Dominica is garnering tons of headlines these days. Conde Nast Travel recently named it one of the 16 best islands in the world. Travel + Leisure last year named Dominica the top island in the Caribbean, and named the island’s Secret Bay Resort as the top hotel in the Caribbean.
Your Open Jaw correspondent visited five or six years ago, and got to return for a five-day visit in JAN. It’s a tremendous, relatively undiscovered island with tremendous hiking and diving. Big resorts are popping up, including a Marriott and a new Hilton, so it’s a good time to visit and enjoy a quiet slice of the Caribbean.
WHERE TO STAY
Tucked into the Southwest corner of the island, Jungle Bay Resort has hillside units surrounded by scads of thick greenery. There are two beautiful infinity pools, a nice restaurant and a lovely spa in a garden setting, where I had a wonderful massage with the windows wide open. They do morning hikes and tons of other activities, and the sunsets are spectacular. Ditto for the views of Scotts Head, one of the prettiest points of land in the Caribbean. Leonardo DiCaprio stayed here recently.
Coulibri Ridge is set on 200 acres of lush wilderness, with tropical gardens, deep green fields, and the romantic ruins of an 18th century estate. There’s also a small, lovely spa with tables overlooking a high ridge that plummets to the Caribbean, with views of the island of Martinique in the distance. Several units have private plunge pools. The resort was designed by and is managed by a couple from Montreal, computer whiz Daniel Langlois (his programs helped movies such as Jurassic Park and Lord of the Rings come alive) and his wife, Dominique Marchand.
Secret Bay has a series of clifftop villas on the west side of the island that are sleek and sexy. Most have amazing ocean views and enough privacy to satisfy a Hollywood A-list celebrity. The food is terrific, and there’s a small beach.
Wanderlust Caribbean Adventure Travel Boutique Hotel has four tooms perched in a building on a hill overlooking a nice beach and a group of small islands. Rooms are booked in conjunction with guided tours and hikes, with some meals included. Rooms are bright and modern, with spacious patios overlooking the coast. Owners Tom and Sharie Decherd are welcoming hosts who used to live in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tom seemingly knows every inch – and nearly every one – on the island. Sharie, who was born in Puerto Rico, makes a mean pina colada.
Cabrits Resort and Spa Kempinski is a fairly new hotel on the north end of the island with a posh, European feel. There’s a black sand beach and a fabulous swimming pool complex, as well as a romantic fire pit for night-time canoodling.
WHAT TO DO
Volcanic Dominica is famous for its hiking. The Waitukubuli National Trail covers 183 km’s, spanning and twisting the length of this mountainous, rugged island. The hike to Boiling Lake is not for the faint of heart, but it’s quite beauitiful. I was told the government is helping build a giant cable car that will take people to the lake, and also will include views of Trafalgar Falls.
Dominica is home to a large group of indigenous natives, who call themselves the Kalinago. You can visit their reserve to learn about their way of life and history. They also have a lively dance performance.
The entertaining and energetic Bertrand Jno Baptiste, aka Dr. Birdy, can take you on a nature tour of the island to spot local parrots, hummingbirds and other animals.
Indian River offers piloted rowboat rides under a thick canopy of trees, with birds chirping overhead and the odd iguana sunning itself on a branch. Visitors can try a funky jungle bar and see a riverside hut built for one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
It’s a short, easy walk to Emerald Pool, which features a graceful waterfall tumbling into a lovely, pale green pool. It’s a great place for a romantic swim.
It’s a bit more hilly, but the walk to Trafalgar Falls isn’t hard. You can get up close to two parallel falls, one that tumbles 38 meters and the other 23 meters, but with more oomph behind it.
The island offers several hot springs (including, Da Scapes and one called, um, Screws) where you can give your tired bones a soak.
I didn’t go, but my wonderful driver, Jenner, told me Jacko Falls was used in a Sports Illustrated swimsuit photo shoot.
Several companies offer whale watching (Dominica has a group of sperm whales that live here year-round) and sunset cruises. You also can rent kayaks or stand-up paddleboards.
One of the great diving/snorkelling spots is called Champagne Reef, where natural bubbles emanate from the ground and float to the surface of the ocean. There also are bubbles close to the shore at Champagne Beach. It’s like swimming in a bottle of Dom Perignon.
Scotts Head has an easy, short hike to a high point overlooking the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, with remarkable views of a deep blue bay and the spikey, jungle clad peaks of south Dominica.
Batibou Beach is a luscious stretch of sand near the funky, seaside town of Calibishie. Sisters Irma and Jacqueline Douglas have a thatched roof tiki hut and fire up amazing lunches served on a deep green banana leaf.
Don’t miss a stop at The Point Baptiste Chocolate Factory in Calibishie, a ramshackle, mostly outdoor facility that looks nothing like a factory, where they can show you how they turn cacao into luscious chocolate, and how they infuse it with ingredients such as coffee and ginger. There’s a lovely beach just a few steps down the hill, past a jungle-enclosed villa where the likes of Princess Margaret and Mick Jagger have stayed.
The Farmers Market in the capital, Roseau, is a fine place to admire luscious, local fruits and veggies, or to pick up a souvenir. It’s just steps from the cruise terminal.
The tiny Museum of Dominica is directly across the street from the cruise terminal and has nice displays of local history, including information on the original Indian settlers and the terrible history of slavery.
WHERE TO EAT
Sisters Irma and Jacqueline Douglas run a tiki hut, open-air restaurant on stunning, golden-sand Batibou Beach. When I was there I had grilled fish with passion fruit aioli, eggplant fries and quinoa with coconut and mint, served on a deep green banana leaf. They also make several types of powerful rum punch.
Poz is a fun dining spot in a garden near Calabishie. I had a terrific dinner of whole snapper with coconut sauce. The owner, Troy Dixon, who grew up in southern Ontario, also has cool, elevated treehouse huts you can sleep in.
Chez Wen is a super casual spot on the water in Scotts Head village, which has small houses painted Pepto Bismol Pink, canary yellow and chocolate mint ice cream green. I had a fine dinner of shrimp and garlic sauce with rice and a cold Kubuli beer.
If you’re in Roseau for shopping, or just passing through, Le Petit Paris is a simple spot with good, filling food, including burgers, chicken burgers, salads and pizza.
HOW TO GET HERE
There are no direct flights to Dominica from Canada, but you can fly here from Barbados, Puerto Rico, Miami and Sint Maarten. The flight from Barbados is about one hour. There also are ferries from Saint Lucia, Martinique and Guadeloupe.
