Dominica
Dominica (not to be confused with the Dominican Republic) is a beautiful island nation in the Lessor Antilles Chain of Islands. Its North of Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela and closest to the Islands of Guadelupe and Martinique. Its a nation that you do not hear a lot about and is one of the lesser traveled islands in the Caribbean. Its an amazing nation with nearly untouched natural wonders. The nation doesn’t have the numerous shopping centers and fancy restaurants outside of some of the hotels. The country is full of volcanos, dense jungle and natural wonders like tall waterfalls. We visited it on a quick weekend trip in July 2024 during the tourist low season.
Getting to Dominica and Transportation
Dominica is a little more remote than some countries in North America and the Caribbean. The nation has two airports with the largest being Douglas-Charles Airport in the North of the Island. It was formerly known as Melville Hall and you sometimes still see that name on airline booking sites or tickets. The flights to and from the US are very limited. American Airlines flies one flight a day to and from Dominica and Silver Airways flies several flights a week to San Juan, Puerto Rico. There are also several Carribean airlines with flights to Trinidad and other islands like Antigua and Barbados. Outside of flying to Dominica your only other option would be to find a cruise that visits the island. The cruise ships dock at the capital of Roseau. There are a few ferries that visit neighboring islands. When getting around the island I heavily recommend getting a taxi or transfer service like we did on viator. There is very limited public transportation and with the winding roads and some damage to some mountain roads its best to leave the travel up to a local. We took guided tours through DG Tours which we booked on Viator.
Other Country Information
Dominica is a former English (and French) colony so English is the main language spoken in the country. You will find some speaking a dialect of Creole sometimes. The country only has around 70,000 or so inhabitants. The capital city is Roseau and is the largest city. The currency on the island is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar that is used by several nations in the Lessor Antilles. As of this writing one Eastern Caribbean (EC) Dollar is worth around .35 cents in US Dollars. The US Dollar is accepted pretty much everywhere but most prices will be in EC Dollars. There is only one chain restaurant on the island and that is KFC. Everything else is locally owned. The country has severely damaged by Category 5 Hurricane Maria in 2017 and has been working to re-build its infrastructure ever since. As of this writing the country is very safe to visit and is even rated as a level 1 (lowest level of safety issues) by the US State Department.
The Fort Young Hotel
On this trip we stayed at the boutique Fort Young Hotel in the Capital City of Roseau. There is the InterContinental Hotel on the island that is a luxury chain hotel part of the Holiday Inn Brand of hotels (IHG) but we opted for the more affordable Fort Young Hotel. The hotel is wonderful and well positioned in Roseau. When we arrived the staff attended to our bags and immediately checked us in. A staff member walked with us to our room and showed us all the amenities. The room was beautiful with a historic map of Dominica on the wall, modern furniture, a comfortable bed and lots of room. The bathroom was large and nice as well. Our room had a great balcony with two chairs and a table that overlooked the ocean. There is no beach for swimming as the shore is very rocky but the hotel has a nice pool with a bar that has great views of the countryside and ocean. You are within walking distance to a grocery store, the craft market and the Dominica National Museum. The hotel itself is historic as it is built into the remains of a 1700s era British Fort named Fort Young. You can see some of the gun holes and fortress walls at the front of the hotel and as you walk you can see walkways and other remains of the fort built into the modern hotel. The hotel has a great gym and things like table tennis and giant chess to play. One feature we really like is the Air Conditioning worked really well in the high heat and humidity on the island. We have stayed at some hotels in the Caribbean where the AC did not work as well. Many people in the Caribbean do not have air conditioning so we understand that we might not have the same amenities as back home.
Another great feature is the Fort Young Hotel Restaurant called the Palisades Restaurant. In the mornings they have a buffet with a short order cook, Dominican and American breakfast dishes. For us breakfast was not included but you can book to include breakfast. The dinner options were great as well with a mixture of international cuisine. On Saturday night they had a wonderful Italian food buffet full of great dishes. Each Saturday they have a themed buffet. You can sit and enjoy sunset as you eat your dinner outside.
On the trip I lost a pair of my glasses (I have two). I called the Fort Young Hotel as well as the Dominica Airport to see if it had been found. Both the hotel and airport staff were very helpful and kind in searching for the glasses. None of the groups I called found it at first. A week or so after the trip I got a call from Dominica and it was The Fort Young Hotel. They had remembered my lost glasses and the room I was in. One of the staff happened to find it lodged behind the night stand. I worked with them on the shipping and I have my glasses back now all the way from Dominica. That is an example of the absolutely top notch service you can expect at The Fort Young Hotel. I will always remember how great they were getting my glasses back to me!
Champagne Reef, Fresh Water Lake, Titou Gorge, Trafalgar Falls and Hot Springs
This was a very quick trip so we made the most of it by on our only full day on the island booking a great tour with DG Tours in Dominica. Devon picked us up and transferred us to the hotel from the airport (1 hour drive through the mountains) and Marcus was our tour guide for the this tour. He picked us up in a nice van that is common to the island used as taxis and public transportation. This was a private tour so we could take as short or as long as you want to at the different stops. Marcus is a great guide who had no problem answering any of our questions about his country. He also stopped to show us the many different plants and fruits that grow on the island. I have not seen many places in the world that grow so many different fruits and plants. Marcus showed us mangos, breadfruit, oranges, avocados, cacao (chocolate), coffee, bananas, coconuts and so much more. He picked lemongrass and flowers that are used for natural medicinal cures on the island. Its an amazing place.
Our first stop was the Champagne reef. The Champagne Reef looks like a Champagne Glass underwater as its a former volcanic vent. The island has nine active volcanos that are still shaping the island today. The beach is a pebble beach so don’t expect a sandy beach. We did not have our snorkel gear and my ankle was sprained so we decided to just walk the beach a bit and enjoy the quietness there. The local vendors where closed when we got there but they usually have snorkel equipment for rent. Its a beautiful and unique place to visit.
On our next stop we headed up into the mountains of the center of the country. We went through winding roads and past dense jungle. We past by many farms and small villages on the way. We went to one of the higher points on the island to visit the Fresh Water Lake. We were up in the clouds and near multiple volcanos there. A Tropical Wave passed by overnight that had a lot of lightning and heavy rain that we luckily experienced from the hotel room. Its one of the risks heading to the tropics during Hurricane Season. We visited the museum that talked about the geology, and history of the island including the wars fought by the British and French against the indigenous people of the island. The indigenous peoples made strongholds in the dense jungle and made it impossible for them to be removed. We got a week long National Parks pass that cost us $15 each as the Fresh Water Lake is located in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park. The park is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to is waterfalls, lakes, mountains, rainforest and hot springs. We took a quick hike along the lake but due to the very muddy trail due to the rains we did not do the full 1 hour hike. Before we left we tried a cold local lime juice drink and it was wonderful. So very fresh.
After the lake it was time to go swimming in one of the most unique swimming spots we have ever swam in. The Titou Gorge is a fresh water spring fed river that runs through a volcanically created gorge. We paid $20 and got a guide and rental for the mandatory life vests and Titou Gorge Tours guided us through the gorge. The water is pretty cold but for us was refreshing with the high heat and humidity. Its a true adventure swimming through the gorge. A scene from Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed in the gorge and we passed by those locations. When you look up through the gorge you see the sunlight coming through an illuminated rainforest with vines and trees above. Our great guide gave us a lot of information and took pictures with our phone. We eventually made it to a large waterfall at the end of the gorge. We took pictures in the strong currents of the waterfall rushing through the small space. Afterwards we made our way back and warmed up in some thermal heated water.
As we made our way to our next stop we passed by a hydro-electric plant. Dominica is working to become more green and I do not just mean the abundant plant life on the island. Our next stop was to visit Trafalgar Falls in the rainforest. Its another National Park site and was a 15-20 minute walk along a jungle trail. We saw very few tourists and even fewer Americans (mostly Europeans or people from neighboring islands touring). As we walked with saw lizards and something I had not seen before. I saw freshwater crabs walking around in the jungle! We made it to the falls and they are beautiful. There are two different falls dropping around 100 feet into a small river. The two falls are named the Father and Mother falls. We spent some time admiring the falls, the cliffs and the rainforest before heading back onto the trail. While its not a long trail there are plenty of stairs going up and down the rugged landscape. We then headed to lunch. We stopped by a restaurant and ordered before we headed to the falls.
We got back to the outdoor restaurant with a gentle river running by it in the valley. It had great views. We tried the local chicken, and catch of the day fish (Tuna). The food was great and included rice, plantains, a Caribbean Sweet Potato and another starch I was not familiar with but tastes good as well. We tried the hot sauce and it was great but very spicy. We tried the hot version of the sauce but it looks like they had a hotter version. After a great lunch we headed to our last tour stop of the day.
Our last stop was to visit a hot springs to relax a bit. There are multiple small hot spring spas in the area in the valley and you can smell the Sulphur in some areas. The hot spring we visited was around $10 a person for entry and had a small restaurant and bar. We walked down the stairs to the pools. They look dirty but the water is actually very clean and clear. Its full of minerals and iron that’s good for the skin. They have multiple pools at different temperatures. The first we tried was extremely warm. All the pools are heated by the volcanic activity on the island. We stayed in that pool a little while before we cooled off in a spring water shower. The second pool was a bit cooler. They also had a bathtub that filled with warm water in a beautiful setting with colorful flowers and trees. We spent around an hour there and then headed back to the bar. We were pretty thirsty so we asked them for what non-alcoholic beverages they had. They offered us Carib Shandy’s that had around 1% alcohol. At the restaurant we tried a Ginger Carib Shandy and at the bar we got a Sorrel flavored Shandy. Sorrel is a type of plant where the fruit is made to make a juice full of spices like cinnamon. It reminds me of Mulled Wine in Europe in many ways that is iced. The regular drink and the shandy are very good. Carib is a beer brand from Trinidad and Tobago that is common around the Lessor Antilles. After our drink we headed back to our hotel to relax for the evening.
The Emerald Pool, Jacko Falls, and Spanny Falls
On our last day we got up and had our great breakfast at the Fort Young Hotel and the hotel staff helped us bring our bags up to the front (they were very fast). Marcus came to pick us up one last time as we did a half day tour on the way to the airport. It was a great combination of a transfer to the airport but also more opportunity to see a little more of the country. As before Marcus made an effort to showcase the great diversity of fruits, herbal medicines and other plants all over the island. We also got to listen to the local music called Bouyon that can be a little bit of what they call “Nasty Business”. Its a very upbeat style of music that is a mixture of different music in a Caribbean style. We headed out of Roseau one last time as we headed towards our first stop and the airport.
Our first stop was another National Park stop called The Emerald Pool. It was around a 15 to 20 minute walk through the rainforest to get to the beautiful and very tranquil Emerald Pool. Along the way we ran into more freshwater crabs. One tried to run away but ended up stopping and making itself really big and its claws spread out wide. The rainforest is very dense in the area and the morning we visited the humidity was extreme so my shirt ended up soaked in sweat. The Emerald Pool is a nice waterfall that goes into a nice pool of water that continues in a river. You can go swimming in the pool but we decided not to considering we were heading to the airport. We had the park to ourselves that morning so it was very peaceful and a good last bit of quietness in nature before heading back to the hustle and bustle of the US.
Our next stop was pretty close by and was a privately owned waterfall. We visited Jacko Falls next and we paid a couple of dollars to enter the park. The site is not super developed but its still nice. There are stairs down to the waterfall but there isn’t much of a hike on this one. We headed down and enjoyed the waterfall and saw some people getting out from swimming in the water (one lady was swimming topless as you will find nudity is a little less frowned upon outside of the US). After a quick visit to the falls we headed to our last tourist spot.
Our final tour stop was the nearby Spanny Falls. Its another privately owned falls that costs a few dollars to go to. Its a short drive to the trail head where its around a 20 minute walk to the falls. Its another beautiful rainforest hike and its very peaceful. We enjoyed all our hikes and time in the rainforest. If we had more time we would have gone swimming at each of the falls as that is allowed and very refreshing.
We headed off to the airport from our last stop and drove through the lush landscape. We passed by many Chinese installed windmill powered street lights in the mountains and we saw many places where part of the road had collapsed due to erosion. We drove through the seaside city of Marigot which is pretty small and then to the airport. There is a security check point before you enter the airport by car. The airport is very small with an un-airconditioned check in area for a few airlines. It was quick and the staff there were very friendly. The line for security was pretty long and you wait outside to go in. It looked like the x-ray machine was broken as the great staff there were hand checking each bag. The lady that worked with me was friendly and thorough. They have a small but nice waiting area that is air-conditioned, has a few shops and a small snack shop. This is typical of smaller Caribbean Airports. Our flight was on time and the staff got us loaded up on our flight very quickly. Then we flew out back to Miami.
Conclusion and Tips
Dominica is a more remote and less talked about Caribbean nation but is one that should be on everyone’s bucket list. From great hotels like the Fort Young Hotel, beautiful nature attractions and the chance to try great food and relax. For Dominica there is no real need to exchange to the local currency of the Eastern Caribbean Dollar as nearly everyone takes US Dollars or credit card. There are multiple areas you can stay at on the island but we enjoyed the Fort Young hotel in the capital city. I do not recommend renting/hiring a car but to take tours with a guide who knows the island like through DG Tours. You can do a short weekend trip like we did but there will be a decent amount of flying involved as the easiest way to get there is through Miami or a cruise. The summer time is low season for Dominica so you can go there and find like we did far fewer people on the island. The cons for the summer is of course the risk of Hurricanes and higher heat. You can get cheaper prices during the low season. While on the island overnight we had a strong Tropical Wave pass through with heavy rain and lightning. Thankfully it did not get stronger. Dominica is a natural paradise so you will for sure need to get out and see it.
Dominica is a beautiful country with friendly people and wonderful sites to see. It is also a country that is not overly wealthy and could really use more tourists. The roads in some areas are in disrepair due to erosion due to heavy rains. The country was directly hit by Cat. 5 Hurricane Maria that devastated the island in 2017. It has been a difficult few years for the country to repair the infrastructure that was completely destroyed by the storm. While the country does have economic challenges it makes up for its gorgeous landscape and unique history. We for sure want to go back to explore more of Dominica and see the smiling faces of its people once again!
If you are Interested in this trip:
Contact Donna Miller and she can help you book your dream trip today including the hotel and tours mentioned here. Her travel planning services are completely free if you book with her. Contact her at donnamiller.etfamilytravel@gmail.com to book today!
Link to booking with DG Tours: