Dominica report June 2009, with photos

[diverrex]

Thanks for the tips!.. Diving would be first and land actv second for myself. Im gonna have to check it out.
Thank you!

I'm sure others have their own opinions but here's how I see the major choices:

If you want to dive, dive & dive, then stay at Castle Comfort and dive with on-site shop Dive Dominica on the morning boat trips and then either afternoon/night boat trips and/or shores dives right off the Castle Comfort dock.

If you want the nicest hotel in town close to a variety of restaurants and some night life and a little shopping, then stay at Fort Young hotel and do the morning dives with Dive Dominica. They will come pick you up at Fort Young.

If want to dive with smalls group and have very personal service stay at the Evergreen (or Fort Young) and dive with Nature Island Dive. You'll either need to have a car or arrange transporation (NID will arrange it if you want) to their shop since it's 15 minutes south.

If you don't mind staying in out of the way places stay at Gallette Cottages (run by NID) and then use the supplied bikes to ride over to their shop each morning for the boat trips. They will also do afternoon or night trips at your request, or you can snorkel the afternoons in Soufriere Bay. Not many restaurants nearby (Scotts Head, Chez Wen, and some small snackettes) but you would have your own kitchen.

If you want simple, decent & budget accomodations with a good on-site dive op then consider Anchorage Hotel.

Or track down one of the small guesthouses and dive with Aldive dive shop.

BTW the Anchorage, Castle Comfort and Evergreen hotels are right next to each other about 1 mile south of town.

Not really many choices in Dominica but at least a variety and you would probably enjoy yourself no matter which choice you make. The people are very friendly and helpful and the diving is both easy and fantastic. Just make sure to take at least one trip into the rainforest.

 

[Martha]

Excellent trip report and pictures! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Is it possible to stay in Rouseau and also dive in Soufriere?

 

[diverrex]

Is it possible to stay in Rouseau and also dive in Soufriere?

We stayed at the Evergreen which is just about a mile south of Roseau, and that's the easiest part of the drive. It's totally doable to go the rest of the way to Soufriere for NID, that's what we did. The first day I drove down I thought I would regret driving there everyday, but we liked the service so much we were glad we did dive with them. But it's not a simple drive. The first half is through two small villages where the road is narrow, you need to pull over for oncoming traffic to pass. The second half winds up then down on a narrow winding road through hills at the edge of the rainforest. From Roseau it's probably 20 - 24 minutes. You definitley need to be ok driving on narrow windy roads. I ended up making that drive 8 different times including a return in the dark after a night dive. No incidents, just one close call when a large construction truck came screaming around a corner and I really didn't think he'd miss us but he did. NID will also arrange yur transportation, for a small daily fee I think.

As a side note I found it interesting that we left each morning before the Dive Dominica boat but when we came back each day the Dive Dominica boat was already back from their two morning dives. Maybe we just talked too much before and after our dives.

 

[diverrex]

Is it possible to stay in Rouseau and also dive in Soufriere?

I looked at your dive history. For comparison's sake I'd say Dominica has less fish than Coz but is just as good of diving, better than Curacao, definitely better than Riveria Maya, I preferred it to the Fla Keys, and maybe the same as Belize (AC), no big fish in Dominica but maybe a few more small intereting ones (flying gurnards, peacock flounder, more spotted drums & eels).

Also of all those other spots Dominica has more interesting topside activities in the rainforest accessible after the morning dives. I'd say the Belize rainforest is a draw, but it's hard to do that and dive the same day.


PS I like the turtle tattoo joke.

 

[deborahdelamar]

Is it possible to stay in Rouseau and also dive in Soufriere?

Yes, Tim. If you don't plan to rent a car, you can use the buses (dollar vans) to Soufrierre, which run frequently during daylight hours. Taxi is also an option but I don't know the cost. If you're diving with NID, you may be able to arrange the morning ride south with Tony or Karen who live north of Roseau; however, that would only cover one way each day.

 

[diverrex]

Yes, Tim. If you don't plan to rent a car, you can use the buses (dollar vans) to Soufrierre, which run frequently during daylight hours. Taxi is also an option but I don't know the cost. If you're diving with NID, you may be able to arrange the morning ride south with Tony or Karen who live north of Roseau; however, that would only cover one way each day.

Tony is taking the bus himself each way. We gave him a ride to town after our night dive. Karen did not come every day. NID will help you sort it all out, they are very accomodating.

 

[deborahdelamar]

Aha! So Karen is getting tougher on Tony. (Or perhaps he finally moved from his parents' house.) Just kidding around -- the Moises are wonderful. At least you've confirmed that the buses still go all the way to Soufrierre!

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Thanks so much for the responses! I think I'm actually running out of islands in the Caribbean that I want to dive!

 

[diverrex]

Thanks so much for the responses! I think I'm actually running out of islands in the Caribbean that I want to dive!

Well if you haven't been to Dominica you should definitely go. Just make sure you know what's it's about ahead of time - great diving, great rainforest, but a little shabby in places with not a developed tourist infrastructure simultaneously being a pro and con.