dominica
December 2022
The Caribbean's best island.
Every traveler I've met that's been to the Lesser Antilles cites Dominica as their favorite. I agree completely. It's wild, little-visited, not overpopulated, mountainous, lush, and filled with little secrets. As a paradoxical bonus, there's not really any good beaches - part of the reason that mass tourism is a thing here.
We travelled to Dominica with all our canyoneering gear, aiming for some of what I anticipated would be among the best routes in the world. I wasn't disappointed. Upper, Middle, and Lower Titou Gorge is one-of-a-kind in the canyoneering world, and we ran it multiple times on our own. There are dozens of other routes on the island, but they were severely altered in Hurricane Maria in 2017, and have not been since run. We did not come prepared for first descents and bolting, and were ultimately unable to see some of the better routes on this magical island. After consultin local canyoneers (there aren't many), I published several routes on the island for the first time, including two commonly run ones that are done only with guides. Now, these two five-star routes can be done independently using our beta:
Aside from canyoneering, the hiking is fantastic. The weather can be excellent. The people are all characters, in a good way, and don't hassle foreigners like in Saint Lucia or the Dominican Republic. The windy roads are traffic-free, and getting around is easy.
We rented a small house in the cloud forest for two weeks, spending part of the time with my family. We went out looking for parrots, swam in majestic waterfalls, watched crazy sunsets, and danced with locals downtown. It was among one of the best islands I've ever visited, and I'd strongly label this island as a pinnacle destination for the dedicated traveler. Don't miss it.
