Dominica
The Caribbean island that never built a beach economy, and kept the forest instead.
How many days do you need in Dominica?
A week. The island is small enough to drive across in a morning and slow enough that nobody does: the roads follow the ridges, so forty kilometres can take two hours. Five days covers the Roseau valley, the south west coast and one long walk in the interior. Ten allows the north, the Kalinago Territory on the east coast and a second hard day on foot.
Do you need a car in Dominica?
For anything outside Roseau, yes. Minibuses with green plates connect the villages and run to their own timetable, which suits residents and defeats a visitor working to a plan. Driving is on the left and a local permit is required, issued by the hire company at the desk. The roads are narrow and steep and mostly well surfaced, and the hazard is the blind bend rather than the condition.
When is the best time to visit Dominica?
February to April is the driest stretch and the most reliable for the interior. Hurricane season runs June to November with September its peak, and Maria came ashore on 18 September 2017. Some rain falls most days whatever the month, because the mountains make their own weather: the interior takes several times what the leeward coast does, and river crossings rise fast after it.
What language is spoken in Dominica?
English is official and is used in government, schools and business. Alongside it Kwéyòl, a French-based creole, is widely spoken and has been actively revived since the 1980s after decades of official discouragement. It carries the Creole season around independence at the start of November. Place names across the island are French, a legacy of the century the two powers spent trading it between them.
What currency does Dominica use?
The East Caribbean dollar, shared with seven other states and pegged to the United States dollar at a fixed rate, which keeps conversion to simple arithmetic. US dollars are widely accepted, though change tends to come back in local currency. Cards work in Roseau, the hotels and the larger supermarkets. Village shops, minibuses and trailhead guides expect cash.
Where do you fly into Dominica?
Douglas-Charles on the north east coast takes almost every arrival and sits about an hour from Roseau. Canefield, fifteen minutes from the capital, has a short runway and handles light aircraft. No airline flies in direct from North America or Europe, so every visitor connects through another island, usually San Juan, Antigua, Barbados or Miami. A larger airport intended for wide-body aircraft is under construction at Wesley.
