Comments...

comment by Brice75, 2007-05-05 17:11:25

Tartane November 2006
I was in Martinique in November 2006 for a 2week trip.

I Surfed Tartane almost everyday. The wind speed was still pretty high some days making the surf not so great the first week. But second was really nice. almost no wind (less than 15 knots) and 1 meter swell.
Best season for surfing is definitely between Novemeber and March.

What you have to know about Martinique is that most consistent spot is in Tartane and is actually unique on the island. So it sounds like crowded and it actually is. But the really good point about it is that surfing community is not so large and most of the people are just nice with each other.

So it is not a world class surf destination like Guadeloupe or other places in the Carribean.
But the place is really great and the surfing is so nice that anyone who'd been there would probably come back again and recommend it to friends.

For people who do not know the island, I recommend you to rent an apparment close to Tartane and rent a car for the week to visit the island. There are really beautiful beaches in the south (Le Diamant and Les Salines) that you do not want to miss.
There is a surf school close to Tartane : Bliss where you can rent surf board (referenced into World Stormrider guide volume 2)
If you go there for only one week, it is not worth bringing your own board. Personnaly I brought mine (7'6 Takayama) and it was perfect but it cost me 120 euros to bring in aboard Air France flight. Most of people are surfing short boards (6'0 to 6'5). There are some bodyboarders and a few longboarders.
Language on the line up is either French or Creole. I haven't heard so much of english.
Locals are not hostile as long as you pay attention to priorities.
No sharks in the water. The only dangers that I am aware of are sun burns and mosquitoes (Dengue).

Night life can be hot but you'll need a car to go to Fort de France (main city ~ 45 minutes from Tartane).
Beware that traffic is really crazy and jammed. So be patient and just enjoy zouk music !!

And last but not least, local cuisine is just great.

Conclusion: great surf, great weather, great culture ...
What are you waiting for ???

comment by surf76, 2007-02-04 21:16:32

surfshop ?
hi, i surf in the north ouest of france and i plan to go in martinique in the beginning of march. i would like to know if the swell is usually OK during this period ? and what type of board we should take ? are the waves quick or slow ? is there a surfshop that i can borrow a shortboard for one week ?
can u let some adress and phone if you know please.
thank you very much by advance

comment by Killer, 2006-02-25 23:46:29

honeymoon in martinique
We went to honeymoon in martinique and then in guadeloupe.
We surfed in tartane.Nice spot,beautiful place the sand is black and yellow.
Everybody surfed on the leffr but no onr in the right!
I understood really quick why nobody surfed on the right!!!
Urchain!
We werw there on september but the locals told me that the best months are october and november!
And we will go again this year.
You can find a nice surf school.
The guys there are really cool the name was bliss!
Nice trip and a so beautiful place!
I you have the chance to go there don't hesitate!

comment by Honza, 2004-11-02 21:32:30

Tartane is great
Tartane was a good place to surf for me as a begginer but (from what I could see) also for much more experienced guys. All the people in water were friendly - absolutely no conflicts (on the opposite - wery heplful). Frank - the owner of the local surfrental and surfischool (BLISS) was very friendly. Thanks! Nice girls in the waves:-)) Well, now I am back to central europe "enjoying" the 10 C temperature...

comment by JOT, 2004-07-06 21:24:39

ANSWER TO EXPAT
we've never heard such a load of shit about surfing in Martinique. You put some major discredit on our waves... you're wrong, real wrong. but we don' care that much about it. what drive us mad is that you're telling that us locals are a bunch of no-brained fools that try to start over a fight every time we see an outsider. Truth is, there was no fight recorded at our beach over the last 5 years at least, outsiders are in fact given waves if they deserve it, and everyone who come here at tartane agree it's one of the mellowest place on earth... just check the others messages on that list.

comment by Expat, 2004-05-21 02:40:42

Tartane sucks.
Powerless and short wave. Not too many places to surf in Martinique so it gets easily crowded. For the locals : level is damn low; and they can get aggro when you take more waves and surf them better than they do. But when the swell starts pumping (2m=rare)you never see these faces in the water. Some assholes locals are proud to insult and send white tourists back to the beach. Keep a straight head and stay, it's all big mouth martinique style. There still are some good surfers like the Milenne bros and a few others focusing silently on the waves and the quality of their surf.
If you like powerful quality waves you'd better head to Pelle à Tarte or Cocoa when they work (=rare).

comment by christophe@promopolis.be, 2004-05-20 18:21:28

tartane -trinite
good consistent surfspot, great spot. different peaks but again - longboarder and bodysurfers take the nicest waves. but again, waves enough. defenitly the place to go for sure surf.

comment by tombulgin@yahoo.com, 2003-12-26 02:00:32

Great surf holiday
Well, that's it! I'm back in cold miserable grey England after 10 days in your paradise. I surfed every day at the beach through the forest near the Bliss (www.surfmartinique.com) surf school- not toally sure what the locals call it, but it's on the Caravelle peninsula and is pretty much the best spot on the island. Frank, the owner of the surf school, was a really kind bloke who helped me out when I dinged my board up and generally made me feel very welcome to be surfing his local beach.
Out of ten days, two were really blown out with small windchop, but the rest varied from three foot light crosswind days all of which were very surfable, to 4ft glassy offshore when cold fronts kill the trade winds for a day or two. My opinion....an excellent surf trip with my girlfriend (now fiancee - we got engaged while we were there!!) but check for local and French school holidays as there's limited space on the water at the better breaks and it got busy for our last two days. I'd go again - stay with Frank or a great hotel up the road called the Caravelle Hotel. A bientot!!!

comment by anonymous, 2003-12-08 19:25:18

5 days to go....!
Well, I am heading out to Tartane to stay at La Baie du Galion and I will be arriving on Saturday night (13th December) .... so I expect that if you have any waves at the moment then they will disappear as soon as I get to the beach!

It looks like there's a bit of swell hitting right now (I'm only guessing from the charts)... but I'm hoping that my forecasting is correct as it looks like there's a steady string of low pressures spinning out of the East coast of the US over the week or so which I guess should send swell down to Martinique!!

How are the waves right now .... anyone?

TB

comment by yéléna, 2003-11-29 23:41:13

come to martinique!
I'm a local girl surfer of tartane , "p'tite plage" and I ought you to come it's a good spot for the beginners and for the confirmed too because it grow up when there is a good swell 2-3m and "pelle à tarte" is big enough for the confirmed, good barrels! "cocoa" more for the confirmed too is big enough and "vvf" "entre deux" for the beginners. In the water there is a good ambiance and the locals are very nice.