Destination attractions things to do in dominica

Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest

From the moment you fly over the ocean and land at the tiny airport nestled in tropical green hills, Dominica makes you feel like you are in another world. No fast food, no vending machines, and no quick fixes - you have no choice but to slide right into island time. Truly an island of beauty and diversity, Dominica is aptly nicknamed "the nature island of the Caribbean." In the Southern realm of the Caribbean islands, Dominica is located to the south of St. Thomas & St. Croix, but just north of Martinique and St. Lucia. Visitors can scuba dive, snorkel, hike in the rainforest, swim in waterfalls, explore rivers and ancient civilizations.

Scuba divers can expect to see an amazing amount of ocean life; seahorses, juvenile drum fish, frogfish, batfish, dolphins, spotted eels and beyond. Magnificent coral and some spectacular sites that cannot be found anywhere else make Dominica a fascinating diving spot. One dive spot, Champagne, is a shallow dive at 10-15 feet, with hot bubbles rising up from the ocean floor. Lots of colorful tube sponges and barrel sponges decorate the reef, and you can often find crabs or lobster hiding in the sponges. On the last day of our trip, we were on our way to a dive site when a pod of dolphins appeared. Our boat driver slowed to an idle, and the dolphins swam with us for five or ten minutes!

Snorkeling in Dominica is equally as interesting as the diving, and can usually be done from the dock of your hotel. Just out in front of our hotel, we found a very unique and hard to find fish, called a batfish. True to its name, the batfish has a face like a bat, and even has fins that stretch out to look like wings. There were lots of trumpet fish, filefish and box jellyfish too, so be sure to bring a wetsuit that will protect your skin. At the Southern end of the island, Scotts Head is also reported to have a lot of good snorkeling.

If you want to get away from the water for a while, hiking in Dominica is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You can hike the fairly easy path up to the viewing platform overlooking Trafalgar Falls. It is all uphill and you need to wear good, covered toe, hiking shoes that can be worn in the water. On the way up the hike, if you look in the nooks and crannies, you can sometimes see huge crabs and little rust colored streams because of all the iron in the water. After you pass the viewing platform, the hike gets very slippery and more difficult. Your guide will accompany you to the falls, and can usually help you get past the difficult spots.

Another incredible hike that was quite a bit easier than Trafalgar Falls, is located in a spot called Emerald Pool. The hiking trail is nice and wide and your guide can explain a lot about the different plant life and natural uses for the plants. One plant looked a lot like glossy ivy, our guide told us was nicknamed nature's toilet paper! At the end of the hike, you get to swim in a natural pool and go underneath a rushing waterfall. When we went, we were the only ones there, and it was truly surreal.

A hike of a different nature can be found at Scotts Head. You can hike up the rugged, brushy mountain there, see an old cannon at the top and get a great view of Dominica. Another popular and unique hike is the journey to the Boiling Lake. Boiling Lake is reported to be the world's largest volcanically heated lake. We chose to skip this hike, however, because we had a child with us, and the hike takes over three hours one way!

Exploring the rivers, especially the Indian River, can be a great adventure for sightseeing and for viewing wildlife. Your guide will row down the Indian River, pointing out sea birds as well as iguanas and other wild animals in their natural habitat. At the end of the river, there is a little bar where you can get a drink before you head back. Some of our most impressive pictures came from this leisurely boat ride.

Another interesting adventure can be found by taking a trip out to the Carib Indian territory. The Carib Indians were the first settlers on the island, and have been residents on Dominica for over six hundred years. If you visit the territory, you can see how they live, create colorful baskets by hand, and basically survive off the land as they have done for half a century. The visit gives you a very interesting look at life the way it was long ago.

Keep in mind that all of these adventures are half-day or full-day trips. One thing that surprised us was how long it took to get somewhere on the 29 mile long island. The roads are in fairly decent condition, but there are places where even the guides have to drive slowly.

Getting to Dominica is really a two day trip from the United States. We landed in Puerto Rico and spent the night, then continued on to Dominica the next day. A word of advice is to be sure and check out your Puerto Rico hotel online, because there are a lot of areas that are questionable! Also, be sure to take plenty of snacks with you. Once you land at the airport in Dominica, it takes over an hour to drive to the capital town of Roseau. When we landed, we were starving, so our guide was kind enough to stop at a little restaurant by the side of the road.

The restaurants in Dominica are nothing like restaurants in the US. There are only a few choices on the menu, and you frequently will find that you have no idea what the side dishes are! Our hotel restaurant fixed some amazing meals, using fruits and vegetables that were grown right on the property. We had fried breadfruit and a fresh pineapple while we were there! Also, know that the restaurants prepare everything from scratch, so expect dinner to take a while to get out to you. For breakfast, we loved the fresh banana pancakes that our hotel prepared, and they provided a different fresh juice every morning.

Though you can certainly rent a car if you choose, I would highly recommend against renting a car. The roads in Dominica are beautiful, and treacherous. The locals drive very fast, on the left-hand side of the road, through curvy, mountainous roads where sometimes there is only room for one car to pass. Calling some roads "two-way" is very generous. The curves in the road are literally blind, and the custom is to beep before taking the corner to warn anyone coming in the other direction.

Leave the driving to your guide so that you and your companions can take the time to appreciate Dominica's tropical beauty, the bananas growing out in the wild, the rainforest, the views, and the mango trees in their natural habitat.