Dominica, the Nature Island, is calling you to visit the Caribbean!
This trip to Dominica has been a long time coming! We first talked about visiting six years ago after seeing a random article about the country. Then in 2017, Hurricane Maria destroyed 90% of the country’s structures. Dominica is resilient; they’ve bounced back from multiple storms over the past 12 years. While you can see unfinished restoration throughout the island, the island, business, and nature, have built back strong.
You may only know Dominica from hurricane news, but there is much more to discover. I hope this guide helps you plan your trip to this Eastern Caribbean island.
Dominica Primer
Two things before we move on – where is Dominica and how do you pronounce it?
Dominica is a country in the Eastern Caribbean, the Lesser Antilles.
While it gets confused with the Dominican Republic all the time, Dominica is its own country and it’s pronounced DOM-uh-nica.
Why Dominica
You like nature and adventure. Dominica is 60% forest. It’s known as “The Nature Island of the Caribbean” for a reason! Waitukubuli National Trail is a 115-mile trail spanning the country north and south and Morne Trois Pitons National Park has some memorable hikes. Outside of the forest, you’ll find rocky beaches in the south, sandy beaches in the north, and vibrant coral reefs for scuba diving. You’ll definitely get a workout on this vacation.
You want to visit somewhere with fewer tourists. During our week in Dominica, we were typically the only visitors at a site or saw a handful of people while we were there. We did have one day where we visited a site and quickly found out that a cruise ship had arrived – the park was packed. You can plan your days to avoid crowds by checking the cruise ship schedule.
A Little History
Dominica gained its independence in 1978. Prior to their independence, the island was possessed by Great Britain starting in 1763 and France around the 1690s. The Kalinago or Caribs are the indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles islands and their culture is honored on the island. The Kalinago Territory is 3,700 acres on the east side of the island where about 3,000 people live. Visit this website to learn more about the Kalinago.
While visiting sights in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park, you’ll see informational areas to learn more about the history.
Quick Tips
- Visa: None required for US citizens
- Language: English
- Currency: East Caribbean Dollars (ECD). $1 USD is $2.70 ECD
- Credit Cards: Widely used except at gas stations
- Tipping: Check to see if it’s included in the check, otherwise 10%
- Water: Tap water is ok to drink. Bring a water bottle.
- Driving: On the left
When to Visit
Dry season is February through April and the rainy season is June through November. In dry season, temperatures can get to the upper 80s. Cruise ships are frequently docked December through April, like much of the Caribbean.
We visited in the middle of November. While it did rain every day, we were able to find hours when the rain was light to go on hikes. That said, expect to get drenched. While the rain was uncomfortable at times, I would go back and do it again, but maybe with a raincoat and better hiking shoes.
See the river that happened during one of our hikes below! While not every hike was like this, most were definitely muddy.
Is Dominica Cheap to Visit?
Yes, Dominica is more affordable than other destinations, but no, not all options on the island are cheap. In short, we spent around $2,500 per person for the trip.
The biggest cost was our stay. Our 8-night stay in a resort hotel with a daily breakfast buffet for 2 people cost about $2,100 ($131 per person per day). You can bring this cost down by booking a more affordable place with no breakfast. We considered a bare-bones stay that cost $800 for the week but ultimately decided against it because we wanted air conditioning in the room and a reliable restaurant option on the property. There are cheaper options than that! It depends on what you are looking for in your accommodations.
Other top costs:
- Roundtrip from Austin to Dominica (one stop in Miami): $635 per person
- Package of 6 dives for two plus daily gear rental: $650 + tips
- Car rental for 8 days: $400
- Canyoning tour for two: $258
Getting to Dominica
You’ll fly into Douglas-Charles Airport (DOM). The main flight from the U.S. is American Airlines from Miami, about 3 and a half hours. The airport is about one hour away from Roseau, the capital.
The airport is very small and you’ll go through a short customs process upon arrival.
How to Get Around – Car Rental 101
There are two ways to get around the island: rent a car or hire a private vehicle. The cities are walkable but you will be limited without a car as the sights are not near each other. Tours are readily available but renting a car is most economical if you can handle the driving, which I don’t recommend unless you are a pro at AWD and defensive driving. We drove around 20-30 mph throughout our stay because of the conditions and we drove at least 2 hours daily.
Driving in Dominica is anxiety-inducing because:
- Narrow Roads: Most roads are two-way, narrowly fitting small cars. There typically aren’t lanes and cars stay on their side of the road or move over when another vehicle is passing.
- Passing: In towns, you’ll find parked cars in one of the lanes, which turns the road into one-way, having to stop and move over on one side to let cars by.
- Mountain Roads: The roads to many sights are windy and steep with drop-offs on one side and ditches on the other. Expect sharp turns with blind spots up and down.
- Gutters: It would be a lot easier if there weren’t foot-deep gutters on the side of the road! (I assume these are for rain flow.) With drop-offs on the other side!
- Weather: During the rainy season, consistent showers will happen throughout the day.
- Lights: Locals use their brights at night which is an added headache!
- Left-Hand: Adding to all of this, you are driving on the left-hand side so everything in the car is also opposite.
BUT having a car was great because of flexibility; we could set our own schedule and go wherever we wanted. Also, we saw plenty of rentals at our hotel and on the road, so don’t let me scare you away.
Car rental is easy, and our car wasn’t fancy but rugged! There are a handful of car rental companies and we went with Happy Car Rental at the airport. We got a Toyota Rav4 for $400 for 8 days.
Other quick tips:
- Google Maps for the most part got us to where we wanted to go.
- Gas Stations: they pump for you and you pay by cash
Where to Stay
This was a bit tricky for us because we planned to do multiple days of diving out of Soufriere in the south of the island. We also wanted to explore Morne Trois Pitons National Park for multiple days, so staying in Roseau or Soufriere would give us the shortest drives. We chose Soufriere in hopes it would be more secluded in nature.
As I usually do with trip planning (my guide here), I recommend deciding what activities you want to do and finding the most convenient place to stay. Below are four cities that might be of interest and a few places to stay in each place.
Roseau
The capital city, Roseau is bustling and somewhat chaotic, especially when cruise ships are in port, but you’ll also have the proximity to walking to the grocery store and many restaurants. Stay options include:
Soufriere
A quiet, residential town, Soufriere has a handful of stay options. Jungle Bay Resort, where we stayed, is located here, as well as more humble abodes. We did not do much in Soufriere other than go to the dive shop and drive by to get to Scott’s Head. But our hotel was peaceful and a short drive to restaurant options in Scott’s Head and Roseau. Soufriere stay options include:
- Jungle Bay Resort – The restaurant is a bit expensive and we had to hike to our room, but the pool was picturesque and the rooms were ideal. They have a weekly schedule of tours you can join. I wouldn’t advise walking anywhere from the hotel as it’s on a steep road.
- This magical Airbnb cottage
- Rodney’s Wellness Retreat
- Soufriere Guesthouse
Portsmouth
In the northwest of the island, Portsmouth is the second largest town in Dominica. If you stay in this area, you’ll have easier access to some beaches and to Cabrits National Park. Stay options include:
Calbishie
In the northeast of the island and 30 minutes away from the airport, Calbishie is an option to be nearer to sandy beaches. Stay options include:
Other places that I looked at that aren’t in one of the above cities:
- Pagua Bay House
- Tamarind Tree Hotel
- Banana Lama Eco Villa and Cottages
- Rosalie Bay Eco Resort
- Coulibri Ridge
- Atlantique View Resort
What to do in Dominica
If you’re visiting Dominica, you probably enjoy the outdoors. Dominica is known for its hiking, waterfalls, and diving. If you want an active vacation, this is it! For reference, I easily averaged 1 mile; 9,000 steps; and a whopping 50 floors of elevation during the week of the trip.
See this post about my favorite 10 things we did in Dominica!
See this post about diving in Dominica.
What to Eat
When you’re here, expect hearty meals. Take a look at this post to see some of my restaurant recommendations. Don’t miss Chez Wen, Keepin’ It Real, and Lacou!
Dominica Itinerary Recommendation
How long should you visit? I think a week – Saturday to Saturday or Sunday – is a good amount of time to see much of the island if you are efficient. Because the typical flight in and out of Dominica is around 2 – 3 p.m., you’ll be limited on activities those two days.
- Day 1: Land around 2 p.m., Get to hotel in Soufriere
- Day 2: 2 morning dives (3-4 hrs), Scott’s Head (1-2 hrs)
- Day 3: 2 morning dives (3-4 hrs), Champagne Beach (1 hr)
- Day 4: 2 morning dives (3-4 hrs), Freshwater Lake Hike (2 hrs)
- Day 5: Extreme Dominica tour (8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.), Titou Gorge (1 hr), Trafalgar Falls (1 hr)
- Day 6: Middleham Falls (3-4 hrs), Ti Kwen Glo Cho (1 hr)
- Day 7: Check out of Soufriere hotel, Emerald Pool (1 hr), Mero Beach, Cabrits National Park (2+ hrs), Stay in Calibishie
- Day 8: Batibou Bay
- Day 9: Depart at 3 p.m. flight
I designed the above itinerary with edits from my experience. Some notes:
- This is a packed schedule! The time estimates are about how long we spent in each place. We had about 2+ hours of driving each day.
- Driving from Soufriere to the Morne Trois Pitons National Park area, where many of the sites are, is about 40-50 minutes. This isn’t too bad, but remember, driving is not for the faint of heart and may take longer than maps suggest.
- Soufriere to Calibishie is about two hours. We didn’t visit Calibishie because we drove north to Portsmouth (40 minutes away from Calibishie) and we didn’t want to do that drive again. There are a handful of things in Calibishie that would be fun to do, so I recommend splitting time and staying up north for a few nights. Calibishie is about 30 minutes away from the airport.
- Boiling Lake is a 6-hr, full-day tour. It’s often listed as a top thing to do, so consider adding this to your schedule.
- Near Emerald Pool are more waterfalls (Jacko, Spanny, Salton) if you want to visit multiple.
Dominica is a great option in the Caribbean and I recommend it if you want an adventure! You can make the experience as easy (stay at a resort and take guided tours) or adventurous (rent a car and take self-guided tours) as you want!
Want more help with your trip? See these other posts about Dominica:
- Best Restaurants in Dominica
- 10 Best Things to Do in Dominica – Caribbean’s Nature Island
- What to Know About Scuba Diving in Dominica – Adventure Island
P.S. Not sure where to travel to? Check out my destinations section.
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