Adventure
An expedition, not an itinerary
Nine volcanoes, 365 rivers, 115 miles of trail and a wall of reef where the island keeps falling away underwater. Dominica does not perform for you. It asks you to keep up.
RainforestVolcanoRiversCanyonsReefWhales
01Rainforest hiking
Under a canopy that never dries
Two thirds of Dominica is forest, and the trails climb straight into it. Tree ferns close over the path, gommier trunks disappear upward, and the air stays thick and green. Segments of the Waitukubuli National Trail run village to village, so you can walk for an hour or fourteen days.
02Volcano & Boiling Lake
Walking the Valley of Desolation
Nine active volcanoes sit under this island. The trek to the Boiling Lake crosses a valley stripped bare by sulphur, over hot streams and grey ash, before the cloud parts on the second largest boiling lake on earth. It is the hardest day in the Caribbean, and the one people talk about for years.
03Waterfalls & rivers
365 rivers, and a fall on most of them
Trafalgar, Middleham, Victoria, Sari Sari. Some are a ten minute walk from the road, others need a river scramble and a rope. Swim in the cold pool, sit under the pounding water, then find a hot spring downstream to put the warmth back in.
04Canyoning
Down through the carved gorges
Rappel over the lip of a waterfall into a slot canyon, jump into an emerald pool, slide the polished chutes and swim out through walls of moss and volcanic rock. No experience needed, only a willingness to let go of the ledge.
05Diving & snorkelling
The island keeps going underwater
Soufrière Scotts Head Marine Reserve is a drowned crater: volcanic walls, pinnacles and champagne bubbles rising from the seabed. Seahorses, frogfish and turtles are ordinary here. Snorkellers get the best of it in three metres of water off the beach.
06Whale & dolphin encounters
Sperm whales, minutes from shore
The seabed drops to a thousand metres just off the leeward coast, so resident sperm whale families live here year round. Cut the engine and you hear them clicking through the hull. Spinner and spotted dolphins usually arrive first.
07Sea trail
The coast, at paddling speed
Follow the leeward shore by kayak: black sand bays, sea caves, cliffs with vines hanging into the water, fishing villages where the boats are pulled up on the stones. Mornings are glassy, and the light on the way back turns everything gold.
Adventure map
Where it all sits
Everything here is inside a short drive of Roseau or Portsmouth. Filter the island, then pick the day that matches how hard you want to go.
Morne Trois Pitons, interior
Boiling Lake
The full expedition through the Valley of Desolation. Start before dawn from Titou Gorge and expect eight hours of steep, steaming ground.
Expedition8 hours
Choose your adventure
Three ways to take the island on
Tell us which of these you recognise yourself in and we will shape the days, the guides and the evenings around it.
4 days
Soft adventure
Waterfalls, hot springs, snorkelling and short forest walks, with long lunches in between.
Easy5 days
Water & wild
Canyoning, river gorges, a two-tank dive morning and an afternoon with the whales.
Moderate7 days
Summit & steam
Morne Diablotin, the Boiling Lake and the Valley of Desolation, with recovery days in the hot springs.
Expedition