If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Dominica
Can anyone tell me about Dominica.
Is it safe. Is it civilized. How's food. How's accommodations. Is it expensive or reasonable compared to St. John. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Dominica
Can anyone tell me about Dominica.
Is it safe. Is it civilized. How's food. How's accommodations. Is it expensive or reasonable compared to St. John. Its a few years since I was there, but then it seemed quite safe (we used public buses to get into Rousseau and walked about quite a bit). The roads werent too good (and have huge drainage ditches at the side) . The main problem we had was that we arrived at the airport near Rousseau but half our luggage (our u/w camera housing and quite a bit of diving stuff) was sent to the other airport and we had to go and collect it. We stayed at Castle Comfort - which was fine for what we wanted. It IS a 'poor' island, but has lovely scenery (under and over the water). Never been to St John so cant compare. From my point of view, its disadvantage is getting there from UK if you've only got a week's holiday. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Dominica
John wrote:
Can anyone tell me about Dominica. Is it safe. Is it civilized. How's food. How's accommodations. Is it expensive or reasonable compared to St. John. John, I assume you're referring to The nature Island of Dominica. Not the Dominican Republic. Correct? I am from Dominican heritage and I have travelled extensively including Southeast Asia & the Americas including several islands in the Caribbean. In reply to your questions, Is it safe? - Dominica has one of the lowest crime rates in the region. There is not the extreme differences in wealth one associates with other destinations. It's very safe - usual caveats apply regarding due diligence when travelling and showing care/respect for the indigenous communities i.e. treating folks just like how one likes to be treated; Civilized? - Yes. It's been a stable democracy for the last few hundred years, it gained independence from the British in 1979, was hit by two hurricanes soon after, main export is banana's which is a fading industry, therefore keen to make development in the off-shore finance & responsible tourism sectors whilst buiding linkages to the agricultural sector. It's a very quiet destination, very reserved and in general locals are very hospitable. Most folks in Dominica are self-sufficient - locally grown food is widely available. Dominica is striving to become the world's first organic island. Accommodations? - Can vary from "excellent" to "mediocre" to "not so good" see www.tripadvisor.com - some really cool eco-developments happening now; Value compared to St John's - It's very reasonable compared to St Johns - however budget/price/value is all relative - my view is an occasional splurge can be a good thing - especially when the wealth goes towards delivering positive social change for the locals. I have three movies available on my web site which may give you a good insight; See: http://www.nature-island-ecolodge.com/destination.html The last movie is an interesting view from the cockpit of an Amerijet as it approaches the islands main airport at Melville hall! Passenger services are provided by local turbo-prop services including American Eagle, LIAT, Caribbean Sun/Star and a new service called Dominica Air Taxi. there's no international airport on Dominica - it is surrounded by international airports on islands like Antigua, Puerto Rico, Gaudaloupe, Martinique, St Lucia, Barbados, Grenada etc... Please note Dominica is far from being your typical sun, sea, sand Caribbean mass-tourism destination. (And long may it remain so in my view ;-)). It is more like Hawaii or Borneo.i.e. 65% rainforest cover still in tact, 365 crystal rivers, last remaining settlement of the Kalinago people (a.k.a. the Island Caribs who greeted Christopher Colombus on his arrival to their lands - he had a different spin on the story ;-) - lots of locally owned micro-enterprises so greater scope for tourism revenue staying on-island for the benefit of the local community. Dominica is well worth a visit - especially if you are in favour of responsible tourism. At a minimum it will make for a real interesting break from the stereotype "banana dacquiris" on the beach-type resorts... Here's some more details. The Kalingo (Carib) have an elected chief and approximately 3,785 acres of protected lands. Dominica was recently voted the 4th Happiest Place to live in the world. Research headed by Clemson University is now just beginning in Dominica on plants that contain phytoestogens and may eventually find a use in treatments of hormone-sensitive cancers like breast cancer and in preventing bone loss in people with osteoporosis. Dominica has one of the highest prevalences of centenarians in the world (3.3 per 100,000), topped only by Okinawa , Japan Dominica has the most intact forest cover in the Caribbean. Sixty-five percent (65%) of Dominica's land area is covered by vegetation ranging from dry scrub woodland on the coast to lush, tropical forest in the interior. Dominica's natural forests, woodland and bush cover 52,000 ha (128,440 acres), or over two-thirds, of the island's surface. Few islands can demonstrate the diverse range of flora and fauna to be discovered in Dominica Vascular plants - approximately 155 families, 672 genera and 1226 species of vascular plants (Nicolson, 1991). Indigenous Species: Pteridophytes (194), Gymnosperms (1), Monocotyledons (518) and Dicotyledons (1,445). Endemic species - Dominica has several plant species which are endemic to the island, including Sabinea carinalis (Bwa kwaib) the National Flower Two genera, Agave and Furcrea that are endemic to the Caribbean (country report submitted to the International Conference and Program for Plant Genetic Resources (ICPPGR, 1995), Malary 1993) Birder's Paradise: One hundred and seventy-five species of birds have been recorded Many of the birds are migratory and sixty species breed on the island. Dominica's resident birds include two single-island endemics and nine regional endemic species. Amazona imperialis and Amazona arausiaca are considered endangered and threatened, respectively, (IUCN Red Data List), and are specially protected birds under Dominican law. The Black-capped Petrel is believed by many to be nesting in the Mountains of Dominica - however this is yet to be confirmed. Dominica contains some of the Caribbean's best preserved coral reef systems - It is rated as one of the world's top 5 dive locations. Average water temperatu 27 degrees centigrade Average visibility: 18 metres Protected areas Central Forest Reserve 410 ha (1013 acres) Northern Forest Reserve, 5560 ha (13732 acres) Morne Trois Pitons National, 6876 ha (16,984 acres) (1975) - designated a World Heritage Site.(1999) Morne Diablotin National Park 3337 ha ( 8242acres) 1982-Cabrits National Park- 532 ha ( 1313acres)- historical/ terrestrial/ marine components. Marine Reserve- Soufriere/ Scott's Head Marine Reserve. More info available at www.dominica.dm. Regards David |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Dominica
"David" wrote in message ups.com... John wrote: Can anyone tell me about Dominica. Is it safe. Is it civilized. How's food. How's accommodations. Is it expensive or reasonable compared to St. John. David, that was a very thorough reply to John, so let me ask something else. We are Americans looking to retire somewhere a bit more affordable. We're already looking into Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but a quick look at the links you provided to John have me thinking Dominica as well. Is there an established ex-pat community in Dominica? I don't mean that I'd want to live in some enclave, but they often have helpful information and real-life experience. thanks, Keith |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Dominica
On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 20:20:49 GMT, "k" wrote:
David, that was a very thorough reply to John, so let me ask something else. We are Americans looking to retire somewhere a bit more affordable. We're already looking into Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but a quick look at the links you provided to John have me thinking Dominica as well. One thing I find is that the Caribbean is hot. It is always hot. On Dominica, if you get up into the mountains it can be very pleasantly cool. You could live up there. If you want some heat, you could always go down to the coast. I do have pictures I took when I was visiting: http://donwiss.com/pictures/Dominica-2003/ Don www.donwiss.com/pictures/carib (e-mail link at page bottoms). |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Dominica
k wrote: "David" wrote in message ups.com... John wrote: Can anyone tell me about Dominica. Is it safe. Is it civilized. How's food. How's accommodations. Is it expensive or reasonable compared to St. John. David, that was a very thorough reply to John, so let me ask something else. We are Americans looking to retire somewhere a bit more affordable. We're already looking into Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but a quick look at the links you provided to John have me thinking Dominica as well. Is there an established ex-pat community in Dominica? I don't mean that I'd want to live in some enclave, but they often have helpful information and real-life experience. thanks, Keith Hi Keith, Yes there is (let's keep it very quiet though otherwise property prices will start going up like in Mexico, Panama, Belize and Costa Rica and we'll start getting far too much attention from property speculator types carrying suits and mega-scale fractional ownership condo master-pans ;-) Jokes aside, there is a long tradition of ex-pats in D/ca especially artists & novelists. However it's all very low key and down-played - must be the British influence. The stable political climate, natural beauty, still relatively low (by Caribbean standards) land prices and the English language are seen as an advantage by many who settle in D/ca. The North East around Calibishie is a hot-spot for North Americans. That said, the French are buying too - they are definitely trying hard to re-claim D/ca :-) There are also many returning D/cans from the UK who help fuel the economy via construction and longer term employment. On average two long term jobs are created for every in-coming settler, on top of the cash injection into local construction and professional services firms. The important issue though is responsibility - any incoming settler must think seriously about what's in it for the local people. What can be done to help create positive social change in a manner that benefits the local people and creates a low impact on the indigenous culture. Maintaining the balance between individual development and a high value wealth sharing model with the local community is as always the key to a creative reconciliation of this on-going dilemma, be it in Mexico, Belize, Panama or Dominica. It sounds like you recognise this dilemma too from your comment on enclaves - there are no enclaves in D/ca like some I see in other destinations and long may it remain so. I can pass on some contacts if serious. Drop me an email when you are ready. Regards David |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Dominica
Don Wiss wrote: On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 20:20:49 GMT, "k" wrote: David, that was a very thorough reply to John, so let me ask something else. We are Americans looking to retire somewhere a bit more affordable. We're already looking into Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but a quick look at the links you provided to John have me thinking Dominica as well. One thing I find is that the Caribbean is hot. It is always hot. On Dominica, if you get up into the mountains it can be very pleasantly cool. You could live up there. If you want some heat, you could always go down to the coast. I do have pictures I took when I was visiting: http://donwiss.com/pictures/Dominica-2003/ Don www.donwiss.com/pictures/carib (e-mail link at page bottoms). Don, Great pictures and 100% correct regarding the climate - one can go from hot to cool in a little over a few miles and a few thousand feet in D/ca ;-) Places like Laudat and the fresh Water lake are always nice and cool, whereas the West coast can be bone dry scrub like Anguilla. It's an amazing diversity in climate, flora and fauna for such a small island, if one is into nature. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Dominica
Don Wiss wrote:
One thing I find is that the Caribbean is hot. It is always hot. On Dominica, if you get up into the mountains it can be very pleasantly cool. You could live up there. If you want some heat, you could always go down to the coast. I do have pictures I took when I was visiting: http://donwiss.com/pictures/Dominica-2003/ Don you have some of the absolute best pics of the islands of anyone I know!! They are great!! You can really "see" what a place is like by your pics. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Dominica
Thank you Don, nice pictures.
"Don Wiss" wrote in message ... On Wed, 04 Oct 2006 20:20:49 GMT, "k" wrote: David, that was a very thorough reply to John, so let me ask something else. We are Americans looking to retire somewhere a bit more affordable. We're already looking into Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but a quick look at the links you provided to John have me thinking Dominica as well. One thing I find is that the Caribbean is hot. It is always hot. On Dominica, if you get up into the mountains it can be very pleasantly cool. You could live up there. If you want some heat, you could always go down to the coast. I do have pictures I took when I was visiting: http://donwiss.com/pictures/Dominica-2003/ Don www.donwiss.com/pictures/carib (e-mail link at page bottoms). Thank you Don, nice pictures. Keith |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Dominica
Dumb question but I may actually visit Dominica so here
goes I need to buy some clothes...outdoor type clothes What clothes and boots would you people recommend getting for staying on Dominica.... hiking, walking, etc. Opinions? |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Dominica question | Payaso | Caribbean | 5 | March 6th, 2006 06:56 PM |
Steady growth for cruise industry in Dominica | John Sisker | Cruises | 0 | March 6th, 2006 08:16 AM |
Dominica report | two7sclash | Caribbean | 4 | January 29th, 2006 01:22 PM |
Dominica | Achim Lewandowski | Caribbean | 0 | March 5th, 2004 06:14 AM |
Dominica | [email protected] | Caribbean | 0 | March 5th, 2004 01:24 AM |