martinique...........suggestions

suggestions on renting a car? or take a taxi?

I had read that its hard to navigate because of French signs & you cannot
depend on roads being open? also a couple mentions of car hijacking?

tips on taxi rentals?

what is the attitude of the locals & taxi drivers nowadays there?

not to be missed attractions?? snorkeling beaches?

thanks! : )


Muffin www.ggc2004.com

Stay on the ship..
"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
suggestions on renting a car? or take a taxi?

I had read that its hard to navigate because of French signs & you cannot
depend on roads being open? also a couple mentions of car hijacking?

tips on taxi rentals?

what is the attitude of the locals & taxi drivers nowadays there?

not to be missed attractions?? snorkeling beaches?

thanks! : )


Muffin www.ggc2004.com

*muffin* wrote:

what is the attitude of the locals & taxi drivers nowadays there?

Martinique is very French; the natives are citizens of France. The
attitude is French. It might be worth your while to learn a few words or
phrases like "bonjour." Sometimes this comes in handy. On one of our
visits, Eileen and I went to a local cafe for coffee. When the
proprietress asked for $5 after one cup, Eileen replied "c'est Paris?"
She immediately cut the price in half. I enjoy France and I enjoy
Martinique.

Howard

*muffin* wrote:
suggestions on renting a car? or take a taxi?

I had read that its hard to navigate because of French signs & you cannot
depend on roads being open? also a couple mentions of car hijacking?

tips on taxi rentals?

what is the attitude of the locals & taxi drivers nowadays there?

not to be missed attractions?? snorkeling beaches?

thanks! : )


Muffin www.ggc2004.com

We rented a small car and drove the coast road to St. Pierre. Fabulous
scenery! Probably one of the 10 best scenic drives in the world.

Ate at a small shack called Le Bamboo in Morne Rouge and then drove back
to the ship down the interior highway. More spectacular mountain views.
You can see 10 ft. tall poinsettas along the roadway!

It's a beautiful island, much more natural beauty than even Jamaica.

All the signage is in International Sign Code ( or whatever it's called)
and not at all hard to interpret. The average person will have no
trouble at all navigating out in the countryside. There aren't that
many roads to get lost on.

yes, I had thought of renting a car for that,, but when I read SOME roads
are constantly being worked on or closed, you may not get to see what you
want.

whom did you rent from, & did you get a map ahead of time?


"Joe Bagodonuts" wrote in message
...


*muffin* wrote:
suggestions on renting a car? or take a taxi?

I had read that its hard to navigate because of French signs & you
cannot
depend on roads being open? also a couple mentions of car hijacking?

tips on taxi rentals?

what is the attitude of the locals & taxi drivers nowadays there?

not to be missed attractions?? snorkeling beaches?

thanks! : )


Muffin www.ggc2004.com

We rented a small car and drove the coast road to St. Pierre. Fabulous
scenery! Probably one of the 10 best scenic drives in the world.

Ate at a small shack called Le Bamboo in Morne Rouge and then drove back
to the ship down the interior highway. More spectacular mountain views.
You can see 10 ft. tall poinsettas along the roadway!

It's a beautiful island, much more natural beauty than even Jamaica.

All the signage is in International Sign Code ( or whatever it's called)
and not at all hard to interpret. The average person will have no
trouble at all navigating out in the countryside. There aren't that
many roads to get lost on.

*muffin8
We were on Martinique back in 1998. It was around the time that the
volcano on Monseratt(sp?) was acting up. We passed close enough to see
the island, so you might keep that in mind if you pass close enough.

Someone told us to hire a taxi for the day to see the island. We hooked
up with another couple from our ship(Monarch OTS) and hired a
taxi(Mercedes)with a english speaking driver, for $100.00 for a 3 to 4
hour ride around the island. It was one of the best island tours we've
ever been on. He hit all the points of interest and would stop
whenever/whereever we asked. Seeing things on our own pace! Stopped at
little roadside market fo something to eat and drink.

As we were riding along the roads, I noticed quite a few goats along the
road. I asked the driver if the goats roamed free? (did they belong to
someone?) He got a very serious look on his face and replied that they
were not free, and thet we would get in serious trouble if we tried to
take a goat home with us.

A little english mis-communication I guess!

Look into taking a taxi tour of the island.

T.R.
(the muffin man!!)

*muffin* wrote:

suggestions on renting a car? or take a taxi?

I had read that its hard to navigate because of French signs & you cannot
depend on roads being open? also a couple mentions of car hijacking?

tips on taxi rentals?

what is the attitude of the locals & taxi drivers nowadays there?

not to be missed attractions?? snorkeling beaches?

thanks! : )

Muffin www.ggc2004.com

There aren't that many roads! I highly recommend a drive through the
rain forest. Sacre Coeur de Balata, was, well, just like Sacre Coeur in
Paris, but smaller. The ruined town of St. Pierre is interesting too
(aka, the 1902-ish volcano explosion museum).

Jeff


*muffin* wrote:

suggestions on renting a car? or take a taxi?

I had read that its hard to navigate because of French signs & you cannot
depend on roads being open? also a couple mentions of car hijacking?

tips on taxi rentals?

what is the attitude of the locals & taxi drivers nowadays there?

not to be missed attractions?? snorkeling beaches?

thanks! : )

Muffin www.ggc2004.com

*muffin* wrote:
yes, I had thought of renting a car for that,, but when I read SOME roads
are constantly being worked on or closed, you may not get to see what you
want.

whom did you rent from, & did you get a map ahead of time?

MOST roads in the Caribbean are in some sort of disrepair, that's just
the way things are down there. It would take an awful lot to totally
close a road. I can't imagine either of those two roads being out of
comission as they are the main links on the island.

I think we rented from Avis, made the reservations and all ahead of
time. Since then we have learned that you are usually better off to
just find a rental agency on the dock or downtown and rent on the spot.
Usually get better rates that way.

The rental agency provided a map, and we got another one from the
tourist office near the Savanne.

This reminds me of a curious situation. Living in western Canada, and
occasionally having to drive inside a military base here, the stop signs on
the base had a big ARÊTE on them, being the French word for "stop".

When traveling in France on a cruise (Ville a Franche to Monte Carlo) all
the stop signs had a plain STOP on them.

Tobieon an Island in the Pacific


All the signage is in International Sign Code ( or whatever it's called)
and not at all hard to interpret. The average person will have no
trouble at all navigating out in the countryside. There aren't that
many roads to get lost on.






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