What is Dominica known for??

I'm on a Southern Caribbean cruise in Feb 09 and Dominica is one of the stops (St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados and St. Thomas the others) and I'm trying to figure out what each port is KNOWN for.

What is Dominica known for? The forests and waterfalls? Maybe this is the port to hike or bike?

Is this the "beach" destination??

Help!

There doesn't seem to be much action on this board. From what I can gather, because I am wondering the same thing, it seems to be known as an unspoiled island/ecologically. I have friends that visited and they couldn't even tell me what I should visit. They said they can't really remember anything outstanding. There must be things, so hopefully someone will help us out:)

take a taxi tour...see the nature, waterfalls, etc. It is a great island, and fun to walk around town.

It is a beautiful island when you get away fro the cities. If you are into hikiing there are some interesting hikes to some waterfalls. Last time there we took a private taxi tour, saw the Emerald pool, Mr NIce's fruit stand, some botanical gardens and topped it off with river tubing in the afternoon.

When we go back in January we will be booking a tour through Antour to go back to Mr Nice's , river tubing and then head to Mero Beach.

There are not that many itineraries that go to Dominica, so that is why I think the thread is so quiet.

A couple of years ago it was much more active...But I am looking forward to returning to Dominica.

Natural Beauty - Rainforest, rivers, waterfals, scuba diving - beaches are small and few (but they are black sand beaches).

Check this site out for a lot of info - http://www.ndcdominica.dm/site/index.cfm

Yes, Dominica is kind of a nature island. We did the river tubing 2 years ago when we were there and it was great fun. One you get out of town and into the woods, it's very beautiful.

If we don't want to book a tour (6th day of cruises with tours every day), what is it like if we just get off the boat and go out around the pier? Would be surrounded by vendors or is it fun?

When we were last in Dominica, we went diving. You would do yourself a disservice if you did not leave the port area. From what I remember, it was pretty sparce. On the way to the dive shop, we saw some beautiful sights. Did you know that at least one of the Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed there?

Thanks for the info.....we don't dive but my DH does snorkel. I does look very different from some of the other islands, with all it's peaks. If nothing else we will go on a tour of the island. The port does look small. Thanks.

Dominica is a beautiful, lush tropical rainforest island. Go see the scenery and meet the friendly locals.

Many people mis-pronounce the name the island as well. The correct pronunciation is....

DOM-IN-EEK-AH

I love this island! I have been to all the islands that you have listed and this is my favorite. The people are not spoiled by tourism, no big cities, just very kind people on a beautiful island.

The dock area is interesting but very small. They have a tiny vendor area where locals sell some hand made items as well as china imports. One vendor was selling hand made jewlery with items from the island, it is so nice I wished I purchased more.

I highly recommend a tour of the island. If not you will miss on the best the island has to offer. If you need a slow day to rest, skip a tour of one of the other islands!

DH and I are going to snorkel Champagne Reef, it's volcanic rock and the hot air is released through the cracks in the rocks so I read that it's like swimming through champagne!! Betweeen that and the rafting and nature hikes, it sounds like there's plenty to do!

If you want to acquire a handmade craft, of world famous stature, take a trip to the Carib Indian Territory. Most first time visitors, take an excursion to some of the waterfalls/gardens. If you want a unique handmade treasure, book a private tour to the Territory.

Our fabulous excursion was with BENO. It was an all day trip to the Territory;

BENO provided great non-stop narration-throughout the tour. He is a great ambassador for Dominica! He loves his country and extremely proud of it.

Beautiful views od Dominica, while making the journey to the Territory.

We eventually stopped at a roadside stand, of a Carib Indian craftsman. The handmade, woven baskets are world reknown. They are made in all shapes and sizes. The prices are VERY reasonable. I personally bought 3 baskets, and 1 wood carving. You will be impressed by their craftsmanship & the prices. Our family group of five people, probably bought about 20 handmade items.

We have taken four southern caribbean cruises, and collected many unique souveniers. But these Carib Indian baskets/crafts are the most cherished.

Few cruises make a stop at Dominica. That is why there is little information, posted here.

If you want a memorable day, book BENO, and request a trip to the Territory.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

If you want to acquire a handmade craft, of world famous stature, take a trip to the Carib Indian Territory. Most first time visitors, take an excursion to some of the waterfalls/gardens. If you want a unique handmade treasure, book a private tour to the Territory.

 

Our fabulous excursion was with BENO. It was an all day trip to the Territory;

BENO provided great non-stop narration-throughout the tour. He is a great ambassador for Dominica! He loves his country and extremely proud of it.

Beautiful views od Dominica, while making the journey to the Territory.

 

We eventually stopped at a roadside stand, of a Carib Indian craftsman. The handmade, woven baskets are world reknown. They are made in all shapes and sizes. The prices are VERY reasonable. I personally bought 3 baskets, and 1 wood carving. You will be impressed by their craftsmanship & the prices. Our family group of five people, probably bought about 20 handmade items.

 

We have taken four southern caribbean cruises, and collected many unique souveniers. But these Carib Indian baskets/crafts are the most cherished.

 

Few cruises make a stop at Dominica. That is why there is little information, posted here.

 

If you want a memorable day, book BENO, and request a trip to the Territory.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Do you remember how much Beno's tour was?

Thanks in advance.

Michelle

If you want to acquire a handmade craft, of world famous stature, take a trip to the Carib Indian Territory. Most first time visitors, take an excursion to some of the waterfalls/gardens. If you want a unique handmade treasure, book a private tour to the Territory.

 

Our fabulous excursion was with BENO. It was an all day trip to the Territory;

BENO provided great non-stop narration-throughout the tour. He is a great ambassador for Dominica! He loves his country and extremely proud of it.

Beautiful views od Dominica, while making the journey to the Territory.

 

We eventually stopped at a roadside stand, of a Carib Indian craftsman. The handmade, woven baskets are world reknown. They are made in all shapes and sizes. The prices are VERY reasonable. I personally bought 3 baskets, and 1 wood carving. You will be impressed by their craftsmanship & the prices. Our family group of five people, probably bought about 20 handmade items.

 

We have taken four southern caribbean cruises, and collected many unique souveniers. But these Carib Indian baskets/crafts are the most cherished.

 

Few cruises make a stop at Dominica. That is why there is little information, posted here.

 

If you want a memorable day, book BENO, and request a trip to the Territory.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Me too, I would love to know how much this was.

Dominica is a beautiful, lush tropical rainforest island.

Go see the scenery and meet the friendly locals.

 

Many people mis-pronounce the name the island as well. The correct pronunciation is....

 

DOM-IN-EEK-AH

-not to be confused with The Dominican Republic

several hundred miles away and a lot larger

You won't find this wacky Chicken Toy anywhere else..

I now have two of the stupid things!

A typical Dominica road in the flatland parts..

To us, Dominica is known for the Emerald Pool. It is literally an emerald-colored pool at the base of a waterfall.

There were several tours through Princess that included Emerald Pool. We did the "Emerald Pool Express" tour when we cruised on the Dawn Princess in 2005. The walk to get to and from the Emerald Pool was 15-20 minutes from the tour van. When we arrived at the pool, we swam in the cool water below the waterfall.

DavidnSteph

Before cruise ship tourism

Dominica was always known for its hand woven straw mats, place setting mats, etc.

Here in Barbados there was for many years ..a store known as Dominica Handicrafts

whose main output was these woven floor mats

which were to be found in many a local household, here on the island

including my mother's living room!!

I'm pretty sure these woven mats and other household objects are still being made on the island

and recall seeing a reference to that in another Dominica thread, just recently

We have booked a private tour with Beno for 12/22 when we are in Dominica. We specifically asked to see the Caribe Indian territory because of what we've heard about the quality of their baskets.

I believe that he quoted us a price of $350 plus the price of admission to the other sites ( I don't remember where else he's taking us).

Since there are 5 of us, it'll be $70/person. So, if you book it privately, it'll cost whatever he quotes you divided by the number of folks.

Wow! $350 sounds like a lot of money for a day's tour. We used Pepper and he charged us $140 for an entire day (pepperscottage.com).

I would recommend the Emerald Pool, Trafalgar Falls and Screw's Sulphur Springs for a cruise day in port. These are doable in the time you have, and having just returned from nine nights on the island Sunday night I think these give a great taste of Dominica and are among its star attractions. If there is time, perhaps you could also snorkel at Champagne Reef? That can be reached from shore- I am still trying to figure out why so many people paid for a boat tour when we were there. Don't waste your money.

Dominica has some gorgeous beaches but these are mainly on the north coast which you probably will not have time to go to unless you did nothing else or unless you docked in Cabrits. What it is famous for are its waterfalls and rainforest. We were so impressed that it wasn't overdeveloped and overcrowded like most places on planet earth these days. It felt like an unspoiled paradise. I first heard of it more than 15 years ago when I made friends with two Canadian ladies who cruised a lot and had traveled quite a bit. They said it was their favorite island in the Caribbean. Now it is my favorite too!

Hope you enjoy it. I am going to try to post some photos, not sure how it works...

Happy Travels!

Wow! $350 sounds like a lot of money for a day's tour.

We used Pepper and he charged us $140 for an entire day (pepperscottage.com).

When getting quotes, make sure about exactly what currency is under discussion.

It helps that both parties are 'singing from the same hymn sheet', ok?

Don't rip yourself off because you thought he quoted you in Amerikin Dollars.

He thinks in Dominica dollars, you don't.

Make sure. :cool:

..and man I never knew a place could be so greeen. ===> at least some Rainfall, every single day of the year!

 

The Island has all kind of fruit trees and flowers all around it.

The only place for you get get a good picture of the ship

was just up the hill from the ship, ===> ...with white railings?

and we did that last

 

it is just one of those very tropical Islands.

was at a place called Morne Bruce, overlooking Roseau the capital.

That's where I bought my crazy Dominica Chickens! ($5!)

Good point, aplmac. Suprisingly my Bradt guidebook didn't mention this point!! Thankfully I did a lot of research before my trip and googled lots of travel articles. Only one place did I find the warning to make sure to agree on which currency rates were being quoted- a travel article I found: (I didn't like that the tone of the article was a little derisive but it might prove uselful to someone).

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-tr-dominica15dec15001517,0,915255.story?page=2

Good point, aplmac. Suprisingly my Bradt guidebook didn't mention this point!!

Only one place did I find the warning

to make sure to agree on which currency rates were being quoted

Local tour operators think and quote in Local Dollars, in amounts which sound high numerically...

The Foreign Customer(who thinks in International Currencies) thinks/assumes it's U.S.Dollars/GBPounds

and is aghast at the high numbers.:eek:

Many times a silly tourist will end up paying those high numbers in U.S.Dollars,rather than Local currency

...and the local guy is happy happy! (Wouldn't you be?)

-he didn't rip you off - you didn't check What Dollars!! :cool:

1 U.S.Dollar is equivalent to 2.7 Dominica Dollars

100 U.S. Dollars is equivalent to 270 Dominica/Antigua/Grenada/St.Lucia Dollars

(they share the same currency)

DON'T pay 2.7 times the going rate, just because you didn't check.

Get smart. Not everything in the world is U.S.Dollars.

Yes, I agree with you!

Luckily, the reputable tour guides post their rates on their websites **specifying** which currency the rate is quoted in: either "USD" or, frankly less often, in "EC". I believe they quote in USD so often to make it easier for their potential guests to gauge amounts and affordability. It was my experience that many hotels, for instance, quoted rates in USD, but then when charging my credit card charged in EC.

Pepper's, Owen's, etc. have specified USD for costs of tours on their website. I'm not sure about Owen, but Pepper let us pay in USD.

However, even when I noted that the prices quoted were in USD -the prices listed by many tour operators were still quite high to me.

Even though those of us here who are Americans are lucky enough to have such convenience offered to us as U.S. travelers, I agree with you that it shouldn't be taken for granted!