Top Attractions and Activities

Although the large towns like Roseau and Portsmouth offer many cultural stops, museums, and historical places of interest, travelers coming in on cruises would be well advised to head straight for the beach. Not many places in the world can boast such unspoiled tropical water, with sapphire blue and emerald green mingling beneath the passing shade of sparse white clouds and next to the quiet sandy beach. Locals pass by selling coconuts (for a little bit extra they will pour a splash of rum inside for a truly tropical treat) and pineapples, and the beach side bars are always lively and packed with both locals and tourists alike.

Many resorts offer package tours to banana plantations and the like, but for a truly "wild" experience, the adventurous traveler with more than a day on his or her hands will look into taking an ecologically friendly "eco tour" or visiting an eco resort (information available at most major hotels and at the information kiosk at the dock in Portsmouth and the information office in the city center of Roseau). These eco-friendly vacations offer information packed tours that allow entry to many guarded and protected areas that would otherwise remain closed to foreigners. With an eye on protecting the natural environment while informing visitors and providing an entertaining and educational experience, these tours are becoming increasingly popular with families and the environmentally conscious alike-not that the two need be mutually exclusive.

Booking your travel with Carefree Travel and Cruises ensures that all these activities will be ready and waiting for you, with no hassles. As well as offering great service and great deals, the only thing left is for you to book your travel today!

History

It is often said that due to its untouched natural surroundings, lack of overcrowding and large scale development, and it naturally occurring flora and fauna, that Dominica is the only island in the Caribbean that Christopher Columbus would still recognize. In fact, for those looking to sip tropical drinks in the quintessential Caribbean isle, there is none better than that most precious of natural habitats, Dominica.

Parrots and toucans cawing above, flowering, exotic plants unseen anywhere else below: what could be better than enjoying all this, and the comfort of blue flag beaches, tropical drinks, and friendly locals. Dominica has long had an independent spirit, and turned back a series of colonizers, including France and England on a number of occasions, and even Christopher Columbus on an early voyage.

Due to this independent nature, Dominica became a home for people all around the Caribbean, and this influx of population has only contributed to the diversity of the culture, music, and social life. Being a party to this diversity has a charm that is not to be found anywhere else in the world is one of the joys of taking a cruise to visit this island, or even taking a little more time to appreciate all that it has to offer.

With a population that hovers around 70,000, Dominica is still relatively undeveloped, which is a blessing for those looking for an unblemished paradise to go to on vacation. English is the main spoken language, and it is universally understood, although there is a large amount of French influence, resulting in a rather pleasant Creole tongue known as a "patwah".

The region is also historically very stable, especially during the period shortly after independence when Dominica elected the Caribbean's first female leader, Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles. This period of economic prosperity has continued since then, although there is still a somewhat high rate of unemployment, and the economy is still largely based on tourism. Dominica's other major output, other than peaceful days and pulsing tropical nights, is the banana industry, which employs over 40% of the population. What better place to enjoy an ice-cold banana daiquiri than Dominica, the jewel in the Caribbean crown? When you book your travel with Carefree Travel and Cruises you will learn that the answer to that question, and many others.