri Church, restaurants and shops are close together. Confirm how your actual landing or drop-off connects to the village before setting out.
🚕 Pre-booked Taxi
€46–€94+
Government-regulated taxis must be arranged in advance — there is no taxi rank at the dock. To Trois-Îlets runs around €46; Fort-de-France is roughly €69–94. A 40% surcharge applies Sundays and after 8 PM.
🏝️ Taxi Island Tour
~€40/hr (1–4 pax)
Hire a taxi driver for an hourly island tour — a popular option for cruise passengers wanting to see more of Martinique. Minivans fit 5–8 at around €10/person/hr.
🚌 Public Bus (TC)
€1–€3
Martinique's shared minibus network ('TC') connects villages, but routes near Les Anses d'Arlet are infrequent and unreliable. Better suited for adventurous travelers with flexible time.
🚗 Car Rental
€50–€80/day
Rental agencies operate on Martinique but are typically located at the airport or Fort-de-France, not at the tender pier. Best arranged in advance for a full-day independent exploration.
Cruises Calling Here
Upcoming cruises that call at Les Anses d'Arlet, Martinique, France. Dates, prices, and ports of call change — always confirm with the cruise line before booking.
Seabourn Ovation
Seabourn Cruises
Philipsburg St Maarten → Bridgetown
⚓ Calls 09 Dec 08:00 - 18:00 202614 nights13 portsDeparts 2026 Dec 05
View itinerary · 13 ports
14 days, one-way from Philipsburg St Maarten to Bridgetown
05 Dec 21:00Departing from Philipsburg St Maarten, Netherlands Antilles
06 Dec 08:00 - 17:00Tortola Island BVI, Road Town, UK Virgin Islands
07 Dec 08:00 - 17:00Basseterre St Kitts, Port Zante
09 Dec 08:00 - 18:00Les Anses d'Arlet, Martinique
10 Dec 08:00 - 17:00Bequia Island, Port Elizabeth, Grenadines
11 Dec 08:00 - 18:00St Georges Grenada
12 Dec 07:00 - 21:00Bridgetown, Barbados
14 Dec 08:00 - 17:00Basseterre St Kitts, Port Zante
15 Dec 08:00 - 18:00Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe
16 Dec 08:00 - 18:00Saint-Pierre Martinique
17 Dec 08:00 - 18:00Roseau, Dominica
18 Dec 08:00 - 18:00Pigeon Island, Rodney Bay, St Lucia
Itineraries and prices change — always confirm with the cruise line before booking. Some links are affiliate links that may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Nearby Ports & Places
Approximate great-circle straight-line distances from the Les Anses-d’Arlet town-area reference, not boat or road distances, travel times or assigned landings.
