Trip Report: Dominica
Visited in March 2025
This trip report is part of a four-part series. This is the fourth and last part and for a better understanding it is worth starting with the first article and going through the articles in chronological order.
Dominica was my last of the eight Lesser Antilles and one that I was particularly looking forward to. After all, there are many country counters like myself who call Dominica their favorite country in the region. I was excited.
InterCaribbean Airways brought me from St. Lucia to my country no. 185/197. It was also my first country in the Caribbean where I landed after dark. That was a pity, because I always enjoyed to watch the landing over these small islands.
A small side note: the Caribbean airlines all have a terrible reputation due to their numerous delays and flight cancellations. Of my eight flights within the Caribbean, seven were on time and this one to Dominica was half an hour late. That’s not too bad, in my opinion.
On the plane I met Praveen, a fellow globetrotter who has also been to over 150 countries. We had been following each other on Instagram for a while and it turned out that we would be in Dominica at the same time. Since Praveen hadn’t booked anything in Dominica yet, he joined me and we shared a small two-bedroom cottage in Calibishie, in the north of the island.
Dominica is the second largest country in the Lesser Antilles after Trinidad & Tobago. You will notice this if you want to get from one point to another. The drive from the airport to our house took 30 minutes. That’s a long time considering that both places are in the north of the island.
Calibishie is a small village of about 2,000 people with a handful of restaurants and a small grocery store. The village is right on the coast and the sea is visible from almost everywhere. However, Calibishie is also a bit remote. Although the airport is only 30 minutes away, most of the sights of the country are far away. Maybe not the best base for sightseeing.
We found this out the next day when we started our full day tour with Wendy (Whatsapp: +1 767 245 3089). Our first stop was at the southernmost tip of the island, Scotts Head, a peninsula from which you can see the rest of the island. The drive there took over two hours.
However, driving from Calibishie to Scotts Head was very panoramic, with lush green hills and vibrant rainforests wrapping around the winding road. The views of the Caribbean Sea were nice, with occasional glimpses of rugged cliffs towering over the ocean. As we neared Scotts Head, the scenery became even more serene, with the tranquil bay and surrounding natural beauty making it feel like a hidden gem.
Dominica is another island of volcanic origin and not really a beach paradise, as most of the beaches are black sand. Instead, Dominica is known for its jungle, waterfalls, canyons and rivers. In fact, Dominica has 365 rivers, a river for every day of the year – like Antigua has a beach for every day of the year.
In addition to Scotts Heads, we visited Titou Gorge, Trafalgar Falls and Sulfur Springs that day. Doesn’t sound like much, but it was a day that started at 9am and ended at 6pm. I would estimate the pure driving time on this day at 5-6 hours.
A few words about the sights. In Titou Gorge you swim with a life jacket between narrow rock faces to a waterfall. This place seems to be one of the most popular on the island. It was quite crowded. This was probably also due to the fact that a cruise ship had docked that day and all the guests were exploring the island.
Trafalgar Falls is, as the name suggests, one of the many waterfalls on Dominica. It’s certainly a nice one, but I guess I’ve just seen too many waterfalls in the last few years. At least, it was definitiely a better waterfall than Toraille Falls, which I have seen in St. Lucia the day before.
The Sulfur Pools are hot springs where you can take a bath. A cool place to spend a few hours. By the way, at most places you will have to pay an entrance fee. Like in St. Lucia. We should also have visited Freshwater Lake. However, Wendy took it out of the program without consulting us because it would have taken too long otherwise.
You will find all these places in the southern part of the island. To visit these sights, accommodation near the capital Roseau or at least somewhere more central would therefore be a good idea. Then you can save yourself the long drive from the north.
The reason why the trips in Dominica take so long is also because the winding roads go up and down. Driving fast is therefore not possible and you have to be careful not to get sick. Some roads have potholes as well. I was more than happy that I didn’t had to drive myself.
Back to the sights: Dominica is an island that you can’t see in one day, unlike islands like Grenada. Even with my two days it was not enough. For my second day I had a few more places on my agenda: The Red Rocks in Calibishie (beautiful), Spanny Waterfalls (not worth it) and Emerald Pool (so-so).
What I couldn’t do anymore was seeing the Boiling Lake, actually the second largest boiling lake in the world. This hike, which starts from the Titou Gorge, takes about six hours and I didn’t have enough time.
There would also have been a visit to the Kalinago tribe. However, I ran out of cash, as I didn’t expect to have to pay an extra entrance fee for each attraction in addition to the tour price of USD 200. That’s why I cut this place out of my program. In retrospect, it might have been a mistake, because the Kalingo people are the last indigenous tribe in the Caribbean.
In general, all the places I saw in Dominica were quite nice, but none of them made me really think “wow!”. like the Pitons in St. Lucia for example. I guess, Dominica is more of a country that impresses with a high amount of sights and a very beautiful overall appearance but not with one or two world-class attractions.
As I have already said, Dominica is not really known for beach vacations. However, the Champagne Reef is one of the best diving spots in the Caribbean. At this reef, volcanic activity causes bubbles to rise from the seabed, creating a natural underwater jacuzzi.
A little fun fact to finish off this article: Dominica is the first country to be named after a day of the week. Christopher Columbus spotted the island on a Sunday in 1492, hence the name Dominica.
So what’s the verdict on Dominica? Beautiful island, there’s no question about that. It’s also one that offers much more than many other countries in the Lesser Antilles. For this reason, Dominica is certainly one of the best countries in the Caribbean. In my personal ranking, it would take second place after St. Lucia.
After eight days in the Caribbean, however, I was slowly but surely getting island fever and was glad that I could finally leave. The East Caribbean was over for me. Will I ever come back? Probably yes, although instead of returning to the countries of the Lesser Antilles, I’m more likely to visit territories that I haven’t seen yet.
In summary, it can be said about this entire region that it is a good destination for a quiet, leisurely vacation with nice people and beautiful landscapes. As you could already guess from the trip reports on these countries, the Eastern Caribbean is not necessarily a place that I would describe as exciting.
But that’s okay, not all countries can be as exciting as a Christopher Nolan movie. After the Caribbean, however, something much more intriguing followed with country 186.
Click here to find the trip reports of the 180+ other countries I have visited so far!
Great report! I too really enjoyed my time in Dominica and was also surprised at how long the drives took from one to another. I also stayed in a 2-bedroom cottage in Calibashie. The place I stayed was Rainbow Beach Apartments (booking), and it had a small cafe on the lower level, with the apartment one flight up. Maybe you stayed in the same place as me. There were not many places that offered AC, once I turned the AC filter on when looking for a place there.
Haha no, my accommodation was Dado’s Place.