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It seems that if you do not speak French, you may have a hard time to find a recent guide on Martinique exclusively. The only one in English I could find on Amazon was from Ulysses and dates back to 2001! I still suggest you should try to get it (get a cheap used copy), because without a guide you are going to miss a lot of wonderful sights. There are more recent guides in English but there are on several islands of the Caribbean, not only Martinique.

In French I used the Michelin - Voyager Pratique, and the Guide du Routard, on Martinique, both updated for 2010. They are very well done. I bought the only Martinique map there is, from IGN (Institut Géographique National). Everything can be bought on amazon.fr. Note that when we rented a car, Hertz gave us a free Martinique map that was better than my IGN one, with brighter colors, more readable.

Once you get there, get the free Martinique guide called "Choubouloute". It is in French and very well done. Even if you do not know French, get it because the numerous illustrations and maps will be very useful to you. It also describes local flowers, fruits and vegetables, cultural objects, and has a free map to detach. Here is the web version: http://www.choubouloute.fr/

Finally, I really enjoyed reading "La Catastrophe; The eruption of Mount Pelée, the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century" by Alwin Scarth. The BOOK is IN ENGLISH! It documents the history of the 1902 Montagne Pelée eruption, from contemporary documents and eye witnesses. It is a fascinating read. I suggest you read it while you are in St Pierre, or after you visited it, because it is fun to know the places the author is talking about in his book. The book has lots of pictures showing you St Pierre before and after the disaster.

Favorite thing: If you go to Martinique, don' t miss Fort de France and it's market, and go absolutely on the southern part of the island, because you won't find anything nice, not even beaches, going north.
Nice place to visit is Village Creole at Trois Ilets.

Favorite thing: The coolest thing about Martinique is that it is the birthplace of the Empress Josephine. You can visit La Pagerie where she was born and see all sorts of beautiful portraits of her. I didn't know much about Josephine until I visited La Pagerie, but afterward I became fascinated with her and to this day I read every biography I can find about Josephine. She's become my favorite historical figure, and it all began in Martinique!

Fondest memory: My happiest memory is the day I sent a message in a bottle off the end of the dock at Club Med. The bottle floated about 10 miles to the famous Diamond Rock, where it was discovered by a member of the French Gendarmerie who had been stationed in Martinique with his family. How often does somebody actually find a bottle, anyway, and how often do you actually get to meet them someday and have them be your tour guides? It was amazing!!

Fondest memory: Martinique is warm and welcoming country. It is an overseas department of France so they do speak French. I found few spoke fluent English, but as long as you try to communicate they are very accomodating in helping you get what you are asking for.

Favorite thing: Look out for the old guys with bunches of palm leaves - It is worth hanging around to see them make you things. One guy made a really cool hat (which we still have) in about 2 minutes. He didn't seem too bothered about being paid (sign of a true artist!)- but we paid him anyway (I think he knew we would!).

Favorite thing: The primary reason for someone to go to Martinique (unless they happen to be there by virtue of a cruise itinerary) is to RELAX and enjoy the more peaceful island lifestyle. You MUST spend time on the beach and in the water. There are so many beautiful beaches here, even topless beaches. (While officially only topless, if one is so inclined, I doubt that there would be much objection to complete nude bathing as long as you are not in view of the many tour buses that scatter across the island with cruise ship passengers, many of whom are older people with more conservative views).

Fondest memory: I particularly enjoyed a beautiful evening glowing with the luminesce of a full moon with a beautiful companion on a more secluded, peaceful beach.

Favorite thing: Go to the Internet Cafe in Fort de France called Le Web Cyber Cafe, 4 Rue Blénac
( bizness.cgit.com/LeWeb/ )

Young guys from the military stations nearby come here to email and drink. Theyre really sociable, and I spent a lot of time chatting to them. In return for my efforts I got bitten on the neck by one, another wanted to come with me, and another gave me the cutest wink ever! ;o)

Favorite thing: Where else in the world can you swim in the sea in the middle of winter ?
Guys we had every day 24-27 degrees (C) and the water was around 25-27 too. Go also to Sainte Anne (on the South) it's a very nice village and you can also vist the Club Med resorts (see pictures below).

Fondest memory: The warm water, the beautifull beaches. Our sunset cruise with a big catamaran...