Dominica is the greenest, least developed island of the Eastern Caribbean.  It has many opportunities for adventure tours to waterfalls, volcanic lakes, botanical gardens, beaches, snorkeling and diving in emerald pools.  It’s like seeing what these islands looked like before colonization.  We arrived in Dominica via cruise ship and docked in the musty tumbledown capital of Roseau. There is a visible lack of development compared to other islands. In Roseau, not much has changed in the last thirty or forty years. It has a crumbling charm.  We only had 8 hours, so we immediately headed into the jungle on an adventure.

The Best Dominica Tours: 

Hike into Morne Trois Pitons National Park to the Boiling Lake 

Boiling Lake is the second-largest thermally active lake in the world, and one of the most popular Dominica Tours.  Nahjie, our guide from Extreme Dominica met us at the dock. We booked an all day hike, 12 miles up and down mountains into the interior of the island, to the boiling lake. We drove for nearly an hour into the world heritage site of Morne Trois Piton National Park. Beautiful vistas of forest and jungle surrounded us. From there we hiked up and down, and up and down for 2 hours to reach Boiling Lake.  The hike was very tough. I was a bit out of shape, and I fell behind a couple of times. I’d compare it to climbing an easy “fourteener” in Colorado.   Nahjie had no problems.  The volcanic mud supposedly has great exfoliating qualities for the skin. I felt like Nahjie was having a laugh at us.  On the way back we climbed down into a hot spring waterfall fed pool.

There are many other day tour hikes on the island, including Morne Bruce and Tou Gorge.  Extreme Dominica can guide you.  Check tripadvisor for reviews and details of where they go.

Swim at the foot of Middleham Falls or Trafalgar Falls

The island has so many waterfalls, its difficult to get an accurate count.  At the end of our hike we drank a couple of Kabuli beers and swam into a cold crystal-clear freshwater stream that ran through a 20 foot high smooth rock wall canyon to a waterfall. Amazing!  We were very happy with the service provided by Extreme Dominica. It wasn’t cheap at $80 per person, but we really enjoyed our day.  After the hike, we were dropped off in Roseau and immediately cornered by a hulking Rasta man offering us weed. Thankfully, he did take no for an answer, and we crossed the street to some bar that had been built out of cast-off plywood and corrugated sheet metal. The service was slow, the beer was cold, and our time was short. Back to the ship we ran.

Paddle the Layou River, or go river tubing 

Wacky Rollers has some of the most fun Dominica tours.  You can kayak for a workout, or just sit in an innertube and let the current take you away.

Snorkel or dive on the Champagne Reef.

The Dominica shore has miles of healthy reef with excellent snorkeling and diving possibilities.  Waitukubuli Tours can get you in the ocean for some world class snorkeling.

Sit on Champagne Beach or Mero Beach.

Like every Caribbean island, Dominica has some lovely beaches.  It has less beach frontage than most islands, but these two are worth getting to.

Best Dominica Tours – Need to Know Before You Go:

Backpacker Daily Budget:

$50 – Dominica is the least expensive of the Eastern Caribbean islands.  It actually has a hostel, so you can get a bed for $20, food is cheap, beers are $2.50, and most of the best sights can be hiked solo, if you are adventurous.

Cheap Beer index:

$2.50 for a 12oz Kubuli beer in a bar or restaurant.

When to visit Dominica:  

Anytime of year is good to visit Dominica, with year-round highs in the mid 80’s.  February through April are the driest months, September through November the rainiest.  The only weather issue to consider is hurricane season.  Hurricanes are possible June through November.  You can find some great deals in September and October if you are willing to take a risk.

What languages are spoken in Dominica? 

Dominican Creole and English, some French

Do you need a Dominica visa?  

No. Visas are not required for nationals of USA, UK, AUS, and CAN for stays of up to 21 days.

How to get to Dominica:

The most common means of arrival and departure is a cruise ship.  Cruise ship visitors can arrange many shore excursions right from the pier.

There are two airports on Dominica: Douglas-Charles Airport (DOM) is in Marigot town on the northeast end of the island.  Canefield Airport (DCF) is in Roseau on the southwest side of the island.  Neither airport has any direct flights to the mainland United States or Europe.   All flights to Dominica will have to connect through another island.  Learn how to get to Dominica for free on my page:  Nine Steps to Free Flights Worldwide

There are ferries to Martinique and Guadeloupe.

How to get around Dominica:

• Rent a car – is your best option if you are here for a week.  It’s the only way to get to some of the nature sights.
• Hail a taxi – will work only around the main towns.
• Try to figure out the public bus system – can get you around the island, but not to waterfalls.
•  Join a tour – certainly the best option for day tour cruise passengers.

Dominica Currency and how to get it: 

East Caribbean Dollar  (2.7 XCD=$1 permanent peg) are available at ATMs.  For more info on your cash-versus-credit card options when travelling, check out my post on How to Access your Money in Foreign Countries.

Stay Connected:

There are two telecom providers:

• Flow Their SIM card is sold in Roseau for EC$ 25. Be prepared to show your passport at the point of purchase. Top-ups between EC$ 5 and EC$ 200 can be made online or in top-up kiosks, supermarkets and gas stations all over the islands. Any top-up stays valid for 90 days irrespective of the amount.  “Flow Data” is a new feature that comes with every prepaid combo plan or data-only plan purchase. Any prepaid data bundle can be used in any Flow mobile market in the Caribbean. This means customers do not need to purchase a roaming bundle in order to use their data while roaming. No subscription fees or additional steps are necessary for the to avail to this service.
• Digicel Dominica  Their SIM card is sold in their stores in Roseau and Marigot for EC$ 25. Be prepared to show your passport at the point of purchase.  Top-ups between EC$ 5 and EC$ 200 can be made online or in top-up kiosks, supermarkets and gas stations all over the islands.  Digicel sells their Roam Like You’re Home plan at EC$ 13.79 valid for 7 days. This service allows Digicel customers travelling to the USA, Canada and all other Digicel Caribbean territories to call, text and use data at domestic Dominican rates.
• For more info on your telecom options, check out my post on How to Get Cheap Mobile Phone Service Worldwide.

Where to stay:  

The cheapest lodging at press time is the Rosalie Forest Three Rivers Eco-Lodge with $20 dorm beds.  It is in a lovely jungle setting.

The post The Best Dominica Tours – Hiking and Paddling to Waterfalls! first appeared on Worldwide Wilbur.