Dominica - Paperback

by Paul Crask Paul Crask (Author)

Packed with the detailed local knowledge of author Paul Crask, a long-term resident, Bradt's Dominica remains the only up-to-date standalone guide to this Caribbean island. In this new, thoroughly updated fourth edition, a range of accommodation and dining options are described in depth, guide and tour-operator listings are extensive, and 19 detailed maps help orientation. Taking an environmentally conscious and socially responsible approach to travel, the author couples essential travel advice with rich insights into the country's natural environment, history and culture - including the Kalinago, the last of the region's indigenous Amerindian people, whose descendants continue to live here today.

Formerly considered an undeveloped Caribbean backwater, English-speaking Dominica is an increasingly favored tourist destination, now benefiting from daily connections to Miami, with a currency tied to the US Dollar. The government has invested significantly in island infrastructure following damage caused by extreme weather events in 2015 and 2017, and upmarket boutique hotels are opening. Despite such rising popularity, Dominica remains a place of unbridled, off-the-beaten-path adventure and discovery. This island of mountains, unspoiled rainforests, volcanoes, rivers and waterfalls has much to enchant a variety of travelers.

Explore Morne Trois Pitons National Park, a World Heritage Site where trails traverse rainforest-covered mountains and connect rivers, waterfalls, and the Boiling Lake, a flooded fumarole that is the world's second-largest hot-water lake. Ardent hikers can walk sections of the Wai'tukubuli National Trail or explore other national parks including Cabrits and Morne Diablotin. Wildlife-watchers can seek out rare parrots found nowhere else on Earth, the mountain chicken (actually one of the world's largest frogs), or even a boa constrictor that is the subject of Kalinago legends. Scuba divers and snorkelers can marvel at pristine marine reserves boasting healthy coral reefs, while those who prefer to remain above the waves can take boat trips to enjoy excellent views of sperm whales.

Whether you love nature or culture, hiking through wilderness, or exploring underwater, the depth of detail and breadth of local insights that characterize Bradt's Dominica render it the indispensable practical companion to exploring this exciting country.

Author Biography

Paul Crask is a writer, independent magazine designer and publisher, and documentary photographer who has lived in Dominica since 2005. Since then, he has researched and written four editions of Bradt's Dominica guide, has created and published a dozen printed and digital magazines about the island (including Dominica Traveller), and has written scores of freelance articles for regional and international press. An enthusiastic hiker and a professionally qualified scuba diver, Crask is addicted to travel and exploration, through which he has worked intimately with Dominica's Kalinago people, and with hoteliers, restaurateurs, and tour operators island wide. His in-depth knowledge of all things Dominica - from history and culture to the more obscure hinterland tracks of the island's forested interior - make him a go-to source of information for independent travellers. Crask has also written about many other islands in the eastern Caribbean, including authoring Bradt's Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique.