DIVING:
We completed 15 dives in Dominica, including one night dive. We dove with Dive Dominica their boats were fine we were on three different boats during the week. All dives were at the southwest of the island near Scotts Head and at a number of sites a bit north of there. I agree with many others whove noted the predominance of small fish. Corals are not overly abundant. Lots of sponges, including barrel sponges 5+ feet high and 3+ feet across. I saw more lobster on this trip than Ive seen elsewhere in the Caribbean. On the night dive we also saw an octopus and numerous crabs with bodies 10 across. Other items of interest mantis shrimp, 4-ft nurse shark, spotted scorpion fish, large mackerel, frog fish, two seahorses, numerous hawksbill turtles, and electric rays.
Most first dives were 80 to 100 feet on walls. Our favorite sites were The Suburbs and Swiss Cheese both near Scotts Head. We dove Champaign North (shallow) during the day interesting but not a great dive site, and then the wall near Champaign South at night this was a thrilling dive.
In general visibility was only ok about 40 feet. Fine to see the reef in front of you but not very good for looking for larger creatures in the blue. It was typical that the lead diver couldnt see the trailing diver in a group. We dove in groups from about 15 divers to 3 divers during the week.
The dive masters and boat captains of Dive Dominica were friendly and nice to be around. Their dive site briefings could have benefited from a bit more detail in my opinion. We never felt rushed between dives on our daily two tank trips. They always took the lead in helping to load/unload gear from the boat, and were always helpful to divers exiting the water after a dive.
Water temp was warm between 79 and 83 degrees F. I wore a 2 mm shortie and was never uncomfortable.
We commonly encountered fish traps on our dives seems unusual for sites catering to divers but is apparently necessary given the islands economy and the locals need for food.
We went on the whale watching trip and saw dolphins too numerous to count all around the boat and two sperm whales, including a close encounter with one that swam around the boat, then laid on its side and evacuated its bowels in our direction.
Our 7 days of diving were about right fewer days and we would have missed too much/too many sites. There was no mention during the week of dive sites to the north of Fort Young, not sites on the east side of the island.
LODGING:
San Juan: We (one adult and a 14-yr old) stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in San Juan for $89 per night, plus an $16 to $18 cab fair from airport. Hotel was clean and adequate and had free breakfast and one computer available with internet connection. Small rooms, but for a quick overnight it was good and Id stay there again. There are a number of places to eat within walking distance, and if interested, you could walk or take a short cab ride to old San Juan.
Dominica: We stayed at the Fort Young Hotel, in a Deluxe Ocean Front Room (in the new section of the hotel). Room was pretty nice patio directly over the surf, cable TV. Some things that could be improved: thermostat on the AC didnt work well so AC was either on or off. Mattress was really bad you could feel each and every metal spring within.
Dive shop at Fort Young is really an office with a dunk tank and place to hang gear not a full fledged dive shop. We liked the fact that we could dunk our BCs and shorties, and booties, hang them up outside the shop in the sun and walk away. In the morning wed find them hanging up inside the shop. We typically would take the rest of our gear back to the room with us but that could have been left outside the shop as well.
Meals at Fort Young were expensive. Breakfasts were included in our package and were good. Omelets made to order, fresh fruit, French toast, etc. Lunches and dinner were either mediocre & expensive bar food, or really expensive meals at the oceanfront restaurant on site. So for lunches and dinners, unless we were in a hurry, we walked down to one of three good places to eat within 2 blocks of the hotel. In general, dont expect anything to happen too quickly down there and that applies to service at restaurants.
We found the locals to be generally indifferent. You could get a smile and eye contact from hotel staff and nearby restaurants if we took the initiative otherwise most locals didnt appear to be particularly friendly or interested in our presence/business. One exception to that was most of the staff from Dive Dominica.
On several occasions we saw people staying at Castle Comfort coming up to Fort Young to hang out for the evening.