Dominica (Bradt Travel Guide) [Paperback]

Paul Crask (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bradt Travel Guide | Publication Date: February 26, 2008

Dominica, though diminutive, is one of the most naturally dramatic and beautiful islands of the Lesser Antilles. Self-proclaimed ‘Nature Island of the Caribbean’, its verdant mountains, lush valleys and dense tropical rainforests are a delight for those looking to discover a Caribbean island that can still claim to be off the mass-tourism trail. Aside from nature lovers, this guide is ideal for explorers intent on experiencing the country’s rich culture and heritage, and for scuba-divers who want to discover some dramatic marine life and underwater topography. Dominica’s recent claim to fame includes being the location for the filming of Hollywood blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The absolute best comprehensive travel guide to Dominica that I have ever read just recently appeared and it is a gem. Dominica by Paul Crask has it all.' Domnitjen Magazine 'The best guidebook to Dominica-and one of the best guidebooks to any single country in the Caribbean-is the Bradt Dominica Guide. Author Paul Crask seems to know every crevice of the island and liberally shares his insider's knowledge in this fun, snappy, guide.' SpotCoolStuff.com

About the Author

Paul Crask, together with his Dominican wife, have been visiting and exploring the island every year since 1993 and are now permanent residents there.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides; 1st edition (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841622176
• ISBN-13: 978-1841622170
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #924,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My name is Paul Crask. I am a freelance writer, photographer, and Bradt Travel Guides author. I live on Dominica and specialise in writing about the islands of the eastern Caribbean. For more information go to www.paulcrask.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Detailed, up-to-date, yet uncritical, February 7, 2009

By 

Dinornis (New England, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dominica (Bradt Travel Guide) (Paperback)

Dominica is a beautiful island and is much less "developed" than its neighbors. It is little-visited (except by cruise passengers, who stay for 4-5 hours), so it deserves a detailed, attractive, and up-to-date guide such as this.

I used this guide for a one-week trip to Dominica in March 2008. I stayed entirely in the Roseau Valley, in the villages of Wotten Waven and Laudat, so my comments are restricted to my use of the guide for that area.

The guide had two principal shortcomings as I saw it. Most problematic was its unanimously positive attitude toward every attraction, restaurant, and hotel included in the guide. The other were its maps, which I found insufficient.

The book also neglects to compare and contrast destinations for the different types of travellers likely to be reading the book (cruise passengers, wealthy tourists, and backpackers.) Trafalgar Falls are a massive tourist attraction, with hordes of tour buses and tourists clogging the short and unattractive trail to the falls (which, however, are quite beautiful.) The Middleham Falls are a *much* more pleasant destination- but if you are on a tour or are not an experienced hiker you won't get to them. I did not find this distinction noted in the book. Titou Gorge is similarly badly overcrowded and not very interesting, but is not noted as such.

The guide also read more as a promotional brochure for the island than as an honest review of the different accommodations, which actually varied widely in quality and interest. The book's hotel descriptions read like they were (and indeed in one case actually were, I heard) written by the hotel owners. This is not useful when attempting to distinguish between destinations as one plans a trip.

The book clearly is geared toward supporting the Dominican trail guide industry, suggesting guides for trails like the Middleham Falls (or even Trafalgar Falls) that most certainly do not need guides. (The only trail I found where a guide is helpful was the Boiling Lake trail- long, hard, and wet.) Information of interest to serious hikers was underdeveloped, as is the Dominican trail network itself.

Finally, the book's maps for the area I was in (Roseau Valley) were confusing. There were at least three maps for the region, which overlapped in inconsistent ways. I kept switching back and forth. The color map at the beginning of the book was attractive but nearly useless for navigation.

Here's a suggestion- the 1:50 000 Ordnance Survey map for Dominica is highly detailed and completely out of print. Why not adapt and update this map, and use it in the book? THAT would be a true service to travellers- and to Dominicans.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed and practical, July 5, 2008

By 

Neil - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dominica (Bradt Travel Guide) (Paperback)

We managed to get this new travel guide just before our latest trip to Dominica. I devoured the book! It not only made me more excited about returning to Dominica, it confirmed what I knew and gave me a lot of information for further exploration.

We have travelled extensively and have a substantial library of travel guides. This is among the best. Hard to believe this is Mr. Crask's first effort. It is dead-on accurate and well laid out for finding information quickly. Having visited Dominica previously I understood what a challenge it would be to portray this unique location accurately. Well done!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No other guidebook about Dominica even comes close!, July 7, 2008

By 

C. Labuda "cpemberton2" (Oxford, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dominica (Bradt Travel Guide) (Paperback)

I was born in Dominica and lived there until I was about 22 years old. Recently I went back to Dominica and wanted to rediscover the island; find some old haunts and discover new ones. Because I was planning to photograph Dominica in a way that represents what living and visiting there feels like, I wanted to find a guidebook. I had not lived there for some time, so I felt that I needed one.

This is the only guidebook about Dominica that I've ever read that gives any kind of representation of Dominica that rings true. There were descriptions of all the places that I was used to and additionally, to my surprise, there were all these places that I had never heard of. I went to see a few of them that I would never have found without the book. The descriptions of the places and how to get there were dead on.

I've enthusiastically recommended this book to expatriates who are planning on visiting Dominica with the idea of rediscovering our home and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is planning to visit Dominica. For the low cost of this book, the value and enjoyment of your trip will be immensely increased.