Caribbean Special: French Caribbean: the complete guide

Just how french is the French Caribbean?

Croissants for breakfast, autoroutes, service militaire, Peugeots and Citroëns driven with Gallic nonchalance, even a certain je ne sais quoi (or is that je m'en fous?). And now, strange as it may feel in the tropics, the Euro. The French Caribbean islands may have all the other attributes of the islands – the sun, sea, superb beaches and luxurious Caribbean greenery – but they are "Dom Toms" (départements d'outremer – overseas departments) and have been developed so that the standard of living is the same as in mainland France. This really is France in the Caribbean.

Populated with Frenchmen and Frenchwomen?

Legally, yes, though French West Indians don't particularly like being considered nothing more than "coloured Frenchmen", which until recently was the official view from the métropole (as mainland France is referred to).

There is a distinctive French Caribbean culture, in the creole language (tantalisingly like French but ultimately incomprehensible), the music (formerly the mazurka and the beguine, currently zouk) and the cuisine, (a mix of French, West Indian and East Indian influences). There was even a school of philosophy from the French Caribbean, Négritude, expounded by Aimé Césaire, who was the mayor of Fort de France, the capital of Martinique for many years. Typically there is also a strong French Caribbean literary scene, which has included writers such as Maryse Condé, Aimé Césaire and Simone Schwarz-Bart. In 1992, Patrick Chamoiseau won the Prix Goncourt for his novel Texaco.

Which are the French islands?

The French Caribbean is made up of four main islands in the Eastern Caribbean and a Département on the South American mainland. At the heart of the Windward chain is Martinique, the spiritual home of the French Caribbean; then there is Guadeloupe, which is like a slightly unruly sister. It is another relatively large island and has some offshore blips (the Saints, Marie Galante and others). Guadeloupe also looks after two larger dependents: St Martin, the smallest island in the world to be shared by two nations (the other half is Dutch Sint Maarten) and St Barts, one of the most chic parts of France anywhere. Finally there is French Guyana, easternmost in the colonial toast-rack of South America, bordered by Surinam (Dutch Guiana) and Brazil.

So which island?

That depends: Martinique and Guadeloupe have the strongest creole atmosphere. They are both developed and large enough that their considerable tourist industry has not swamped local life. It helps to speak French. St Barts and St Martin see many more American visitors: the former island sees well-heeled, expensive travellers, the latter, more mid-range travellers. The culture is more French than creole, but English will always get you by.

Didn't JoséPhine come from Martinique?

Yes. Napoleon's Joséphine is commemorated with a statue in the island capital, Fort de France. Ironically, considering her connection with the French Revolution, the statue was beheaded a decade ago, in a moment of independence-inspired rebellion for which Martinique is not known. Her head has never been found. The Musée de la Pagerie, in her childhood home in Trois-Ilets, is dedicated to her.

Like other islands in the Eastern Caribbean chain, Martinique is a massive volcano (and still active). The island is dominated by the famous Mont Pelee in the north, which erupted catastrophically in 1902 (described in two museums in the town) killing all but one of the 30,000 inhabitants. Nowadays its steep-sided flanks are mantled in rainforest which you can explore. The best beaches are in the flatter south of the island, where coral growth has created white sand. Try Anse Mitan at Pointe du Bout opposite Fort de France and Plage des Salines in St Anne, but look out for Grande Anse des Salines at the southern tip and the delightful dozy coves in the southwest, the Anses d'Arlet.

And beyond the beach?

The swathes of sugar cane are turned into sugar and rum – see the Maison de la Canne in Rivière Salée and the Musée du Rhum in St Marie. Also the excellent Musée de la Banane nearby for bananas. The Jardins de Balata, above Fort de France, have superb tropical flora. Gauguin lived in Martinique before going to the Pacific, and the Musée Gauguin in St Pierre is worth visiting.

Where should I stay?

Try Relais Caraïbes, near le Diamant (00 596 596 76 44 65, expensive); Frégate Bleue, Le Francois (00 596 596 54 54 66, moderate); La Petite Auberge, St Luce (00 596 596 62 59 70, moderate); in the rainforest Abri Auberge Verte, Ajoupa Bouillon (00 596 596 53 32 13, cheap).

And Guadeloupe?

It's the one that looks like a butterfly. Pushed together by volcanic action, the wings are geologically different. In the east, Grande-Terre is low-lying and has the best sand (check Ilet de Gosier, St Anne Beach and the excellent beaches at Pointe des Chateaux, most of which are naturist). Basse Terre on the Caribbean side is another volcanic colossus with some delightful coves with sugary sand hidden in the northwest (La Grande Anse is the best).

There are excellent opportunities for walking in the Parc National (12,000 acres of the Basse-Terre rainforest), which are illuminated in the Maison de la Foret and the Maison du Volcan. Also look out for the Maison du Cacao and the Maison du Rhum. Plantation Grand Café is a working banana plantation in Capesterre.

Guadeloupe's offshore islands are ideal for sailing. The Saints are some of the prettiest islands in the Caribbean (they can also be visited by ferry) and have great coves; Marie Galante is small soporific Caribbean, French style. There are marinas on Guadeloupe itself in St François and in Bas du Fort just outside Point-à-Pître. Many French sailors also use Martinique as a starting point for a sailing trip of the Grenadines to the south.

From Guadeloupe head north via Antigua to St Martin/Sint Maarten, which also has many yachts for hire.

There is also excellent windsurfing, and now kite-surfing, off Le Moule on Grande Terre. And on the west coast of Basse-Terre is a Marine Reserve established by Jacques Cousteau. Harlequin Worldwide (01708 850300, www.harlequin-holidays.co.uk) has a specialist dive programme that offers one week at the Paradis Créole on Air France for £656; a 10-dive package with equipment costs £197.

Other good places are Cap Sud Caraïbes, Petit Havre (00 590 590 85 20 83, pthavre@www.softel.fr, expensive); Les Flamboyants, Gosier (00 590 590 84 14 11, moderate); La Flute Enchantée on Basse-Terre (00 590 590 28 41 71, www.flute-enchantee.com, moderate); Créol' Inn, Basse-Terre (00 590 590 94 22 56, www.hotel-creolin-guadeloupe.com, moderate).

What's St Martin like?

St Martin, like its alter-ego Sint Maarten, is the most over-developed island in the Caribbean, though the French side is marginally better. The two countries do have a border somewhere, but it is marked only by a Bienvenue/Welkom sign. The beaches are superb – Baie de l'Orient for activity and Baie Longue and Baie Rouge for great sand and a sunset view.

Apart from beaches, there isn't much (unless you want to shop and gamble on the Dutch side). The food is good, though, especially around Grand Case, where gourmet restaurants and barbecue stalls muscle for beach space.

Untouristy places are hard to find, but try Hévéa Hotel, Grand Case (00 590 590 87 56 85, hevea@outremer.com, moderate) or Chez Martine, Grand Case (00 590 590 87 51 59, chezmartine@powerantilles.com, moderate).

And St Barts?

St Barth to French habitués, St Barts is a champagne playground, an unfeasibly chic corner of France in the Caribbean. Once borrowed by the Swedes, in return for warehouses in Gothenburg and trading rights in the Baltic, it is now home to starlets and overdressed (underdressed on the beach of course, Anse de Grande Saline particularly) Gallic beauties.

The affordable hotels to consider are La Banane, Lorient (00 590 590 27 68 25, www.labanane.com, expensive) and Hotel Normandie, Lorient (00 590 590 27 61 66, moderate).

What's the bvest way to reach the French Caribbean?

The easiest and cheapest way is usually to fly via Paris, where you board a domestic flight to the Caribbean. Air France (0845 084 5111, www.airfrance.co.uk) offers through pricing from Heathrow, London City, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton, via Orly or Charles de Gaulle to Fort de France (Martinique), Point-à-Pître (Guadeloupe) or St Martin (though you actually land in Sint Maarten, the Dutch side). St Barts cannot take international flights. In April, the lead-in fare from London to all the islands is £438.80. An "open-jaw" ticket, flying into one and out of another, does not significantly increase the price.

Another option, if you want to island-hop, is to fly from the UK to St Lucia (for Martinique) or Antigua (for Guadeloupe, St Martin and St Barts) and then make the crossing on a commuter airline: LIAT, the French Caribbean airline Air Caraïbes or, for St Martin and St Barts, the "scheduled charter" Carib Aviation.

Hydrofoil ferries (Express des Iles, www.express-des-iles.com, and Brudey Frères) run between Martinique and Guadeloupe, touching the former British island of Dominica and occasionally linking to St Lucia. Farther north the islands around St Martin (St Barts, Anguilla and Saba) can all be reached by boat too.

Does anyone do the whole package?

A few tour operators offer trips to the French Caribbean from Britain. Harlequin Worldwide Travel (01708 850300, www.harlequin-holidays.co.uk) offer seven nights at La Cocoteraie, a very comfortable hotel in St François on Guadeloupe, for £1,202 with Air France; in Martinique, Sunset Faraway Holidays (020-7498 9922, www.sunsetfaraway.com) offer seven nights at Sofitel Bakoua in Trois-Ilets for £828 from early May, also Air France. Elegant Resorts (01244 897999, www.elegantresorts.com) offer seven nights at Eden Rock in St Barts for £2,130 per person from 15 April (on British Airways via Antigua). Holiday-Rentals.com has villas on all the French islands, though you have to arrange travel yourself (www.holiday-rentals.com).

Isn't Haiti French-speaking too?

The official language in Haiti is French, but the country has been independent from France since 1804 after a massive and successful slave rebellion in what was then France's wealthiest colony.

James Henderson is author of the 'Cadogan Guide to the Caribbean and the Bahamas', presently in its fifth edition, £14.99

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