Dominica / Driving/Parking

Only in recent years has it become possible to circumnavigate the entire country, but road widths are far narrower than normal and it’s still vital to exercise due care and attention at all times. Sight lines are sometimes diminished with overhanging or thickly encroaching vegetation. You’re unlikely to meet a fully loaded bus careening in reverse at 40mph here, which may happen in Jamaica, but there are other everyday hazards like the odd stray goat or child and in a land of so much hillside and water, land slippage does occur, especially in the rainy season between June and October.

That said, driving here is about as enjoyable as it gets in the Caribbean, with dramatic scenery all around (don’t allow it to become a distraction – remember it’s there and admire it, but keep your eye on the road) and an exhilarating east coast highway where you can travel for miles sometimes and not encounter another vehicle. Regular use of the horn is a given. Some of the hills are steep with blind corners and frightening precipices and the handbrake’s a useful ally!

Around the capital Roseau there are narrow streets with barely decipherable one-way systems and deep drainage gullies all capable of waylaying the unwary - and that’s what you are as a newcomer. The occasional pot hole can be more like a bomb crater. Far better to eschew the car altogether in fact because the town is easily negotiated on foot, there’s no street hassle and all the main hotels like Fort Young, Anchorage and Evergreen have dedicated taxi services.