Dive Review of
Dive Dominica/Fort Young Hotel in
Dominica

 US, Caribbean, Pacific, Australia, Far East 

Dive Conditions

Maximum time and depth that were appropriate for the site with different
guidelines for computer and non-computer equipped divers. Once they say
your in water ability there was more freedom to buddy dive independently.  

Dive Dominica boats do not have camera shelves and may or may not have
fresh water containers (if you are willing to have your camera float around
with other cameras). Crew is good about carefully handling photo gear -
loading boat or handing to divers in the water. On shore, photo gear goes
directly back to your hotel room.  

Overall Rating

American Eagle is a reliable (but not infallible)way to get from Puerto
Rico to Dominica. Due to current airport strip length, luggage weight is
limited to 2 total checked bags with combined weight of 70lbs and 1 carry
on that must fit in the small under seat space. No option to pay for more
baggage count or weight. Airport runway extension is under construction, so
by end of 2008 things may change. Melville Hall airport is on one side of
the island and the hotel is on the opposite side in Roseau with a mountain
in between. Allow 1.5 hours for the hotel-provided van or bus ride on a
"not quite 2 lanes wide" road through the magnificant rain forest
reserve. When arriving, tell the bus driver you want to stop at
"Shorty's house" on the way and try his spiced rums..or a soda if
rum and winding mountian roads don't suit you.

Electricity is 240 - bring converters and adapters.

Fort Young Hotel has wonderful, new, large, ocean-front rooms with
balconies. Nicely appointed. Their original rooms are smaller, but
comfortable and less expensive. Lunches in the bar are US $10-15 and the
main restaurant offers "dining" with dinner taking 2 hours and
costing US $35 - $50. Not much to do in the evening, so a leisurely dinner
is ok once you shift onto island time. Hotel wireless Internet workes fine
and Cingular GSM phones work on the island. Verizon phones are dead. Hotel
staff are unfailingly courteous and welcoming.

Ken in the Diver Center takes great care of diving logistics & Dive
Dominica boats pick you up at the Fort Young pier. The tour desk has
afternoon activites such as rainforest hikes to Titu Gorge and a swim
upstream to the source waterfall pouring out of the ground. Not often I am
willing to do 2 AM dives and then shift to land afternoon activiites. Here
it is fun. Hikes (easy or advanced), kayaking, island tours, local culture,
market day shopping, sperm whale watching trips - plenty to keep you busy
for a week. Martin, the tour guide, is a walking encyclopedia from history
to latin plant species names. This island is a botanical paradise from
roadside wild orchids, ginger and antheriums to coffee and cashew trees. 

Diving the reefs and vertical walls loaded with barrel sponges, crinoids,
cruising turtles, seahorses, frog fish, puffers, indigo hamlets, trumpets,
damsels, angels, trunk fish, soldier fish, grunts, eels, hinds and
nudibranchs was wide angle to macro photo fun. Most sites are less than 20
minutes from the Fort Young (yes it really used to be a British fort).

For all the local beauty, this island needs T shirt assistance. As a 35
year dive t-shirt collector, I could not find a single shirt to buy that I
would ever wear. They need dive apparel art and production CPR. 

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