Les Anses d’Arlet - Docking
There are two bays here. Both are anchorages and both have a pier where it is possible to land with a dinghy. New moorings were installed in February 2020.
Grande Anse D’Arlet
Grande Anse is the northern bay and the more popular one with cruisers. It is however more commercial and Petit Anse has a much nicer beach and snorkeling.
Moorings must be used by any boat under 25 tons. No anchoring permitted.
There are now 52 moorings here for visiting yachts on the north side of the bay – the two inner and northern ones are for yachts up to 8m, the outer five for yachts up to 20m and the remainder for yachts up to 15m.
Larger yachts over 25 tons are permitted to anchor at the end of the northern anchorage field in 10m, well away from any sea grass.
The south side of the bay has a further 45 moorings all for boats up to 15m except the inner three rows which are for boats up to 8m.
Anchoring is strictly forbidden and the Coast Guard do patrol to check.
Yachts can anchor for free in Anse Chaudiere right next door and dinghy around.
Getting Ashore:
In Grande Anse, on the left side of the bay, there is a hotel which tends to have noisy music until the early hours. It is not permitted to leave your dinghy on the beach by the hotel.
The pier for dinghies here is quite high, so you may have to lift your dinghy up to stop it rubbing underneath the jetty.
Cruisers report that the southern edge of the beach, past the dinghy pier, is slightly less noisy.
Petit Anse (Les Anses D’Arlet)
There are now 34 moorings here for visiting yachts on the east side of the bay. Fourteen are for boats up to 8m and twenty for boats up to 15m.
Anchoring is still possible further down towards Anse Chaudiere but larger vessels will have to anchor a distance off. This is a less crowded anchorage, but holding can be patchy with a lot of sea grass present on the sea bed, fish traps and buoys. There is reported to be good snorkeling on the reef just off the beach.
Notes:
- No anchoring is permitted less than 300m from the beach or in line with the moorings in both bays.
- A website for booking and payment is planned.
- Moorings currently have no pick-up lines.
Last updated: March 2022
If you have information for this section, or feedback on businesses used, please let us know at editor@noonsite.com. We also welcome new information about businesses you have used (see Related Businesses).
Next Section: Profile: Yacht Clubs
Related to following destinations: Les Anses d'Arlet, Martinique
Port Navigation
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE_5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.comMain Ports - Martinique
Courtesy Flag Discounts
YachtFlags.com provides high quality courtesy flags that are manufactured in durable Knitted Polyester fabric. Knitted so that the fabric itself does not deteriorate in the constant movement that marine flags are usually exposed to, and polyester so that the flag does not weaken in the strong UV-light usually found in the main sailing areas of the world.
YachtFlags.com offers a discount to Noonsite members.
Use the coupon code NOONSITE_5A2B when checking out to get 10% off today.
Buy Now On YachtFlags.com
Clearance is not available in Anse D’arlet. You’ll need to go to Le Marin or Fort-de-France to check-in or out.
Andrew says:
Dec 10, 2018 02:54 PM
Be careful when approaching Anse Arlet and Grand Anse Arlet …. there are a very large number of fishing bouys out there. I only mention it for these bays in particular as the bouys are actually clear pop bottles and are virtually impossible to see in anything but very bright sunlight and small waves.
Petite Anse-
Agree with Maria that Petite Anse has a nicer beach. It is less crowded and commercial-feeling than Grande Anse. There is also a very nice reef right off the beach (marked by 6? metal can buoys) with very nice snorkelling. This is a must-see!!! Some green turtles.
The anchorage is less crowded than Grande Anse. We did not find that the holding was very good — lots of seagrasses. Our CQR required multiple anchoring attempts.
There are a lot of traps at the bottom, some strung together in series with only one buoy to mark them all. Most fishing buoys are clear plastic bottles with low visibility.
Grande Anse-
Beach is nicer, but the shops and restaurants are much closer to the beach and thus make the area seem more dense and crowded. Certainly, there were a lot more people. We liked the south end of the beach, past the dinghy dock, which felt more secluded.
Anchorage is pretty crowded. Holding is the same as in Petite Anse — a lot of seagrasses. There is also just a lot more noise from various sources (charter yacht parties, hotel, etc.)
A lot more tourism services here — small boat rentals, diving, etc.
We saw many more green turtles here than in Petite Anse!!!
We anchored in Grande Anse, on the left side of the bay in front of the hotel. Quite noisy music until about 1 am. You may need to lift your dinghy up to stop it going under the pontoon. We were told by another yacht that you can’t put your dinghy on the beach by the hotel.
We walked around to Petite Anse (25 mins) and had lunch in a restaurant on the beach. The beach here is much nicer than at Grande Anse and there were fewer yachts at anchor, but it is a smaller bay.