Dominica

[noel]

We are going to Barbados October 13-21, and have arranged a side trip to Dominica, where my wife visited as a child. We have seen the great trip reports from DebTor and Josh on Barbados, but don't really know much about Dominica. We've booked a room at the Fort Young Hotel (our first choice, Pappillot Wilderness Lodge, is closed in October). Any advice on things to see, restaurants, etc.? Local art?

Thanks,
Tim

[MIke R]

I swung by on a boat in my youth.....black sand beaches....unbelievable rain forest with huge waterfalls.....not the friendliest people you will meet..lots of humpback whales very near to shore in the winter

very different but very beautiful

[noel]

Thanks Mike. We'll bring back a rain forest report.
Tim

[nnoska]

if you like hiking go to the falls (hire a guide) if you are a tri-athlete go to the boiling lake, not the best time of year for whale sightings, rosseue the main town(ha,ha nnot much there, bank get money and provisions) if you dive,youwill love it, yhe dive shop where you will be staying is probally, no the best on the island.if you love nature and nothing you will love it!!! make sure if you go with a so, they share the same views,(if they don't they may not come home your so lol)bring some good books maybe a jigsaw or 2 and soak up that unspoiled eastern carib island. have fun(do a day trip to le'sainte) just a thought

[Purplejeep]

Take the aerial tram - above and through the rain forest - pretty amazing. Also the guided river tour in Portsmouth through some pretty incredible scenery (parts of Pirates 2 was filmed in Dominica). Also, a drive around the entire island is worth doing - it will take you through thr Carib indian reserve. Hiking the waterfalls is also a must, although many are crowded by tour buses.
We did not have much luck with restaurants as we were there during a very slow period-

[MIke R]

[quote]
Hiking the waterfalls is also a must, although many are crowded by tour buses.
/quote]


WHAT??????...oh please say it aint so...Good Lord am I glad I did as much travelling as I did in my youth....the Dominica I saw had no trams and had no bus tours....how sad

[Purplejeep]

Mike,
There is a cruise ship dock in Roseau - hard to imagine (and I even saw it!) but true. You know what that means - table after table of venders selling crafts made in china, and yes, tour buses to the falls. The tram is actually a good thing, very educational and meant to teach people to appreciate and preserve the rain forests -and hard to get to, I can't imagine a tour bus getting up those hills -so I am sure that they will fix the roads. It is still a beautiful island -and so far no condos or casinos. We stayed in a funky little hotel up in the mountains and had a dinner of salted fish and various unidentifiable roots - for the same price that we could have gotten a meal at the Wall House. I would like to go back some day just to hike -so many beautiful places there to explore.

[Seles]

I visited this Island in the spring for 3 short days and WOW...was pretty blown away with the eco system, nature, views and the people's commitment to preserving this Island called the Commonwealth of Dominica. Not to be confused with Dominican Republic in any sense.

With 3 days to see, it blew by...no real tours, just traveling around in a 4WD, stayed at an Eco Lodge 1 night and near the coast in a Boutique hotel the other night. Not much time except to do as we intended...look around & attempt to evaluate for further study. The food was basic fish/lamb/meats + varietal fresh fruits, vegetables and roots...eating there was fabulous as the meals were inexpensive and excellent! Well, it has gotten me.

I started deep research, correspondence with some local professsionals, have inquired to many & now have moved along to planning another (longer) trip, meeting with several while there and considering an Investment in property which is ideally less complex than many other countries. Information is obtainable, although mundain & you must sort through Tourist type stuff to get to the meat.

Great Island with crystal clear rivers, waterfalls, natural springs for drinking water, undiscovered trails/hikes, mountains, hot springs, lakes, varietal birds/animals and plant life. Amazing how natural and well preserved this Island is compared to the rest of the Caribbean. I'm like PJeep, although I didn't use the Tram, it is considered incredibly educational & blends nicely with the ideas for the Island.

For the concern over cruise ships, vendors and the like, it is reasonably limited to the market area around the docks at the Capitol, Roseau.

I would certainly welcome any and all information anyone is willing to share with me.

thanks.

Ric

PS~here is one of the newest and first ever Boutique type hotels to open on the Island, and it is truly amazing as is all I've seen there.

http://silks-hotel.com/

[andynap]

I like this Ric. Dominica and Barbuda have been on my radar for a while. The hotel looks super and the prices dirt cheap considering the rest of the Caribbean. How do you get there?

I looked at flights- not easy to get to- most require an overnight on SJU. We shall see. Very interested tho. Thanks

[Seles]

Multiple ways as we went from Antigua direct to DOM (Melville Hall) on Dominica & return, however, best route from the states is to SJU-DOM (direct on American Eagle daily flights). Daily flights from SXM and Guadeloupe, and ferries from Guadeloupe.

It's a pretty Island where most of the countrymen have an affinity for their environment rather than allowing others to rape their countryside...not that this has ever happened. Educated people, although typically poor by our standards, are pretty happy & love to speak about how their country is a great success in a time when success is not typically judged by longevity. I really liked what I saw, felt, heard and read. Still investigating.

BUT with the 'under your breath' complaints of parking, bad drivers, dense developments and overuse of land, high prices, etc. (sounds like St.Barths) in great climates around the world, Dominica currently offers great relief. It is also quite friendly to foreign investment with no capital gains on a real estate sale, however you would pay roughly 10% total on the real estate as an alien at closing. Property taxes are very low and building costs are variably $50/SF for wooden structures & $60-70/SF for concrete structures due to very low labor costs.

But your typical 1-3 acre parcels with basic utilities on or close to site will run variably $40,000US for non views to $100,000+ for incredible views. Even oceanfront acreage goes for only about $5.00 per square foot ($150-$200,000) for 1/2-1 acre.

There has to be some negatives but I just haven't run into them yet.

Ric

PS~many good sites, but this one especially www.avirtualdominica.com

[onebigdawg53]

Hi Ric

Interesting posts about Dominica. About 30 years ago I had a client and he would send me his orders by cable as there was no telex service on the island. Sometimes, the cable service would be down for days and I would receive his orders by mail. Looking through some of the sites for this island, there should have been a lot of changes in 30 years. BTW, by cable I mean Western Union, not like Cable TV internet LOL.

Also, I recall that about 30 years ago there were some race type riots in Rouseau.
Any mention of that in your travels? Just curious.

take care
georgedp

[Seles]

Geo, no riots and no problems for many, many years. The political unrest, etc. has given way to a better way of life, more employment and fairly stable politics. Some figures you see have the unemployment rate there at 20%+, but that doesn't take into account most laborers, vendors, housekeepers, gardeners and many others who barter or are paid in cash. The general consensus in Dominica is 'anyone who wants to work can find work', which equates to about 7-9% real unemployment. This is fairly well supported by the general absense of crime...which Dominica, St.Barths, Provencales and Mustique boast the lowest crime rates in the Carribbean (from the EC).

The only issue I've found going back all the way to the early 90's was a money laundering situation with one of the banks there and involved a local Fund Raising Company...fairly large amount too, but all indications were it was a front for a drug cartel out of South America.

It is a normal Island and all authorities recommend as they recommend for St.Barths...lock up or attend to your valuables and don't leave them unattended. A girl age 28 & very pretty just completed a 6 week stay on the Island researcing for a book on Eco Tourism...she walked all over the Island, mostly by herself & although she said she felt unsafe at times, not one single problem. That is pretty amazing in itself.

Ric

[Seles]

Answering my own post for whoever is interested.

Dominica took a mild hit (Cat.1-2) from Hurricane Dean with 5 days of preparedness. The Island faired well, but crops are gone and leaves of most trees/plants, etc are gone. Agriculture which is major there is almost 100% gone. Roads are in disrepair afterwards and communication is basic. Elec. is back as other infrastructure, but all is damaged severely from a mild Hurricane.

Then on top of this a 4.2 earthquake happened off the coast of Dominica and affected a great deal. Mudslides and lots of rain caused rivers to overflow and flooding, etc. Two deaths caused by mudslides, a young mother and her daughter. Bless them.

Dominica will recover but interestingly it is evident that a Catastrophic H (Cat 4 or 5) would devastate this or any Island in the Caribbean, particularly the infrastructure. It will take time to recover, but in 3 months after the growth is back the Hurricane effects will only be a memory.

Ric