Passengers arriving by plane land at Martinique's Aéroport du Lamentin , a snazzy terminal about 9km from Fort-de-France and 11km from the nearest southern resort town. Taxis from the airport charge ¬15.25 to the capital and ¬20 and up to the southern coast; there are no public buses from the airport. If you intend to do any additional island exploring, you'd be wise to rent a car on the spot; several agencies are located to the left of the airport exit, with rates starting around ¬50/day. The airport's tourism counter stocks information , and staff can make on-the-spot reservations for you; the main tourism office is in downtown Fort-de-France. You can also check out .

Passengers arriving by ferry disembark at the terminal inter-îles on the southern outskirts of Fort-de-France. The fastest way to reach resort areas south of the capital is by taking a taxi (Radio Taxi-Service tel 0596/63 10 10 or Martinique Taxi tel 0596/63 63 62) straight to the débarcadère in downtown Fort-de-France, and hopping aboard a cross-bay vedette , to avoid the brutal traffic jams on the southern highways. You can still rent a car in southern resorts, and most agencies will let you drop it off at the airport when you leave. Agencies with outlets at the airport and most resort towns are: Avis (tel 0596/42 11 00); Budget (tel 0596/42 16 79); Europcar (tel 0596/42 42 42); Hertz (tel 0596/42 16 90); and Jumbo Car (tel 0596/42 22 22, fax 42 22 32, ). Rent-a-Car (tel 0596/51 51 32, ) has rates as low as ¬30.34/day.