Travel to Dominica with travel insurance from Essential Travel

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Information on Dominica with travel insurance from Essential Travel

Travel to Dominica

The island of Dominica is located slap bang in the middle of the Windward Islands of the Caribbean, sandwiched between the French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. Apart from its natural splendour, Dominica is also an interesting mix of British, French and West Indian cultures.

The capital city of Roseau is a typical Caribbean town with a friendly population of around 20,000 people. A lush, green mountain range serves as a backdrop to the town’s streets, which are lined with old stone-and-wood buildings.

Roseau doesnt have much architecture to speak of, but the colourful buildings, bustling marketplace, and charming seaside accommodation more than make up for it, harking back to a colonial era with its jalousied wooden balcony houses. A new cruise ship dock and promenade have also recently been built.

Although Dominica lacks the white beaches so typical of tropical islands, the black-sand beaches do have a rough charm of their own. The interior is the main attraction though, with rainforests, lakes, hot springs and hundreds of rivers, many of which cascade over steep cliffs en route to the coast. It boasts the second largest boiling lake in the world and the two hour hike to get there is certainly worth the spectacle.

The Cabrits National Park is an intriguing peninsula and surrounding coastline in the north, beside Portsmouth. Here you’ll find the 17th century Fort Shirley. Local guides will pester you in the town offering a trip up the tiny Indian river, and this is a great experience among the mangroves.

Morne Trois Pitons National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site situated in the southern half of the island. The park encompasses over 6,000 hectares of Dominicas volcanic interior and is excellent for hiking. Also at the southern tip of the island you will find the small fishing of Scotts Head, a delightful glimpse at a sleepy Caribbean village, nearby is Soufriere with its hot springs.

Dominica also offers some of the best diving in the Caribbean, provided by a rugged coastline plunges into the water, where it forms sheer drop-offs. Here you can dive among caves and volcanic pinnacles.

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