- Across the Caribbean Sea from Martinique to St. Martin
- Island hopping en route (daily destinations by common agreement with all guests on board)
- Excursions on the islands at your own initiative and expense
- Vegetarian food is served on board as standard. If you want to eat fish or meat, you can indicate this when booking.
- All meals on board, port charges, etc. included
We start in Martinique, an overseas department of France. People speak French there and pay baguettes and croissants in euros. Martinique is known as ‘the island of flowers’ and for good reason, as it has lush flora. Most areas are hilly, there is rainforest with lianas and even a patch of cloud forest. Martinique also offers good nightlife in its many bars and restaurants.
But we won’t stay here too long because there is much more to explore. We hoist the sails and set sail for Dominica, an island paradise known as an ecotourism destination. Dominica’s volcanoes are so steep and mountainous that much of the rainforest has been spared deforestation and plantations. Here, streams meander and flow into waterfalls. Colourful birds whistle among the metre-high ferns, lianas and giant trees. Those who take the trouble to go deeper into the forest can witness a surreal phenomenon: From cracks and holes in the volcanic mountains come strings of hot gas that smell like rotten eggs. Warm streams of water emerge from the volcano’s springs. And a crater filled with water bubbles at the top of the mountain. About a thousand plant species grow there, including many flowers. There are 195 bird species in Dominica. Mammals on Dominica are limited to a few bats and marine mammals such as the sperm whale, Caribbean manatee and humpback whale.
We sail further north. Guadeloupe is not an island per se, but a group of large and small, inhabited and uninhabited islands, including Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre, La Désirade, Marie-Galante and Les Saintes, as well as Petite Terre. The latter you can only reach by boat. These islands are known for their beautiful white beaches with palm trees. No people live here, but 10,000 iguanas do. One of the most special places to visit here. Because during this trip, we are all in the driver’s seat. There are so many beautiful places here that we cannot visit them all. Guests can communicate their wishes and preferences to us and we will accommodate them as much as possible. The ship and crew are ready for you and together we will make it a dream trip!
Having left Guadeloupe behind us, we sail a little further. On longer stretches, we can also sail through at night. The nights at sea are magical. When it gets dark, we turn on the navigation lights so that other ships can see us clearly. The other ships are also lit up, creating a sea of cheerful white, green and red lights through which we navigate safely. Watching a sunrise from a ship on the high seas is unbeatable.
Van hieruit kun je veel mooie eilanden bezoeken, Antigua en Barbuda, wat chique eilanden met prachtige riffen en tropische vissen. St. Kitts en Nevis is nog vrij ongerept en de spoorlijn die vroeger werd gebruikt om suiker van de plantages te vervoeren, kan nu worden gebruikt om het eiland te verkennen. St. Eustatius, of Statia zoals het eiland in de volksmond heet, heeft een enorm onderwaternatuurreservaat met ongerepte koraalriffen en scheepswrakken die dateren uit de 18e eeuw. Het wemelt er van de zeepaardjes, roggen, haaien en zeeschildpadden. Het eiland ligt ook op de trekroute van bultrugwalvissen, dus de kans is groot dat je er een paar ziet. In de verschillende musea kun je meer te weten komen over de (Nederlandse) koloniale geschiedenis. Saint Barthelemy is een jetset eiland, herkenbaar aan de megajachten die hier voor anker liggen. Op de stranden zijn filmsterren, supermodellen en andere beroemdheden te vinden. Er is een reden waarom het eiland zo populair is: het is prachtig en biedt alles wat je van een Caribisch eiland mag verwachten, naast voorzieningen als exclusieve restaurants en chique bars.
We end this stage where the Netherlands borders France: St. Martin
