View of Picard BeachWe stayed on Picard Beach. This is a black sand beach, and this hotel is where a lot of the film crew from Pirates of the Caribbean slept (every cabin has a crew members name on it). The beach is beautiful – very little development, and amazing sunsets every night. The beach was long enough for a nice walk, very clean, and fringed with palms. There is a pier in front of the hotel, great for lounging on. The cottages are steps away from the ocean – we left the screened windows open at night and fell asleep to the sound of the surf. The room itself was in need of repair – it had a broken night table, the chairs were falling apart, etc. It certainly wasn’t the kind of room we expected when we were paying $180 US a night. But that beach made up for it. There was no one on the beach, ever, we had it to ourselves the whole time.
There is a restaurant attached to the hotel which served reasonable food, and the prices weren’t crazy. There are several tables on the beach in front of the hotel. There is also some restaurants within walking distance, but they were also closed since we were there over New Years. There was apparently a large street party to bring in the new year that went on till sunrise, but we decided we’re too old for that.
Our room, formerly occupied by Mike Stenson of Pirates of the Caribbean
Picard Beach Cottages
Picard Beach Cottages
Picard Beach Cottages
View from the porch of our hotel, the Picard Beach Cottages

View from the Escalier de Tete de Chien hikeWe drove into the Carib territory from Emerald Falls. The Caribs are a native Amerindian population in all the Caribbean. The east coast of the island is much more rugged, and this is where scenes of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 were filmed. We enjoyed our drive, and there is lots of places to stop by buy native Carib baskets and other crafts. We stopped for a small hike at the Escalier de Tete de Chien, which has beautiful views of the cliffs crashing into the ocean.
Houses on stilts in the Carib TerritoryAlthough the villages we drove through were obviously poor, there was a lot of evidence of international development, with clean water projects, and newer housing (side by side with very rustic housing). From the Carib Territory to Portsmouth, it was about a 3 hour drive. The west coast road is very good, an easy drive.
Buying baskets in the Carib TerritoryThere are many shops set up along the side of the road to buy baskets. We were surprised by the number of these shops, given how few tourists we saw.

Emerald Pool WaterfallThe next day we checked out of Roseau and went on a driving tour of the island. Our first stop was Emerald Pool, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Morne Trois Pitons. These are the most accesible falls in Dominica. On cruise ship days, I’m sure it’s very busy, but we were lucky enough to visit on a non-cruise-ship day and so there was only a couple of other people. There is about a 15 minute easy walk from the parking lot (with a restaurant, souvenir stands, and toilets) to the falls themselvs. The falls empty into a pool of water, which begs to be jumped into.
Emerald Pool EntryWe avoided the temptation to take a dip as we were worried about bilharzaia / schistosomiasis, but a Canadian doctor we met later who teaches at the medical school in Portsmouth assured us it wouldn’t have been an issue.

Dive Dominica whalewatching boatWe went on a
whale watching trip with Dive Dominica. There are a couple of operators on the island, and we chose Dive Dominica because they had a better web site and we could book by email. They are located about a 10 minute drive south of Roseau. The boat was a big catamaran. The whole trip was about 4 hours, but included a quick run to Roseau to pick up some passengers from the cruise ship. We saw 11 sperm whales.
Whale Watching
View of Dominica from the whale watching boatThe operator was very respectful of the whales, and never chased them. We didn’t see any dolphins on our trip. The sea was a little rough, but not bad enough that a couple of Dramamine (motion sickness tablets) didn’t take care of it. It was certainly nothing like the ferry ride over from Martinique. There are toilets on board and it would be a great trip with kids.

Entrance to the Rainforest Aerial TramWhen we visited Costa Rica, we enjoyed the Aerial Tram, which is a tram that slowly glides through the canopy and floor of the forest. The company that operates that tram ride also operates one in Dominica, so we decided to check it out. It was a very challenging drive to get there – probably one of the worst roads we drove in Dominica. To be honest, if we’d known how bad the drive was, we wouldn’t have visited, or at least we wouldn’t have tried to self-drive.
Suspension bridge at the topApparently the company that runs the tram will pick you up at your hotel, for a reasonable price, and we would highly recommend that option.
The tram itself is about $60 US per person, and the whole ride takes about an hour and a half. A naturalist/guide gets in the tram with you and your group (max 6 people), and if there isn’t enough people to fill a tram, they will make you wait. The tram is only open on days when cruise ships are in town, so be sure to either look towards the port, or call ahead.
There is beautiful lush vegetation, amazing ferns and flowers, and a river hundreds of feet below that can be seen from the tram ride.
The tram
Ferns seen from the tramThere aren’t very many animals however (Dominica doesn’t have any monkeys, and we didn’t see any interesting birds either). At the top, there is an option to take a 20 minute walk down to the mid-point tram station. The hike is very easy, and takes you across a (fairly rigid) suspension bridge. The naturalist accompanying us was very well informed, and was able to answer all the questions we had about what we were seeing. In addition, she gave us a good introduction to Dominica.
