eSIM for Dominica

Dominica has two mobile networks, FLOW and Digicel, and our eSIM connects to FLOW over 4G/LTE. Most visitors arrive at Douglas–Charles Airport (DOM) on the north-east coast, then face a long drive on a landslide-prone highway, so having data from the moment you land helps with drivers, weather warnings and the island's changeable trail conditions.

A hiking and nature week for fit, active travellers: waterfalls, hot springs and the full-day Boiling Lake trek in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, the bubbling Champagne Reef, then the Kalinago Territory and the rivers and forts of the north.

Length

7 days

Bases

2

When to go The drier months from about February to May give the safest trail and river conditions; June to November is hurricane season, when heavy rain can close the Boiling Lake trail and the airport highway.

1. 01

   Day 1 Roseau

   Arrive and drive to Roseau

   → Douglas–Charles Airport (DOM) to Roseau by road, roughly 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes; the FCDO advises against driving this landslide-prone highway at night.

   Land at Douglas–Charles Airport on the north-east coast and drive across the island to Roseau in daylight. In the late afternoon stroll through the Dominica Botanic Gardens, where a large baobab still lies on the school bus it crushed in Hurricane David in 1979, then climb the short path up to the Morne Bruce viewpoint for a view over the capital and the Caribbean Sea.

   Signal FLOW 4G is reliable around the airport and in Roseau, but expect gaps on the mountain section of the highway; download offline maps before you set off.

2. 02

   Day 2 Roseau

   Trafalgar Falls, Titou Gorge and hot springs

   → Trafalgar and Wotten Waven are each around 20 to 30 minutes from Roseau by car; Laudat is a little higher up the valley.

   Drive up the Roseau valley to Trafalgar Falls, where a short walk brings you to the twin falls known as the Father and the Mother, with warm pools at the base. Continue to Laudat for Titou Gorge, swimming up a narrow, sheer-sided canyon to a small waterfall. Finish in Wotten Waven, where several family-run sulphur hot spring pools let you soak after the swim.

   Signal Usable 4G in Trafalgar and Wotten Waven villages, but weak or none in Titou Gorge itself. Leave your phone in a dry bag before swimming.

3. 03

   Day 3 Roseau

   The Boiling Lake hike

   → About 30 minutes by road from Roseau to the Laudat trailhead.

   Start early from the Titou Gorge trailhead near Laudat with a licensed guide. The trail climbs through rainforest, crosses a ridge and descends into the Valley of Desolation, an area of steaming vents, hot streams and coloured mud. It ends at the rim of the Boiling Lake, a flooded fumarole whose water is around 95°C. Allow six to eight hours for the round trip and bring water, food and a rain jacket.

   Signal Assume no signal for most of the hike, including at the lake. Check the Office of Disaster Management updates and the forecast before you set off, and tell your guesthouse when you expect to be back.

4. 04

   Day 4 Roseau

   Champagne Reef, Scotts Head and Soufrière

   → Champagne Reef and Scotts Head are a short drive south of Roseau along the coast road.

   Rest your legs with a gentler day on the south-west coast. Snorkel at Champagne Reef, where volcanic gas rises from the seabed in streams of warm bubbles. Continue south to Soufrière and its sulphur springs, then on to Scotts Head, a narrow isthmus where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic. Walk up to the old fort ruins on the headland. If you want to see sperm whales, book a licensed whale-watching trip from Roseau.

   Signal 4G is generally good along the south-west coast and at Scotts Head; whale-watching boats lose signal well offshore.

5. 05

   Day 5 Portsmouth

   Emerald Pool and the Kalinago Territory

   → Roseau to the Emerald Pool, then to the Kalinago Territory and Portsmouth by winding roads; plan on most of the day with stops.

   Cross the island to the Emerald Pool in the north of the national park, a short forest walk to a waterfall dropping into a green swimming hole. Continue to the Atlantic coast and the Kalinago Territory, home to the island's Indigenous Kalinago people. At Kalinago Barana Autê, a heritage village beside the Crayfish River, a guided tour covers traditional crafts, canoe building and cassava bread making. Drive on to Portsmouth for the night.

   Signal Patchy across the island's central interior and along parts of the east coast; FLOW coverage returns in Portsmouth. Download offline maps for the cross-island roads.

6. 06

   Day 6 Portsmouth

   Indian River and Fort Shirley

   In the morning take a rowed boat trip up the Indian River with a licensed guide, gliding under bloodwood trees whose buttress roots twist into the water; the river appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. In the afternoon walk out to Cabrits National Park on its headland north of town to explore Fort Shirley, an 18th-century British garrison, and the trails up the twin hills behind it for views across Prince Rupert Bay.

   Signal Good 4G in Portsmouth and at Fort Shirley; weaker under the forest canopy upriver, though usually enough for messages.

7. 07

   Day 7 Portsmouth

   North coast beaches and departure

   → Calibishie is a short drive from Douglas–Charles Airport, which makes the north a convenient last night before flying out.

   Drive along the north-east coast towards Calibishie, stopping at the Red Rocks at Pointe Baptiste, a strange landscape of eroded red stone above the sea. Swim at Batibou or one of the other quieter beaches nearby if the sea is calm, checking conditions with locals first, as not all beaches have lifeguards. Then continue the short distance to Douglas–Charles Airport for your departure.

   Signal Fair 4G around Calibishie and at the airport; signal can be weak on the dirt tracks down to the beaches.