Le Marin route card
Route · 7 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Martinique

Le Marin round-trip.

Round-trip yacht route from Le Marin, Martinique across the channel to St Lucia's Pitons, Marigot Bay and Rodney Bay, then home via Grande Anse d'Arlet.

The route

Day-by-day route

Click any pin on the map or any day in the route summary below to see that day's stop, story and photos.

Sainte-Anne
Day 1

Le Marin → Sainte-Anne

An easy first afternoon: three miles south from Le Marin, the Caribbean's busiest charter base, to the broad sand bottom off Sainte-Anne, with Les Salines beach a walk down the coast.

Distance

2 NM

Sailing

~0.4h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

December – May (peak Jan – Apr)

Duration

7 days

Departure

Le Marin

Sailing area

Martinique

Route summary

Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative and mooring tip.

Plan this route

See boats from Le Marin

Live availability & prices, bookable online

All Martinique routes

Compare other route variations

Search the whole fleet

Every destination, date and boat type

The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, mooring notes and things to do for every leg of the week — the map follows along as you scroll.

Day 1 / 7
Sainte-Anne
1
Day 1

Le Marin → Sainte-Anne

Le Marin is where most Caribbean charters begin, and it shows: 800-odd berths, French supermarkets, chandlers and a fuel dock all within a dinghy ride. Load up here, because provisioning gets thinner once you cross to St Lucia. The first leg is short, barely three miles down to Sainte-Anne, so there's no rush. We usually clear the marina by late morning and let the crew settle into the boat on the way. Sainte-Anne's bay is broad and shallow, sand under five metres or so, and the holding is reliable once the anchor bites. Drop the hook off the village and dinghy in for a wander past the church square. If the wind is kind, walk south toward Les Salines, one of the island's finest beaches.

Things to do

Provision at Le Marin's French supermarkets

Walk south to Les Salines beach

Wander Sainte-Anne's church square

Snorkel the reef off Pointe Marin

Mooring tip

Sainte-Anne is all anchoring, no buoys; aim for sand in four to six metres and give the seagrass patches a wide berth so the hook sets clean. The bay fills up by evening in season, so arrive mid-afternoon for a spot near the village.

Windward Islands channel
2
Day 2

Sainte-Anne → Rodney Bay (St. Lucia)

This is the day of real sailing. From Sainte-Anne it's around twenty miles of open channel to Rodney Bay, four to six hours on a beam reach with the trades usually blowing 15 to 20 knots and a bit of swell midway. Worth leaving by nine to make the anchorage in daylight. Rodney Bay is a port of entry, so clear customs and immigration at the IGY marina within twenty-four hours of arrival and stay aboard until you have the paperwork. Once you're cleared, the choices open up: berth in the lagoon, or anchor off Reduit Beach in settled weather. Ashore there are chandlers, restaurants and cold Piton beer a short walk from the sand.

Things to do

Clear customs at IGY Rodney Bay Marina

Swim at Reduit Beach

Hike Fort Rodney on Pigeon Island

Sundowners at a Reduit Beach bar

Mooring tip

The outside anchorage off Reduit Beach is fine in settled spells but rolls when northerly swell wraps in; the Rodney Bay Lagoon and marina berths are calmer if a swell is forecast. For clearance, tie up at the marina rather than anchoring first, since no one should go ashore before customs signs you off.

Marigot Bay, St. Lucia
3
Day 3

Rodney Bay → Marigot Bay (St. Lucia)

The pace drops right off today. It's roughly ten miles south along the leeward coast, mostly flat water in the island's wind shadow with the odd gust funnelling off the valleys. A couple of hours' sailing, no more. Marigot Bay hides behind a low spit of palms and doesn't reveal itself until you're almost inside. The inner pool is a genuine hurricane hole, ringed by steep green hills that kill the swell and most of the wind. Pick up one of the marina's mooring buoys in the inner bay rather than fighting for space to anchor. Ashore, Chateau Mygo does honest Creole cooking, and the water taxi will run you over to Doolittle's for dinner and back.

Things to do

Take a mooring in the inner hurricane hole

Dinner at Chateau Mygo's Creole kitchen

Water taxi to Doolittle's bar

Paddle the mangroves at the head of the bay

Mooring tip

There's barely room to swing and it stays deep right up to the shore, so forget anchoring and grab one of the marina's twenty balls; a boat boy runs out to take your lines. They go fast in season, so raise the marina on the radio while you're still off the entrance.

The Pitons, St. Lucia
4
Day 4

Marigot Bay → Soufrière (Pitons)

The Pitons come into view long before you reach them, two green spires dropping straight into the sea. It's about twelve miles down the coast, an easy sail broken by wind holes under the high land, so keep the engine handy. You'll still be talking about this stretch on the flight home. The whole bay sits inside the Soufrière marine reserve, a UNESCO site where anchoring is off-limits and you take a mooring buoy from the SMMA rangers, who charge a small conservation fee by boat length. Grab one off Sugar Beach, between the Pitons, or under the cliffs at Anse Chastanet for the better snorkelling. Ashore, the sulphur springs and botanical gardens make a good half-day if the crew wants a break from the water.

Things to do

Take an SMMA buoy off Sugar Beach

Snorkel the reef at Anse Chastanet

Soak in Sulphur Springs mud baths

Walk the Diamond Botanical Gardens

Mooring tip

No hook goes down anywhere in the reserve, so take an SMMA buoy (white with a blue stripe) and pay the ranger the conservation fee; the fishermen's plain white buoys are not for visitors. The buoys off Sugar Beach are deep and often stern-tied to shore, so arrive with daylight to sort lines calmly.

Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
5
Day 5

Soufrière → Rodney Bay (St. Lucia)

Today is about getting north again. It's roughly twenty-five miles back up the leeward coast to Rodney Bay, a comfortable sail in the island's lee with the same afternoon gusts off the headlands. Leave Soufrière after a last morning snorkel and you'll be anchored by mid-afternoon. Back in Rodney Bay, clear out with customs at the marina so you're free to leave for Martinique at first light. With the paperwork done, tuck up under Pigeon Island for the night, the calmest corner of the bay once the park closes. Fort Rodney is worth the short climb for the view over the anchorage and across to Martinique, tomorrow's horizon. Take on fuel and water before you leave; it's scarcer on the far side.

Things to do

Clear out of St Lucia at the marina

Anchor under Pigeon Island for the night

Climb to Fort Rodney's ruins

Top up fuel and water before leaving

Mooring tip

The Pigeon Island anchorage holds well in sand at four to seven metres, but watch for shallow patches near the beach. It empties out and stays quiet once the national park shuts for the evening, so it's a good spot to stage for an early start.

Grande Anse d'Arlet
6
Day 6

Rodney Bay → Grande Anse d'Arlet

The crossing back to Martinique is the longer of the two channel days, close to thirty miles from Rodney Bay up to the Anses d'Arlet. Heading north the trades come more onto the bow, so expect a lively reach and some spray; reef early and start at dawn to keep it a daytime passage. Landfall is the southwest corner of Martinique. Grande Anse d'Arlet is a proper reward for the miles. A dark-sand crescent curves below a red-roofed church whose steeple lines up dead straight with the pier. The anchoring is good over sand, and the water off the beach holds seagrass meadows where green turtles feed most mornings. Ti Sable, feet in the sand, does grilled fish and a Sunday party that spills onto the beach.

Things to do

Snorkel with green turtles off the beach

Photograph Saint-Henri church aligned with the pier

Lunch at Ti Sable beach club

Dinghy round to Anse Dufour and Anse Noire

Mooring tip

Grande Anse is an anchoring bay; drop over clear sand in five to eight metres and avoid the marked seagrass so you don't foul the turtle grazing. It gets busy with day boats by late morning, so an early arrival wins you a spot close to the village.

Le Marin
7
Day 7

Grande Anse d'Arlet → Le Marin

The final morning is an easy one, ten miles or so back to Le Marin around the southern tip of the island. Off Petite Anse d'Arlet the coast opens onto Diamond Rock, a 175-metre lump of stone the Royal Navy once garrisoned as a ship-of-war. Give it a slow pass; the snorkelling on its flanks is worth a last swim if the sea is calm. From there it's a beat back east into the trades toward Sainte-Anne, then up the buoyed channel into Le Marin. Charter boats usually want the yacht back by late morning, so time the last leg to leave Grande Anse early. Fill the fuel tank on the way in, settle up, and let the crew make the most of one more lunch ashore.

Things to do

Slow pass and snorkel at Diamond Rock

Lunch stop off Petite Anse d'Arlet

Refuel on the way into Le Marin

Final lunch on Le Marin's waterfront

Mooring tip

Le Marin's approach is buoyed but shallow and coral-strewn, so follow the marked channel in and don't cut corners. Call the charter base on the way to confirm your berth, and go in bows-first or as they direct; the fuel dock sits near the entrance for a top-up before handover.

Sail this route on your own charter

Check live availability from the departure marina, compare boats and secure your week online — free cancellation included.

See boats from Le MarinBrowse all boats