Things to do in Dominica – The nature island of the Caribbean

1. Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, the nature island, is not easily accessible via the mainland United States. The airport is small and only propeller planes can land there.
2. The island is beautiful and is one of the few Caribbean islands with a rainforest. It is known to have 365 rivers.
3. The currency is East Caribbean Dollar (1 USD = 2.7 XCD). The USD has full acceptance, though.
4. Kalalau is the national dish. It’s a soup made from Dakshin, and I would recommend trying it out.
5. Public transport is better than most other islands but is still limiting if your itinerary is jam-packed.
6. There are two towns, Roseau and Portsmouth. I would recommend staying in Roseau if you don’t have a rental car since most tours, taxis, and buses depart from there.
7. Most good activities are on the south side of the island. The south faces the calmer Caribbean Sea while the north side faces a more turbulent Atlantic Ocean.

Things to do

1. Boiling Lake – a 6-hour round-trip hike on a well-marked trail. It starts at Laudat, the highest village on the island. You can either take a 50 EC$ taxi or a 5 EC$ public bus from the Botanical Gardens. There is a “breakfast river” stop one hour into the hike where you can refill water bottles. The temperature at the center of the lake is about 400ºC, while at the edges is 80ºC.
2. Victoria Falls – The most beautiful falls on the island. It has an excellent natural swimming pool. It has a bit convoluted of a hike that involves crossing a river four times. So, it is hard to do this without a guide.

Wavine Cyrique Falls – The falls themselves are not extraordinary, but the hike to the falls is pretty intense and involves climbing down a ladder on the cliff along with a cliff hike.

1. Emerald Pool and Waterfalls – A famous tourist spot. It is an easily accessible pool to swim in.
2. Jacko Falls – This is an OK waterfall. Easily accessible, but nothing significant.
3. Spanny Falls – A pair of falls. The first one is easily accessible; the second requires a bit of climbing in the wild.
4. Scott’s Head – The best spot for snorkeling on the island. A 4 EC$ bus from Roseau to Scott’s head runs during the day.
5. Champagne Reef – Over-hyped spot for snorkeling on the island. Scott’s Bay is much better.
6. Canyoning with ExtremeDominica – A great canyoning and rappeling experience through the Titou Gorge. Not cheap but well worth the price tag.
7. Trafalgar Falls – A pair of falls worth seeing. It is hard to get to their bottom for swimming.
8. Middleham Falls – Great Falls that require ~45 mins one-way hike to reach. With an excellent natural swimming pool.
9. Escape Beach – A good beach on the Atlantic side for snorkeling.
10. Red Rocks – Red-colored rocks close to the Escape beach. Waste of time and money. The visit cost 5 EC$.
11. Botanical Gardens – Free to access gardens that contain a 10-min hike to the top of Union Hill.
12. Windsor Cricket Stadium – An international Cricket Stadium for Cricket fans. Free to access.

Potential itineraries

If you are on a single-day trip, e.g., via a Cruise ship, then either do

1. Boiling Lake hike with swimming in the George Titou at the end or,
2. Victoria Falls, Emerald Pool, and Scott’s Head.

If you have multiple days, then you should consider doing the following activities in this order of significance

1. Boiling Lake hike
2. Victoria Falls
3. George Titou canyoning
4. Scott’s Head snorkeling
5. Middleham Falls
6. Emerald Pool and Waterfalls
7. Wavine Cyrique Falls
8. Trafalgar Falls
9. Escape Beach
10. Carib Territory
11. Champagne Reef
12. Spanny Falls
13. Jacko Falls