Dominica: Getting there & around

Dominica has two airports - Canefield Airport just outside Roseau and the smaller Melville Hall Airport on the northeast side of the island. There are no international flights into Dominica, so you must get to a gateway island first. American Airlines, Continental, British Airways and Air France all have direct flights to several nearby Caribbean islands. Local carriers fly between Dominica and Antigua, Barbados, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico, St Lucia and St Martin. If you're island hopping, LIAT - the major inter-island carrier in the Caribbean - has through fares that allow free stopovers on Dominica. Visitors pay a EC$45 airport departure tax when leaving Dominica.

A growing number of cruise ships call on Dominica, most docking at Roseau. To encourage cruise ship visitors to spend more time in the northern part of the island, a smaller cruise ship berth has opened at Cabrits National Park. A catamaran ferry service, L'Express des Iles, connects Roseau with Pointe-à-Pitre on Guadeloupe, Fort-de-France on Martinique and Castries on St Lucia. . The trip to Guadeloupe and Martinique takes about two hours; it's about four hours to St Lucia. Yachts can clear immigration and customs at Roseau, Portsmouth or Anse Du Mé.

Renting a car is the best way to get around Dominica. Most of the car rental agencies are in Roseau. Visiting drivers must be between ages 25 and 65 and have a valid driver's license and at least two years' driving experience. For US$12 you can get the required local driver's license from immigration on arrival. Primary roads are well paved and clearly signposted; remember to drive on the left. If you don't want to drive, taxis are available and can be hired for sightseeing tours.

Local buses are cheap and run regularly along the coastal routes between Roseau and both Scotts Head and Portsmouth, although the farther north you go past Canefield the less frequent they become. There are few buses in the evening and none on Sunday on most routes.

Car rental agencies provide free pick-up at Canefield Airport and taxis are also available. If you're planning to base yourself in Roseau, try to avoid arriving at Melville Hall; there are no car rentals at this airport, so you'll need to catch a share taxi for the 75-minute haul to the capital.