Who has rented a car? Want to visit the Carib Village...

Hi all,

Who has rented a car in Dominica? We have a family of 4 and really want to visit the Carib Village, but couldn't find a tour to take us. Also curious about if the village mostly expects groups coming in or if it's open to the public? The village would be our top choice and then make our way to whatever spots we could fit in. We are in port from 8 to 5.

Thanks!

Sarah

I love visiting Dominica but this would be the last island on which I'd rent a car. The roads are narrow and not in the best shape. There seemed to be little or no directional signage. Plus, the driving habits of the locals scares the h€%% out of me! It would be a bold move for a non-local to drive there, in my opinion.

I love visiting Dominica but this would be the last island on which I'd rent a car. The roads are narrow and not in the best shape. There seemed to be little or no directional signage. Plus, the driving habits of the locals scares the h€%% out of me! It would be a bold move for a non-local to drive there, in my opinion.

Haha! Thanks, I was thinking the same thing, but my hubby says he's not scared. I may have to close my eyes the whole time. We did add the extra car insurance 😳

Seriously.

Dominica is NOT a good island to rent a car as a tourist and go traversing around the interior of the island. Especially for a 1st time visitor. The locals drive like crazy and the roads are in VERY poor condition and VERY curvy.

Don't take this the wrong way, but there is a fine line between "not being scared" and being foolish.

I would suggest a little more effort in finding a tour guide and setting up a custom tour to visit the Carib village (including other sites like the Emerald Pool, Jacko falls, Layou River valley, Mr. Nice's Fruit stand etc.)

I personally arranged and organized such a custom tour a few years back through a local guide company(Reyno) -- getting others from our sailing's roll call here on Cruise Critic to join and share the costs of the 7 hour tour.

The Carib territory is further away from the more popular tourist sites on the island, but it is kind of neat seeing that side of the island.

I would advise to have your husband consider using some common sense and nix the idea of renting a car on the island. It's dangerous! Accidents are very common.

Here's one that was fairly recent.

Try Bumpiing Tours to see if they'll accommodate your wishes. We just went on a fabulous hiking trip in December with Naithan from Bumpiing and I can't speak highly enough about him and the company. Very accommodating, great communication before we arrived and great directions/signage to find them at the pier on our port day in Dominica. It's such a beautiful island and I highly recommend seeing it with a local who can easily navigate the unmarked roads and get you back to the ship in plenty of time. They even added in a sight I wouldn't have tried/known about (Titou Gorge) but which ended up being a highlight of our entire cruise for the whole family!

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Thanks! Bumpiing is the one I tried, but there weren't any others interested that day in going to the Village. :( But now I've directly emailed two different people from the Kalinago Territory and gotten wonderful responses! They say the actual road to the Territory is "fairly straight forward and is two way marked out with a white line all the way". My hubby has driven in numerous foreign countries, so we will see.

Try Bumpiing Tours to see if they'll accommodate your wishes. We just went on a fabulous hiking trip in December with Naithan from Bumpiing and I can't speak highly enough about him and the company. Very accommodating, great communication before we arrived and great directions/signage to find them at the pier on our port day in Dominica. It's such a beautiful island and I highly recommend seeing it with a local who can easily navigate the unmarked roads and get you back to the ship in plenty of time. They even added in a sight I wouldn't have tried/known about (Titou Gorge) but which ended up being a highlight of our entire cruise for the whole family!

 

 

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Thanks, my hubby has actually driven in numerous foreign countries and I'm doing my research. I couldn't get the interest of anyone else on my roll call to join a tour to the Indian Village and not sure our budget will afford a private tour. I will continue to explore options, though. Thanks for your advice!

Seriously.

 

Dominica is NOT a good island to rent a car as a tourist and go traversing around the interior of the island. Especially for a 1st time visitor. The locals drive like crazy and the roads are in VERY poor condition and VERY curvy.

Don't take this the wrong way, but there is a fine line between "not being scared" and being foolish.

 

I would suggest a little more effort in finding a tour guide and setting up a custom tour to visit the Carib village (including other sites like the Emerald Pool, Jacko falls, Layou River valley, Mr. Nice's Fruit stand etc.)

 

I personally arranged and organized such a custom tour a few years back through a local guide company(Reyno) -- getting others from our sailing's roll call here on Cruise Critic to join and share the costs of the 7 hour tour.

 

The Carib territory is further away from the more popular tourist sites on the island, but it is kind of neat seeing that side of the island.

 

I would advise to have your husband consider using some common sense and nix the idea of renting a car on the island. It's dangerous! Accidents are very common.

 

Here's one that was fairly recent.

Thanks! Bumpiing is the one I tried, but there weren't any others interested that day in going to the Village. :( But now I've directly emailed two different people from the Kalinago Territory and gotten wonderful responses! They say the actual road to the Territory is "fairly straight forward and is two way marked out with a white line all the way". My hubby has driven in numerous foreign countries, so we will see.

I've driven in many countries too. On our most recent trip to Dominica, I even considered renting a car there as well, since we wanted to hit two different areas that no tour service provided together. We ended up taking a 2 hr. tour with a private taxi and then took the local public (mini)bus to/from the other location that we wanted to visit.

Understand that they drive on the left side of the road in Dominica, but the steering wheels are still on the left side of vehicles(like U.S.)

In places like Great Britain or Australia with well-marked roadways, it's doable. On Dominica, it may be disorienting meeting a big truck head-on absolutely content to push one off the side of a single lane section of road.

Driving the curvy narrow roads in parts of Europe can be a challenge, but still manageable. I would equate driving in Dominica akin to the road to Hana (on the island of Maui) on crack.

If dead-set on doing the drive yourselves, I would suggest familiarizing oneself with the island routes(using google earth streetview etc. - where available) to virtually do the trip. Get a good map, and also be prepared to play navigator in the passenger seat.

There aren't really many shoulders to pull off the road to look at a map for example, nor would it be safe to not be paying full attention to the road ahead while driving.

Understand that it is dangerous, and I don't state that lightly. Dominica was hit by a major Tropical storm recently that wrecked the island. The roads are in very poor shape. There are areas where they're crumbling and even sections that are completely washed out due to erosion/poor drainage etc.

Chances are that you will be OK and will enjoy the freedom of DIY touring. Dominica is a very beautiful island. Just be careful. I will reiterate what was stated above - take a little extra time familiarizing oneself with the island layout and routes that you're planning on taking ahead of time. Don't try to 'wing it' once you get there.

I rarely post my opinion unless I read something where I truly believe someone is considering doing something that may injure themselves or others.

We have been visiting Dominica regularly during the last 20 years and I agree completely with Skai. This is an island unlike any other in the Caribbean. The roads are frighteningly narrow, winding, steep and in many cases in VERY poor condition especially since the hurricane. Add to this the absence of any signage once you are out of Roseau and you have a confluence of conditions that make it more likely that one will get lost and/or hurt. Please do not interpret this as being negative about this island. It is probably the most beautiful in the Caribbean and certainly worth exploring. But it is not an island for self-touring. The island is relatively poor and you can find reliable guides at reasonable prices. You also will get a narrative of history and cultural facts that you will never hear if you drive yourself. Establishing a relationship with a guide by email pre-trip will allows one to determine what one wishes to see and to feel confident that their day will be successful.

Please report back after your trip and let us know what you did and how you traveled. Post Reply

I am recently back from Dominica and we went to the Carib Village. We paid a taxi driver to take us. We went to Emerald Falls on the way up. It is about an hour drive from the port to the village. I would NOT recommend driving there on your own. We paid $130 for just the two of us, in an air conditioned van. We felt safe and the driver took care of us.

We got to the village and it was just us. We paid the entry fee of $10 each and were given a tour by a guide. Then we drove back, taking about an hour to get back.

The roads are narrow, steep, and lots of switchbacks that you cannot see oncoming traffic. Some places the roads were completely washed out, so we had to navigate around them. There are skeletons of broken down cars on the roads and hanging over the cliffs. If you make a mistake, there is no road help, no cell phone service, and you are very remote and isolated.

Please consider this option, for your own safety and the safety of your family. Plus, the driver will probably tell you about the island and make scenic stops that you might otherwise miss.

When were you there? We actually just went last week and I had booked a rental before I even started this thread, just expecting tips, not people telling us not to drive at all. Luckily, our car wasn't anywhere to be found, so we did find an awesome taxi driver who took us to the pool and the village and all over and he was great with lots of info and got us some mangoes and a custard apple to eat. I was pretty glad that it all worked out that way! We also got a bit of rain that day, so that would have added to the road driving craziness and my husband wouldn't have been able to enjoy the scenery! Thanks to you and all the other posters! I think my initial thought was that I couldn't find a driver to pre-book, but I should have remembered that there would be tons of taxi drivers wanting to drive us around every port!

I am recently back from Dominica and we went to the Carib Village. We paid a taxi driver to take us. We went to Emerald Falls on the way up. It is about an hour drive from the port to the village. I would NOT recommend driving there on your own. We paid $130 for just the two of us, in an air conditioned van. We felt safe and the driver took care of us.

We got to the village and it was just us. We paid the entry fee of $10 each and were given a tour by a guide. Then we drove back, taking about an hour to get back.

The roads are narrow, steep, and lots of switchbacks that you cannot see oncoming traffic. Some places the roads were completely washed out, so we had to navigate around them. There are skeletons of broken down cars on the roads and hanging over the cliffs. If you make a mistake, there is no road help, no cell phone service, and you are very remote and isolated.

 

Please consider this option, for your own safety and the safety of your family. Plus, the driver will probably tell you about the island and make scenic stops that you might otherwise miss.

We actually just went last week...!

That's great to read that everything worked out for you. I forgot to suggest earlier that there are bounds and bounds of drivers just outside the port area in Dominica willing to barter for custom tours...wasn't sure if that was your thing or not.

Since the OP has already visited Dominica, I'll put in my $0.02 in case anyone else is looking for the same information. During our visit to Dominica in January we decided to look into renting a car. We decided on Rainbow Car Rental because it was in walking distance to the port, about half a mile (guesstimate) from the terminal, and open on Sunday. Our car cost was $68 for the car, insurance, and temporary driver permit. The steering wheel in the car was on the right side, not the left. I remember this because I kept walking to the wrong side of the car. On our trip we went to Mero Beach and Trafalgar Falls. As many people have stated, driving Dominica is not for the faint of heart. While I wouldn't call driving in Dominica foolhardy, I would say the decision requires a lot of consideration. Driving this island is unlike anything in the US and was worse then driving on other Caribbean islands. The roads are in poor condition and one of the main roads was a dirt roadway that ran along the river. Initially I thought that we must have made a wrong turn but it was actually the road, a "highway" according to the map. On another road, we went through an active construction zone. Not a nicely barricaded section where the construction machines where separated from the motorists, but a section where you weaved through the workers and the equipment. Add oncoming traffic and no flagger and you had an interesting situation. The roads going into the hills were very narrow and winding. Almost all of the roads had very deep and sharp edged drainage ditches on both sides. If your tire went down into one of these ditches, it was not coming out without mechanical assistance. These ditches were on many of the islands we drove on in the Caribbean, not just Dominica. Signage was minimal which wasn't a problem because there weren't many roads outside of the capital. With that said, a copilot is required to read the map and navigate. Would I rent a car again in Dominica? Yes, but I would not suggest anyone do it. Driving in Dominica is technical and requires attention and skill. Finally, as I stated before I walked to the rental agency. I would not suggest this to everyone. I am a younger larger man who grew up in an inner city so I am very aware of my surroundings and my size generally keeps people from harassing me. An older gentleman on our cruise was not so lucky. He was robbed while walked walking through Roseau.