Section I · The Ranked Twelve
From best to twelfth.
Sorted by what each pocket does well at its price point. The number-one pick is the one we would book first given a free pick from all twelve.
No. I
The Les Trois-Ilets villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Les Trois-Îlets, the southern bay. Peak rate: $16,000 to $30,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, driver.
Why it ranks here: Les Trois-Îlets is the liveliest part of the south, the peninsula across the bay from Fort-de-France with the Pointe du Bout marina, the golf course, the Anse à l'Âne and Anse Mitan beaches, and the best run of restaurants and villas, the most complete base on the island. It clears the rest because no other pocket pairs the beaches, the dining, the marina, and the villa quality at this scale.
What we would change: Les Trois-Îlets is the busiest southern pocket, so the best villas sit on the hillsides and the quieter coves rather than by the marina. Take a house on the slopes for the bay view and the calm, with the marina and beaches a short drive.
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No. II
The Le Francois Atlantic villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Le François, the Atlantic east. Peak rate: $18,000 to $34,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden, boat dock where present. Usually not: chef, driver.
Why it ranks here: Le François on the Atlantic coast holds the island's most exclusive villas above its lagoon and the fonds blancs, the shallow turquoise sandbanks reached by boat where you can stand in the open sea, near the Cap Est lagoon and its Relais & Châteaux hotel, the pick for a group that wants the most private, high-end side of the island. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the Atlantic lagoon and the sandbanks.
What we would change: the Atlantic coast is greener and a little wilder than the south, and the fonds blancs are reached by boat rather than from the beach. Book it for the lagoon, the privacy, and the sandbanks, arranging a boat for the white-water flats.
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No. III
The Sainte-Anne and Les Salines villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Sainte-Anne, the southern tip. Peak rate: $15,000 to $28,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, driver.
Why it ranks here: Sainte-Anne sits at the southern tip near Les Salines, widely held to be the finest beach on the island, a calmer village than Les Trois-Îlets with the best sand and lagoon close at hand, the pick for a group that wants the top beaches and a quieter base. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the southern sand and the calm.
What we would change: Sainte-Anne is at the far south, so it is a little apart from the marina and the dining at Les Trois-Îlets, which are a 30-minute drive. Book it for Les Salines and the quiet, with the busier south a short run north.
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No. IV
The Le Diamant villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Le Diamant, the southwest coast. Peak rate: $14,000 to $26,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, driver.
Why it ranks here: Le Diamant faces the Rocher du Diamant, the volcanic rock rising from the sea that is the island's landmark, with a long beach and villas looking out at the rock, the pick for a group that wants the most striking sea view in the south. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the Diamond Rock view and the long beach.
What we would change: the Diamant beach is long and open to the swell, so the swimming varies and the best villas sit above the bay for the view and the calm. Book it for the rock and the beach, taking a hillside house for the panorama and the breeze.
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No. V
The Sainte-Luce villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Sainte-Luce, the south coast. Peak rate: $13,000 to $24,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, driver.
Why it ranks here: Sainte-Luce is the south-coast village of small coves and calm beaches between Le Diamant and Le Marin, a quieter pocket of villas above the water with good swimming and easy access to the southern sights, the pick for a group that wants the south at a slightly lower number. A five-bedroom here is the value pick for the south coast.
What we would change: Sainte-Luce is pleasant rather than marquee, so the appeal is the calm coves and the position rather than a headline beach or scene. Book it for the quiet swimming and the central south, with Les Salines and the marina a short drive.
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No. VI
The Les Anses-d'Arlet villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Les Anses-d'Arlet, the southwest. Peak rate: $13,000 to $24,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, a big village, nightlife.
Why it ranks here: Les Anses-d'Arlet is the cluster of fishing villages on the southwest coast, with the postcard church and jetty at the Bourg and the best snorkeling at Grande Anse and Petite Anse, a calm, pretty pocket of villas above the bays, the pick for a group that wants the prettiest fishing-village setting and the clearest water. A four-bedroom here is the pick for the snorkeling coast.
What we would change: the villages are small and the road in winds along the coast, so this is a calm, scenic base rather than a lively one. Book it for the snorkeling and the postcard bays, with the busier south a 20-minute drive.
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No. VII
The Tartane and Caravelle peninsula villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Tartane, the Caravelle peninsula. Peak rate: $13,000 to $24,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, calm beaches, the south near.
Why it ranks here: Tartane sits on the Caravelle peninsula on the central Atlantic coast, a fishing village by the nature reserve with surf beaches and wild headlands, the pick for a group that wants the rugged Atlantic side and the surf over the calm south. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the wild peninsula.
What we would change: the Atlantic coast is windy and the swell is for surfers rather than swimmers, and the south is a 45-minute drive. Book it for the wild scenery and the surf, accepting the wind and the distance from the calm beaches.
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No. VIII
The Le Vauclin Atlantic villa, five-bedroom.
Typical: 5 BR, sleeps 10. Pocket: Le Vauclin, the southeast Atlantic. Peak rate: $13,000 to $24,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, the south near.
Why it ranks here: Le Vauclin on the southeast Atlantic coast has its own fonds blancs and a steady trade wind that makes it a kitesurf base, a quieter, greener pocket of villas above the lagoon near Le François, the pick for a group that wants the Atlantic sandbanks and the wind sports. A five-bedroom here is the pick for the southeast lagoon and the kitesurf.
What we would change: Le Vauclin is rural and the wind is constant, which suits kiters and surprises sunbathers, and the calm south is a drive. Book it for the sandbanks and the wind, with Le François and its hotel close by.
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No. IX
The Le Marin and the marina villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Le Marin, the southern bay. Peak rate: $12,000 to $22,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, a swimming beach at the door.
Why it ranks here: Le Marin holds the island's largest marina at the head of a deep southern bay, the yachting and charter hub for the Antilles, with villas above the harbor, the pick for a group that wants a sailing base and easy charters to the other islands. A four-bedroom here is the pick for the yachting side of the south.
What we would change: Le Marin is a working marina town rather than a beach village, so the swimming is at Sainte-Anne and the coves nearby rather than at the harbor. Book it for the boats and the charters, with the southern beaches a short drive.
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No. X
The Le Robert and the islets villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Le Robert, the central Atlantic. Peak rate: $12,000 to $22,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, the south near, a swimming beach at the door.
Why it ranks here: Le Robert sits on the central Atlantic coast with its own bay of islets and a fonds blanc, a green residential pocket of villas above the water near Fort-de-France, the pick for a group that wants the Atlantic islets at a lower number and a central position. A four-bedroom here is the value pick for the central east coast.
What we would change: Le Robert is a residential town rather than a resort one, so the appeal is the bay and the islets rather than the dining or the beaches, which are in the south. Book it for the central position and the islets, with the south a 40-minute drive.
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No. XI
The Schoelcher and Fort-de-France heights villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Schoelcher, above the capital. Peak rate: $12,000 to $20,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, a beach at the door, quiet.
Why it ranks here: Schoelcher and the hills above Fort-de-France hold villas with views over the bay and the capital, the pocket closest to the city, the markets, and the airport, the pick for a group that wants the town, the culture, and the easiest arrival over a beach setting. A four-bedroom here is the pick for the capital and the bay view.
What we would change: this is the urban side of the island, so the setting is city-and-suburb rather than beach, and the best swimming is across the bay in the south. Book it for the city, the culture, and the airport access, with the southern beaches a drive around the bay.
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No. XII
The Le Carbet and northern coast villa, four-bedroom.
Typical: 4 BR, sleeps 8. Pocket: Le Carbet and the north, below Mont Pelée. Peak rate: $12,000 to $20,000 / week. Usually included: housekeeping, pool maintenance, garden. Usually not: chef, white sand, the south near.
Why it ranks here: the northern coast around Le Carbet and Saint-Pierre runs below Mont Pelée, the volcano whose 1902 eruption destroyed the old capital, a green, rainforest-and-rum pocket of black-sand beaches and villas in the hills, the contrarian pick for a group that wants the wild, historic, lush north. A four-bedroom here is the lowest-number pick for the rainforest coast.
What we would change: the north is greener, wetter, and a long way from the southern beaches, with black sand rather than white. Book it for the rainforest, the rum distilleries, and the history, accepting the distance from the south and the darker sand.
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