Dominica Questions

[diver 85]

agilis.......you talking about these 2 merging???.....

http://s176.photobucket.com/user/GEAUXtiger/media/Dominica 09/Dominica09188.mp4.html?sort=3&o=99

 

[agilis]

That's what I was told, but I have not been there in several years. A diversion of some sort caused by the ground shifting is what I heard, but I'll see for myself when I go there in April. Seems hard to believe, considering. But the boiling lake did disappear for a while. I saw that for myself.

 

[timmyk]

Thanks, everybody, for your help. How about an airfare question? I'm seeing $457 R/T from San Juan to Dominica every date I'm checking from February to June. Is that a typical price? Any way to get a discount?

 

[agilis]

Thanks, everybody, for your help. How about an airfare question? I'm seeing $457 R/T from San Juan to Dominica every date I'm checking from February to June. Is that a typical price? Any way to get a discount?

Getting to Dominica is probably the most expensive part of the trip in some ways. It's always been cheaper for me to get to San Juan from NJ that it is to get from San Juan to Dominica. I know of no discounts other than frequent flier miles that I accumulated with American Airlines when American Eagle did the San Juan-Dominica run. American Eagle closed down its San Juan operation a year ago. There is Liat, which I do not recommend, and Seaborne, which I'll be flying for the first time this April. They have an arrangement with American, but I don't know the details.

Dominica's international airport at Melville Hall is very small, suitable only for two engine prop planes that can land and take off on short runways. The approach threads along a river valley with mountains looming closely on both sides, their peaks considerably higher than the aircraft. The departing flight take off heads straight for the Atlantic Ocean, a few hundred feet from where the little plane becomes airborne. Very exciting. Very expensive.

They've been talking about building a jetport for several decades, but building one is extremely problematic. The topography would require moving a mountain or two, and Dominica's appeal and potential customer base is limited, especially in this global recession. The Chinese have been investing heavily in Dominica, and their construction crews are everywhere on the island's roads. They may pull it off, provided it's financially feasible, with enough Asian tourists interested in going there. This is very questionable. It's possible the Chinese may get into the cruise ship industry. That would be interesting.

Some visitors to Dominica take different routes; the first leg from wherever to Barbados is popular, then the shuttle to Dominica. A lot depends on where you are coming from, but I don't think there is any inexpensive way of getting to Dominica.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

That's what I was told, but I have not been there in several years. A diversion of some sort caused by the ground shifting is what I heard, but I'll see for myself when I go there in April. Seems hard to believe, considering. But the boiling lake did disappear for a while. I saw that for myself.

I was there November, 2012. They weren't merged then.



Avoid LIAT if you can, you'll probably have problems getting there and back.

If you need a tour guide/taxi driver, I recommend Shady's Car Rental & Taxi Service. Andy is a certified guide and his family is connected to politicians and land owners. He's a real sweet heart too. He took my wife and I back to the airport on our way home. I paid him and gave him a gratuity. He pulled me aside to make sure I knew there was a departure tax and he tried to give me my money back to pay the tax! I assured him that I had saved money for the tax but he waited until I paid the tax before he left us. His email is apowell3607 at hotmail. His telephone number is 767-245-3607. I trusted him with my life for three days of inland travel on some seriously perilous roads.

 

[diver 85]

I was there November, 2012. They weren't merged then.

View attachment 168592

Avoid LIAT if you can, you'll probably have problems getting there and back.

If you need a tour guide/taxi driver, I recommend Shady's Car Rental & Taxi Service. Andy is a certified guide and his family is connected to politicians and land owners. He's a real sweet heart too. He took my wife and I back to the airport on our way home. I paid him and gave him a gratuity. He pulled me aside to make sure I knew there was a departure tax and he tried to give me my money back to pay the tax! I assured him that I had saved money for the tax but he waited until I paid the tax before he left us. His email is apowell3607 at hotmail. His telephone number is 767-245-3607. I trusted him with my life for three days of inland travel on some seriously perilous roads.

So, you too enjoyed the 2 lane roads that were only 1 lane wide..........& LIAT, was only a problem going down--------not back to PR for us.......

 

[timmyk]

The Seaborne flight from SJU ls a morning fllght, we'll be arriing there early afternoon. Is LIAT really that bad? We used them from SJU to St. Vincent several years ago & they were OK.

 

[diver 85]

The Seaborne flight from SJU ls a morning fllght, we'll be arriing there early afternoon. Is LIAT really that bad? We used them from SJU to St. Vincent several years ago & they were OK.

They didn't get the name Luggage In Another Terminal for being good............

 

[diverrex]

The Seaborne flight from SJU ls a morning fllght, we'll be arriing there early afternoon. Is LIAT really that bad? We used them from SJU to St. Vincent several years ago & they were OK.

The only time we went to Dominica American Eagle was still flying and we used them. For our return flight we got to the airport two hours early. There was a LIAT flight supposed to depart 15 minutes after we got there. Our flight ended up leaving before the LIAT flight and they still weren't telling them when they would leave.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

They didn't get the name Luggage In Another Terminal for being good............

I heard it was Lost In Another Timezone.

My wife and I had to overnight in San Juan on the way to Dominica because of a missed flight (it actually left early). We saw it taxiing out while our plane was pulling into the gate. On the way back, the flight was hours late arriving and then taking off. We missed our connection in Antigua and LIAT put us up in a mostly abandoned hotel for the night. Then we were picked up at 4:30 the next morning and taken back to the airport. We waited around for hours and were then informed that the flight had to make a few stops before we arrived in San Juan. Then we were loaded onto a plane that had not undergone a pre-flight check (I was watching the tarmac and the pilot got on just before the passengers). The pilot tried to start the plane and there were problems but he finally taxied out to the threshold and then had to turn around because the flight navigation system was not working. We waited back at the gate for about an hour while they replaced the flight nav computer. Then we went to St. Maarten, then Tortola and finally San Juan where we felt lucky to catch our connecting flight back to the US.

LIAT flies Bombardier Dash 8 Model 300 twin turboprop pressurized airplanes that are at least 18 years old. Not a bad plane if you follow regular maintenance procedures and you actually follow pre-flight procedures. LIAT does not.