Dominica

In Dominica, located between Martinique and Guadeloupe, Mother Nature is your constant companion. Wander off the road and roaring waterfalls seem to appear out of nowhere. Beaches ebb, flow and disappear with the whim of the sea. Roads do the same in the lush, undulating wilderness. For each day of the year, there is a non-polluted river. Rainbows are common but disappear as quickly as Dominica's green flash - the blazing, bright green phenomenon that occurs just as the sun sets below the ocean's horizon. Considered one of the world's 10 best snorkel and dive destinations, Dominica has bubbling volcanic vents and giant barrel sponges just ...

In Dominica, located between Martinique and Guadeloupe, Mother Nature is your constant companion. Wander off the road and roaring waterfalls seem to appear out of nowhere. Beaches ebb, flow and disappear with the whim of the sea. Roads do the same in the lush, undulating wilderness. For each day of the year, there is a non-polluted river. Rainbows are common but disappear as quickly as Dominica's green flash - the blazing, bright green phenomenon that occurs just as the sun sets below the ocean's horizon. Considered one of the world's 10 best snorkel and dive destinations, Dominica has bubbling volcanic vents and giant barrel sponges just offshore from Champagne Beach. Resident sperm whales and other cetaceans hang out in the waters off Roseau. On land there is no better place to hike then the mountainous Morrne Trois Pitons National Park. Majestic waterfalls, burping hot springs and numerous lakes including Boiling Lake, the 70-yard-wide cauldron of bubbling water, dot its landscape. And, to get the skinny on the island's indigenous Caribs, visit the recreated village of Kalinago Barana Autê.

About the Expert

Roberta Sotonoff is coauthor of Eyewitness Top 10 Chicago and has contributed to many other guidebooks, including Fodor's Chicago, Fodor's Caribbean, Fodor's Caribbean Ports of Call, and Thomas Cook Traveller's USA.