Dominica and St Lucia

If you are into natural things, the whale watching in Dominica is great. There are several resident pods of sperm whales that call it home. Some of the best watching trips we've been on were from Dominica.

According to Lonely Planet…
Dominica is 29 miles long and 16 miles wide.
Electricity: three-pin British sockets.
Time: Atlantic time zone (-4 GMT)
Currency: withdraw eastern Caribbean dollars. Not all places accept credit cards.
Tipping:
- $1 per bag
- Tip maid if job well done.
- Check restaurant bill and if there’s a service charge no need to tip. If not, round up to 10 to 15%.
- Tip taxi driver 10 to 15%.
Getting around – minivans operate as buses and their license numbers begin with H. All journeys originate in downtown Rouseau. When you see one stick your arm out. If minivan is full, it won’t stop. Hours of operation are 6a to 7p, Mon thru Sat.
Taxis license plate numbers begin with H. Dominica drives on the left. If renting a car honk when turning blind corners.
Highlights:
- Trek to Boiling Lake
- Hike to Middleham Falls
- Hangout on Batibou Beach
- Swim in Ti Tou Gorge
- Soak at Wotten Waving
- Swim at Trafalgar Falls
- Boating along the Indian River
- Snorkel at Champagne Beach & Reef
Best places to eat:
- PoZ’ Restaurant & Bar, Calibishie Gardens
- C&D Bar & Grill, Portsmouth
- Keepin’ It Real, Toucari
- Old Stone Grill and Bar, Roseau (Rose-oh)
- Riverside Café, La Plaine
- Palisades Restaurant, Roseau (recommended by Fodor’s)
FOOD & DRINK
Callaloo – a creamy thick soup (or stew) with taro root, spinach, kale, onions, carrots, eggplant, garlic, okra and coconut milk.
Oxtail stew – PoZ’ Restaurant & Bar is the place to order this.
Sea moss – a seaweed beverage.
Kubuli – Dominica’s signature beer made from spring water.
Macoucherie – a good quality rum.
To learn more go to: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Dominica.

According to Lonely Planet and Fodor’s…
St Lucia is 27 miles long. Electricity, time and currency are the same as Dominica.
Tipping: EC$2 per bag and tip maid service. Restaurants tips are the same as Dominica. No tipping required for taxi service unless your driver goes above and beyond then add a 10 to 15% tip.
Getting around: same as Dominica with a few exceptions.
- In the Castries-Gros Islet corridor minivans run until after 10p.
- Minivans operate in the north on Sun.
- Yell “stopping driver” well in advance before getting off.
- Taxis are expensive.
Highlights:
- Swim, snorkel or watch the sunset at Anse des Pitons or Anse Chastanet.
- Snorkel or swim at Anse Cochon.
- Soufrière is the heart and soul of St Lucia.
- Enjoy a cocktail on Sugar Beach.
- Gros Piton, this steep hike offers a rewarding view.
- Dance at Gros Islet on a Fri night.
- Don’t forget your camera if hiking the Tet Paul Nature Trail.
- Picnic on Pigeon Island or Maria Islands Nature Reserve.
- Rent a car and drive through eastern St Lucia stopping in fishing villages, waterfalls and gardens.
- Kiteboard on Sandy Beach.
- Snorkel or dive at Anse Chastanet.
- Take a field trip to Morne Coubaril Historical Park, an 18th century estate.
- Visit the Castries central market.
- Trek through the Edmund Forest Reserve.
Best Places to Eat According to Lonely Planet:
- The Coal Pot Restaurant, Castries
- Orlando’s Restaurant & Bar, Soufrière
- Elena’s Italian Restaurant, Rodney Bay Marina
- Spice of India, Rodney Bay
- Flavours of the Grill, Gros Islet
To learn more visit: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Saint_Lucia.

I remembered seeing this post months ago and took a note for our trip to St. Lucia. We just returned. We stayed in a resort near Soufriere during our stay and used a hired drive to take us there and back. We only visited that one part of the island, but everyone we met said that it was the best - Ha ha! The roads are fine, but driving is on the left hand side and the roads are seriously curvy. Local drivers drive fast.

We toured what is billed as the world's only drive in volcano and saw all of the bubbling mud and ruins of an 18th century french bath complex. Guides take you around and they work on tips. You can do a mud bath there, but we passed. Also, Diamond Falls and gardens, where there are active baths where you can sit in the warm water, again with guides who work for tips. Try the Piton beer if you like beer. I don't love beer, but thought it was pretty good. There is good snorkeling right from the beach at Anse Chastenet and a lot of the snorkel tours bring people there. We saw an abundance of fish and some sea turtles.

The next door beach, Anse Mamin, has a gate leading back to the ruins of an old sugar cane processing plantation. A tour there was very informative.

We met others who got up at 5am to hike Gros Piton. It took them 4.5 hours round trip and they said their legs were wiped out. You hire a guide to take you, and it's strenuous but not technical. They recommended having at least one hiking pole for getting back down. Going to the top of the Petit Piton is a more technical climb with ropes.

Water taxis are around in Soufriere if you want to hire someone to take you to the beaches I mentioned, or sugar beach.

When you have to fly out, know that upstairs at the airport there is a pretty good food court with lots of selection. Since there was no food served on our 5 hour flights in either direction, it was good to get some lunch before we boarded. And the airport is very small. You walk out onto the tarmac and down quite a ways before climbing the steps to your plane. I am not sure what the accommodations for disabled travelers are. An advantage was that we boarded by doors in both the front and the rear of the plane.

Have a great trip!