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At the base of a gentle 40-foot waterfall, Emerald Pool is one of Dominica’s most popular tourist destinations. Reached via an easy 0.3 mile walk through the rainforest, the pool is particular popular with cruise ship passengers (try to arrive early or late in the afternoon before or after the cruise ship folks have visited).
From a tourist standpoint, there isn’t much to see in Dominica’s capital, Roseau. Home to nearly a third of Dominica’s 75,000 residents, Roseau at times feels much larger and at other times much smaller than it is. During the day, it seems like all of Dominica descends upon the town. The streets are alive and bustling and driving is near impossible. At night, nearly everything closes up and the streets are empty. Walking the backstreets and taking in the architecture, which ranges from veritable lean-tos to charming balconied gingerbread style cottages, will take less than a couple hours. Additional places to take in are a couple rather uninspiring churches, a small public market, and the tourist-driven waterfront. One of the best things to do while in Roseau is head to the Botanical Gardens (in and of itself rather unimpressive, but you can see both of Dominica’s endemic parrots in an...
The drive from Portsmouth to Pagua Bay along Dominica’s north coast is perhaps the best drive on the entire island. Snaking through the mountainous jungle, the drive takes in many of Dominica’s varying landscapes including, a drive through volcano, stunning ocean vistas, and lush, green hills and valleys.
Located on a small peninsula north of Portsmouth, Cabrits National Park is a good place to spend a morning or afternoon. For most visitors, the highlight of a visit will be Fort Shirley, a refurbished 18th century British garrison overlooking Prince Rupert Bay and Portsmouth. For the more adventurous, there are several reasonably short trails through dry scrub that lead to various stone ruins. The dry scrub forest is home to numerous species of birds, and hermit crabs and lizards are frequently encountered on the trails.
The Northern Forest Reserve covers 22,000 acres of the north-central section of the island. Largely inaccessible, the reserve features Dominica’s highest mountain, Morne Diablotins, and is the last stronghold for both of Dominica’s endangered parrots. There is a short trail – the Syndicate Trail – that leads to an opening in a ravine where both parrots are known to roost. In addition to this spot, which is particularly good for the more difficult to find Imperial Parrot (locally called Sisserou), it is worth watching for the birds in the trees and flying around the fruit farms along the road leading to the visitor center. Along the same road you can find the trailhead for the Morne Diablotins Trail, an imposing climb best attempted with guide. Even if you strike out on the parrots, the area is worth visiting to see the Dominican rainforest at its best.
As home to two endangered endemic parrots, seventeen Caribbean endemics, and nine species nearly endemic to the Caribbean, Dominica offers perhaps the best birding of any island in the Eastern Caribbean. The two endemic parrots (Red-necked Parrot or Jaco and Imperial Parrot or Sisserou) are understandably the most highly sought species. Both of these birds, plus several of the other Caribbean endemics – including Lesser Antillean Swift, Purple-throated Carib, Green-throated Carib, Blue-headed Hummingbird, Antillean Crested Hummingbird, Lesser Antillean Flycatcher, Lesser Antillean Pewee, Brown Trembler, Scaly-breasted Thrasher, Forest Thrush, Rufous-throated Solitaire, Plumbeous Warbler, and Lesser Antillean Bullfinch – can be found in the Northern Forest Reserve and the surrounding fruit farms. Even though this is one of the better Eastern Caribbean islands for birding, it will be a...
Beginning at Titou Gorge and ending at Boiling Lake, the twelve-mile (roundtrip) Boiling Lake hike is nothing short of a beast. Generally considered to be Dominica’s preeminent hike, the trek winds up and down narrow mountain ridges, crosses cold and warm water streams, and passes through a combination of landscapes ranging from lush rainforest to a seemingly barren wasteland of crusted lava, steaming sulfur vents, and inviting hot springs (aptly named the Valley of Desolation). At the end lies the world’s second largest boiling lake, a rather unimpressive crater full of steaming and bubbling boiling gray water. Interestingly, the lake instantly dried up on the exact day the devastating tsunami hit Southeast Asia in 2004, a mystery scientists are still attempting to unravel. Expect the hike, which requires a guide ($40 is the going rate), to take the better part of a day and to include a...
I had originally picked to do the four hour bus trip with a walk to the Emerald Pool, but a flyer came out which said that Accessible Dominica which had an optional and shorter walk to a pool at Jaco Falls was available, so I switched. I understand that the authorities in Dominica want to restrict the access to the Emerald Pool in order to keep it from being spoiled by tourism.On the tour we took, the roads were very steep and twisty, and the bus often sounded as if it was laboring. Eventually got to the waterfall, which was very pretty (and very photogenic) but not spectacularly tall. There were concrete steps (photo 3) down to the level of the stream, and a boardwalk (photo 4) to walk along the side of the stream.One of the men was going to swim in the pool, but he said it was only about 18 inches deep - not even enough to float in. They had fruit and drinks for us there and also woven...
The Gardens were started by the Crown in 1889 on land which was formerly a sugar cane plantation. The planting of the Gardens began in 1890. The 40 acre gardens are the largest tract of semi-open land in Roseau. It is the setting for cricket matches, national parades and cultural celebrations, religious open air ceremonies and recreational activities. Space was also given to a schoolThere are two distinct sections: an ornamental section and an economic section. The latter was devoted to research and the propagation of plants of economic importance. The ornamental section was once exquisitely landscaped with ponds, ornate iron gates, a fountain, and up to 500 species of exotic and indigenous trees and shrubs to enhance the beauty of and interest in the site. Subsequently, between 80 and 100 different types of palms were also planted. Hurricane David did a lot of damage to the trees in the...
The base station is at an altitude of approx. 2,000 feet The tram car held 8 people (4 seats with two people) plus a guide sitting in the back. They went up to the top of the mountain on the lower track and came back down on the upper track. First, we had someone take a car around the whole system to be sure it was all working. It was kind of wet, and before we got in, two people wiped down and squeeged the water off the seats.There was a plastic cover over the tram, and I observed that there was less water on the back seats, so that's where I aimed for. We didn't bother to get rain ponchos from the store, and of course an umbrella would be useless. I had a digital camera, and also a film camera in case it really started to rain.Our guide (who was named Nigel) that rode with us told us many interesting facts about the plants and flowers we were seeing and also identified the bird calls...
Beau Rive Dominica
1 Review and 161 Opinions Beau Rive is an amazing bed and breakfast style hotel. The proprietor, Mark Steele, took years to...
Cocoa Cottages Roseau
1 Review and 87 Opinions Bobby Frederick is the owner, tour guide, leader, general all around helper and just plain good...
3 Rivers Eco Lodge Rosalie
2 Reviews and 0 Opinions Can you call a tool shed a lodge? Can you call a basic hut a lodge? Can a wobbly wood table under a...
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Q: We are going to Dominica on Dec 19th and will be on a cruise but have 10 people in our group- 5 adults 5 youth 6 to 15 years of...
A: Hi - we booked with Reyno (http://www.reynotours.com/) who had come recommended from cruisecritic.com. We had a great personalized tour - some of the sights we saw: ...
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