Dominica

The only up-to-date standalone guide to this Caribbean island.

Written by Paul Crask, a long-term resident with detailed local knowledge, this thoroughly updated fourth edition is packed with extensive accommodation and dining options, comprehensive guide and tour-operator listings, and 19 detailed maps to aid your exploration. Taking an environmentally conscious and socially responsible approach to travel, the author combines essential practical advice with rich insights into Dominica's natural environment, history and culture—including the Kalinago, the last of the region's indigenous Amerindian people, whose descendants continue to live on the island today.

Formerly overlooked as an undeveloped Caribbean backwater, English-speaking Dominica is now an increasingly favoured tourist destination. Following government investment in island infrastructure after extreme weather events in 2015 and 2017, upmarket boutique hotels are opening. Yet despite rising popularity, Dominica remains a place of unbridled, off-the-beaten-path adventure and discovery. With mountains, unspoiled rainforests, volcanoes, rivers and waterfalls, there is much to enchant every kind of traveller. Explore Morne Trois Pitons National Park, a World Heritage Site with trails traversing rainforest-covered mountains and connecting rivers, waterfalls and the Boiling Lake—the world's second-largest hot-water lake. Hike sections of the Wai'tukubuli National Trail or venture into national parks such as Cabrits and Morne Diablotin. Spot rare endemic parrots, the mountain chicken (one of the world's largest frogs), or even a legendary boa constrictor. Dive and snorkel in pristine marine reserves with healthy coral reefs, or take boat trips to see sperm whales.

Whether you're drawn to nature or culture, wilderness hiking or underwater exploration, this indispensable practical companion offers the depth of detail and breadth of local insights needed to make the most of this exciting country.