Our Dominica Trip

We arrived via San Juan into Melville Airport on 9/15/07, through the mountains and over the woods. Honestly you wonder where there's a flat piece of land. We transferred to Ft Young a very nice hotel on the island about one hour and 15 minutes from the airport. They drive on the left and the scenery is quite beautiful. The airport is currently under going construction. The island is extremely rugged and not overly developed. Really the draw here is great diving and land based eco tours.

Fast Facts: Currency is fixed with the US at $1.00 to 2.67 XCD US dollars are excepted. English is widely spoken and broken French. The island consists of 9 volcanoes all dormant. Quite a few hotels and Dive Dominica close in September for general maintenance. Downtown Roseau the main town is very third world and really does not offer much shopping. They open up a few shops when the cruise ships dock. Most people just eat at the hotels. If you are at a park or stop, bring toilet paper and soap from your hotel. This goes for the airport also. Black sand beaches (beaches are few). There is one recompression chamber in Portsmouth.

Activities: Scuba Diving is mostly done at Scotts Head, lots of bubbles coming up from the bottom and pale champagne colored waters. We did a shore dive in front of
Anchorage Hotel and saw abundant marine life. Ft Young has a large dock and the scuba shops pick up for a quick 15 ride over to Scotts Head which is at the
very end of the island. Also diving is offered in the Portsmouth area much further north and Salisbury about 1/2 way between Roseau and Portsmouth. With a resident family of 9 sperm whales which goes higher during certain times, whale watching boats have a about 90% success rate spotting whales. Our tour of about 3 hours unfortunately came up empty, but the free rum punch is not bad. Rain Forest hikes are a must and the elevation on the island is at its highest peak Diablotins 4747 feet, you can hike just about everywhere but a guide is recommended. There is a world heritage site on the island and and the national parks offer a wealth of information at the ranger stations. We also kayaked a fresh water lake in an extinct volcanic crater, seeing lots of flora and fauna.

Hotels: We stayed two nights at Ft. Young in Roseau. Deluxe hotel with lots of stairs! Not recommended for seniors or people with disabilities. No beaches in
Roseau 2 nice conference rooms, restaurant, gym, dive shop on property with rinse tanks, and gear storage, swimming is discouraged in front of this hotel. You can walk to town and the Garraway Hotel is right across the street. Garraway is a high rise hotel that faces the ocean and is quite modern. Ft Young has a small
pool and rocky shore. No sand! Massage and wellness center, rooms have internet access, 3 Jacuzzi's on a sun terrace overlooking the ocean and is very nice. Ken Hinderland Adventure Tours desk is located right at Ft Young. At Ft Young the standard rooms are in the original part of the building and have limited views due to the
vegetation. Same for ocean views. Ocean view rooms are also in the original section. The deluxe ocean fronts are in the first and second expansion where we stayed and are very pretty and modern, with mini fridge and coffee makers. Also available are two ocean front suites with separate bedroom, living, dining area, kitchenette, wrap around balcony -very upscale.

The Evergreen Hotel is 10 minutes south of Ft Young on the ocean. No beach, rocky. Boutique type property, very comfortable and great award winning water front restaurant that plays Sinatra music! Rates include breakfast. Conference room, sea view and non sea view rooms. Wheel chair ramp, family rooms are non sea view, cozy pool, 17 room property with internet, cable tv, a/c, mini fridge. All non sea view rooms have full beds. Sea view one queen, and one single bed in room with a balcony. Cable TV no mini fridges.

The Anchorage is a 20 room modest property and the dive operator is on site here and great restored sperm whale skeleton. All ocean view, mini fridge, coffee maker, cable tv, closed in September. Standard rooms do not have a mini frig. Restaurant on property, internet access, all double beds, upstairs rooms have balconies. Shore diving right out front. No beach. 5 minute drive from Ft Young south. Anchorage Dive has 4 boats.

The Tamarind Tree is about 1/2 hour drive from Rosseau north. Closed September. No TV's! Small TV in the lobby. Lobby is very small though. Internet station. All rooms ocean view. Meal plans are available. This hotel is in the Salisbury area. Dive shop is East Carib Dive center, 7 minute walk from the hotel. Dive sites are 5- to 15 minute boat rides and claim more bio marine diversity than anywhere else on the island. Pool, no beach or ocean access. Its up on a bluff, about 12 rooms and the standard rooms have no a/c, superior rooms have a/c, can get queen or two single beds, in the superior rooms king beds or twins, mini frig in all rooms, all rooms have a long shared balcony out front. We liked it! Few restaurants near by also.

Sunset Bay Club on the ocean near Salisbury, north, very nice no a/c in any rooms. Lots of charm. Black sand swimming somewhat rocky beach. Dive operator on
property. Nice pool with natural waterfall right behind the property. Restaurants nearby also. Large restaurant with bar, 2 dive boats, can lock up gear at night, max 8 people on both boats and there is an extra charge to go to Scotts Head which is 1.25 hour ride from this area. They do not go everyday. No TV's and no mini frigs. Standard rooms are not ocean view. Two twins in the room or they can put together and also bunk beds. One honeymoon suite.

Picard Beach Cottages on the ocean where we stayed our last night, and enjoyed a relaxing stay. Cable TV, A/C, individual cottages on the ocean with full kitchens. This is an eco lodge, with nice swimable black sand beach, nice restaurant, no dive shop. This property is in Portsmouth on the north side of the island about a 45 minutes ride back back to Roseau. The beachfront cottages are close to the waters edge, queen in separate bedroom and single in the living room. Some cottages are garden view of which there are 9 and are a little smaller. All cottages have front porches. Eco friendly, solar power, grow their fruit and have a small herb garden. We enjoyed our stay, very relaxing here. Can walk to the grocery store, internet is available. No pool, but have a dock and Cabrits dive center is 5 minutes drive away. They will pick
up divers. Picard has a 65 foot catamaran used for whale watching.