Dominica questions

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Pillpusher

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Location
Katy, Texas
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In November, I'm taking what will be my 6th or 7th trip to Bonaire, and have been looking for something different in the Caribbean to try out for my next trip. At this point, I'm pretty much sold on planning a trip to Dominica for late February. It seems to have similar diving, including a lot of the same macro and other critters I enjoy (frogfish, seahorses, etc), and the land attractions blow Bonaire out of the water.

So, my questions are:
1) What part of Dominica offers the best diving? If it's one of those "Well, it depends on what you're looking for" sort of things, what are the differences? And, does it matter which side you stay on or do the boats typically all head to one area?

2) Any recommendations on dive resorts would be more than welcome as well. A lot of what I've seen seems to be your run of the mill motel looking room, so I'd love something a little more unique.

3) I haven't seen much mention of Nitrox on any of the websites. Is it fairly available there?

4) Can anyone from Houston recommend the best way to get there without having to spend a night in San Juan? Even taking a 5:15am US Airways flight out of IAH, the earliest I can get to SJU is 2:23pm. Is making the 3:10pm Liat flight to DOM too tight, or is SJU a quick transfer through? I know a lot of the small airlines wait on the larger incoming flights for connecting passengers. Is that the case there?

Thanks in advance!
 
I've been to Dominica 3 times...it doesn't get any better than that when it comes to diving. The colors underwater will take your breath away! A great place for small creatures - seahorses, frogfish, shrimp, anenomes, you name it. A macro lens is a must for photographers. We dove with Castle Comfort Lodge each time who offered a complete dive package including room, great food, nice boats and friendly folks (there were 16 of us from a dive club the 1st 2 times). It's just a short boat ride from their dock (2 miles from Roseau) to great dive sites such as Champagne, Scot's Head, Dangleben's Pinnacles and more. There is just soooo much to see - the reefs are gorgeous plus the land based scenery is exquisite. You have to take a day excursion to see some of the waterfalls and for the really hearty, a day hike to Boiling Lake. It's a place like no other! I'd go back in a split second. Does that help?
 
Went to Dominica the first week of March this year. We only got to spend 5 days of a planned 9 day trip, but this was enough time to get a feel for what Dominica has to offer. I've been to Bonaire several times and many trips to various spots in the Bahamas and Caymans as well as Roatan and Turks & Caicos. I'm assuming you've read enough to understand what Dominica has to offer topside, so I'll stick to diving. We, too, stayed at Castle Comfort. The lure of shore dives led us there.

No doubt, the diving is different. Most species of marine life are the same as you'd expect to see elsewhere in the Tropical Western Atlantic, but it is different. I was most surprised at the size of many of the common fish - trumpetfish, sand divers, sharpnose puffers, tobaccofish, harlequin bass - most of your ordinary fish just seemed larger than I've seen elsewhere. I also noticed schools of certain fish - where we'd expect to see a few in other Caribbean locations, there were huge numbers at several sites. As an example, it is not unusual to see two, three, or a half dozen black-bar soldierfish on any Caribbean dive. In Dominica, it was not unusual to see 2, 3 or a half dozen schools of 25-50 hanging out on a single dive.

The reef structure is very different than most Caribbean reefs as the foundation is volcanic rock, not layers and layers of coral. Not better, not worse - just different. Weather that time of year did not allow us to get to the outside reefs around Scott's Head. Because of that, we did not see much of any "big" stuff. Similar to diving Bonaire and the difference between the normal dive sites on the lee of the island vs. diving the east side.

We had a number of firsts for critter sightings: lesser electric eel, two different species of spoon-nose eel, several species of hamlets and hybrids, and a goosehead scorpionfish. Firsts aren't unusual, but that many in a single, shortened trip is - and most of those were sighted right off Castle Comfort's pier. We made at least one shore dive per day and usually two - a day and a night dive. While Castle Comfort promotes the ability to shore dive, don't go with much expectation of a fabulous reef immediately offshore. It is a muck dive. Lots of soft corals and sponges, but the bottom is a thick layer of very fine silt and vis is not very good - and can get really bad if you don't control your buoyancy.

Bottom line - really enjoyed our 17 dives in the 5 days we were there, but not in a hurry to get back. While we saw some unique stuff and the dives in the south were good, it just wasn't enough better to make up for the hassles getting there and back. If I have to spend two days traveling to get to a destination, it'll be the in the Pacific, not the Caribbean.

Photos from Dominica at: Dominica 2014 - WetLens
 
Thank you both for the info... And wetlens, it's funny you mentioned the Pacific instead of the Caribbean considering the travel hassles, because that's exactly what I decided to do... After much frustration with trying to find the best route to Dominica from Houston, I settled with the fact that while I COULD get there in one day, it would require a very tight connection window and would cost a little over $1K per person. I can get to Kona for cheaper than that. So, that's what we're doing. Besides, it'll be the peak of humpback season there! Sometimes, your best plans are only realized when your original one falls to sh!t...lol.

I would like to make it to Dominica at some point though, that's for sure... Hopefully, the travel will become more simplified and inexpensive in the near future.
 
United now offers a red eye flight out of IAH leaving at 11:59pm and arriving in SJU at 6am. That allows you to catch either Liat or Seaborne into Dominica at around 11am the same day. That's what my fiance and I are doing for our honeymoon in December. We could have done a similar layover on the way back but we decided to spend a night in Puerto Rico to experience one of the bio bays.
 
Good to know, thanks... Unfortunately, the ridiculously prices puddle jumpers still make it over $1Kpp to get there. And, as I said, if I'm paying $1K to fly somewhere to dive, it won't be in the Caribbean.
 
I completely understand. We kept going back and forth because of the cost, but ultimately Dominica is where we wanted to go so it was worth it for us. I think we're looking at a Pacific trip in 2 years. Hope you find a good spot!
 
I've been planning to visit this island for a while. Can someone address the #2 question some more for all I've seen is Castle Comfort in the threads. Any more upscale places? Any other dive ops to recommend or stay away from?

In November, I'm taking what will be my 6th or 7th trip to Bonaire, and have been looking for something different in the Caribbean to try out for my next trip. At this point, I'm pretty much sold on planning a trip to Dominica for late February. It seems to have similar diving, including a lot of the same macro and other critters I enjoy (frogfish, seahorses, etc), and the land attractions blow Bonaire out of the water.

So, my questions are:
1) What part of Dominica offers the best diving? If it's one of those "Well, it depends on what you're looking for" sort of things, what are the differences? And, does it matter which side you stay on or do the boats typically all head to one area?

2) Any recommendations on dive resorts would be more than welcome as well. A lot of what I've seen seems to be your run of the mill motel looking room, so I'd love something a little more unique.

3) I haven't seen much mention of Nitrox on any of the websites. Is it fairly available there?

4) Can anyone from Houston recommend the best way to get there without having to spend a night in San Juan? Even taking a 5:15am US Airways flight out of IAH, the earliest I can get to SJU is 2:23pm. Is making the 3:10pm Liat flight to DOM too tight, or is SJU a quick transfer through? I know a lot of the small airlines wait on the larger incoming flights for connecting passengers. Is that the case there?

Thanks in advance!
 
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I've been planning to visit this island for a while. Can someone address the #2 question some more for all I've seen is Castle Comfort in the threads. Any more upscale places? Any other dive ops to recommend or stay away from?
I've also seen Fort Young mentioned fairly often. But it's not a "dive lodge" like Castle Comfort.
There's actually a bunch of interesting/upscale looking little places there, but I haven't figured out which ones might make suitable bases for diving. If you really want upscale, one to look at might be Secret Bay (no, I haven't been there, but they do mention diving on their web site.) It's Northwest rather than Southwest like the others. (I'm pretty sure you want something west...)
 
Wow, what a wonderful place to go. Went a few years back. 2009 to be exact! Dove four days and went to the mountains the last three. If you
are into the mountain thing, hook up with Crescent Moon. Very cool place. All of our Diving was on the south end. Soufriere/Scotts Head! IMO if your going to Dominica, make a unforgettable trip of it!! The underworld and topside.
 

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