Howdy fellas! Have you ever thought of giving your heavy work schedule a slip and go on a jolly trip, but yet found it difficult to make up your mind on the destination? If the answer is Yes, then your search for the dream destination is over. Just relax and go through this article. We will be undertaking a magical journey to a gorgeous island nation, a truly amazing country called Dominica.

First, where is Dominica? Dominica is in a group of islands known as the Lesser Antilles, right up there in the chain of islands like Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia and other islands in the southeastern Caribbean. In Latin, the word Dominica means “Sunday” it is named so because it was spotted by Columbus on a Sunday. Earlier Dominica was a French colony, but some couple of hundred years ago it was taken over by the English which is why English is their official language and spoken by all its inhabitants.

Why Dominica? When you think Caribbean, you think more on the lines of all inclusive hotels, larger islands, luxury resorts, but when you go to Dominica you actually see another side of the Caribbean. It’s truly a nature island as they say it is, if you want to go on an eco trip, some place un-spoiled and safe too, I would definitely recommend going to Dominica. You would be surprised to see how untouched the island is in terms of tourism, in fact two things are said about Dominica, it is called the nature island of the Caribbean and it is often remarked by the locals that, of all the islands that Columbus had visited, this would be the only one he would still recognize today.

What’s there to see and do in Dominica? Dominica is not a very big island but there is a lot to do on the island. It has one of the greatest diving industries in the Caribbean, diving here is truly amazing, there are walls that drop down hundreds of feet, there are all kinds of beautiful corals and fish, just a wonderful and beautiful environment.

The rainforest in this country is gorgeous, over 60 percent of the island is covered by rain forests and there are over 300 rivers, so it’s a very tropical landscape. It’s a volcanic island so there are mountains everywhere. Hiking is also very famous here; in fact there is a long hike about 12 miles in total to the second largest boiling lake in the world. It is advisable to hire a guide because it’s very hilly terrain going up and down, a large part of the island is forested, so there is a very good chance that you may get lost. There are not much animals which are dangerous like poisonous snakes or insects, but you can see some beautiful parrots that are indigenous to this island and some of the rarest plants in the world. There are all kinds of beautiful tropical birds to see on the island. You can also visit some of the places where the movies “Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3: Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End” were filmed.

The population of the island is around 70,000 and the people are very friendly, then there is the Carib village which is populated by the Carib people, who have been living on the island before it was conquered, and on certain days you can see them performing traditional Carib dances and they also sell handmade baskets which are very beautiful.

Must dos in Dominica: You have to definitely go scuba diving, hiking through the rain forest preferably to the boiling lake, and the third thing will be to see the rivers and the waterfalls, there have over hundred different waterfalls to enjoy.

Important points to remember: The roads are very narrow and uneven, and in some places there are 200 foot drops on the sides of the road. The climate there is very hot, but you can dress accordingly and remember to drink lots of water.

Dominica does not have much tourism so your options of sources and travel books are limited. Hence do your research, there are people to help, pre-plan your trip and have an amazing journey.