Champagne Reef Beach

[jackdiamond]

With regard to the above beach, I would greatly appreciate answers to the following questions:

1. Is there a reasonable beach area surrounding or adjacent to the water?

2. Can one enter the water without traversing a number of stones or rocks?

3. Are there chair and umbrella rentals available?

4. Is the water rather calm and warm or chilly and choppy?

5. Is bus or taxi transportation available both to and fro from the port?

6. If so, what is the approximate cost of #5?

7. What is the approximate time of the transportation to and from this beach to the port?

Thank you.

[mytime53]

With regard to the above beach, I would greatly appreciate answers to the following questions:

1. Is there a reasonable beach area surrounding or adjacent to the water?

2. Can one enter the water without traversing a number of stones or rocks?

3. Are there chair and umbrella rentals available?

4. Is the water rather calm and warm or chilly and choppy?

5. Is bus or taxi transportation available both to and fro from the port?

6. If so, what is the approximate cost of #5?

7. What is the approximate time of the transportation to and from this beach to the port?

Thank you.

 

1. If by beach you mean sand, no.

2. No

3. No (well, maybe, but no place to take them to). There is plenty of space up above the "beach area" though, to sit and wait.

4. Can be calm or choppy, water is warm in some areas and chilly in others.

5. Yes to both.

6. Don't remember

7. Don't remember, and depends on timing for traffic.

[CoralReef]

6. For the bus, U.S. $2 or E.C. $3.50. Don't know about taxis.

 

7. Our bus passed Champagne Reef approximately 15 minutes after leaving the port. We had intended to stop and snorkel there, but our port day was rainy with heavy surf.

[aqua girl]

Chrmpagne Reef was a disappointment. There was one area that looked like champagne bubbles. We saw no seahorses and the other fish were unremarkable.

Getting into the water was very difficult due to many rocks. There are no sand beaches in Dominica according to our guide. I'm surprised I didn't break my ankle getting into the water. I actually had to scoot backwards out of the water and on to the rocks to get back to my shoes. Definitely not worth the aggravation.

 

As far as I'm concerned, Dominica can be taken off of Royal Caribbean's stops.

[mytime53]

Chrmpagne Reef was a disappointment. There was one area that looked like champagne bubbles. We saw no seahorses and the other fish were unremarkable.

Getting into the water was very difficult due to many rocks. There are no sand beaches in Dominica according to our guide. I'm surprised I didn't break my ankle getting into the water. I actually had to scoot backwards out of the water and on to the rocks to get back to my shoes. Definitely not worth the aggravation.

 

As far as I'm concerned, Dominica can be taken off of Royal Caribbean's stops.

 

I'm sorry you didn't have a good time. I think Champagne Reef is a unique place to snorkel, and worth the trouble. This year, we also went to Ti Tou Gorge for a quick swim--another fun thing to do. Dominica is definitely an island for the more adventurous.

If you don't like it, you can always stay on board to enjoy the ship that day. I think it would be sad to miss Dominica.

[TNVolTD]

I'm sorry you didn't have a good time. I think Champagne Reef is a unique place to snorkel, and worth the trouble. This year, we also went to Ti Tou Gorge for a quick swim--another fun thing to do. Dominica is definitely an island for the more adventurous.

If you don't like it, you can always stay on board to enjoy the ship that day. I think it would be sad to miss Dominica.

 

 

I absolutely agree. We just snorkeled at Champagne last week (after going to Ti Tou and Screw's Spa first). We were there one day after a turtle/catamaran snorkel in Barbados and Dominica was a much better snorknel outing. Yes, it is a bit difficult to get in/out of the water, but the trouble is worth it. We booked our entire tour through Irie Safari (the operator at Champagne), and they were GREAT - possibly the BEST excursion we have had out of 8 cruises. I HIGHLY recommend contacting them. Clem Johnson runs a great operation (you can reach him at johnsonc at cwdom.com. Our tour included one of their guides (Francesca was great) for the snorkel outing, which was very personalized and took us to see several parts of the reef and fish. The "Champagne" part was neat but not necessarily the highlight of the snorkel. Out past the "bubbles," they really have a nice reef there with a variety of life. My understanding is that seahorses are very rare. So, I would not measure the success of a snorkel trip on whether I see one.

 

This was our 3rd time to Dominica. All have been nice but this was easily our best. It is actually one of our favorite islands - to us, places like St. Thomas (while pretty) are so built-up we might as well be at Myrtle Beach (which is NOT a place we like to vacation). Part of me wants to tell more people to be more open to exploring Dominica but part of me hopes there are more "stay on the ship" types so that the island stays as beautiful as it is.

 

So, enjoy whatever you opt to do, but we think Dominica is one of the prettiest (and friendliest) islands in the Caribbean.

[mytime53]

My understanding is that seahorses are very rare. So, I would not measure the success of a snorkel trip on whether I see one.

Part of me wants to tell more people to be more open to exploring Dominica but part of me hopes there are more "stay on the ship" types so that the island stays as beautiful as it is.

.

 

So true!

 

Another thing (besides a seahorse) that I've seen at Champagne Reef that I've seen no place else is a juvenile spotted drum...right in front of my face. Absolutely beautiful!

[melbur]

Chrmpagne Reef was a disappointment. There was one area that looked like champagne bubbles. We saw no seahorses and the other fish were unremarkable.

Getting into the water was very difficult due to many rocks. There are no sand beaches in Dominica according to our guide. I'm surprised I didn't break my ankle getting into the water. I actually had to scoot backwards out of the water and on to the rocks to get back to my shoes. Definitely not worth the aggravation.

 

As far as I'm concerned, Dominica can be taken off of Royal Caribbean's stops.

 

Oh, that was one of the highlights for us. We did the ships shorex and we almost never do ship tours, to Champagne Reef Snorkel trip and it was phenomenal. Right off the catamaran, no rocks to worry about, and alot of time in the water snorkeling. They did two stops and it was fabulous. Would do it again.

[kendon]

Very difficult to navigate the shoreline...so rocky and the surf can make it even harder. I find everything worth doing, even just once. But if you are expecting a reef like Klein Bonaire or St. John...forget it. The coral is in rough shape at Champagne Reef, unfortunately.

[Sailmore]

We too recently visited Champagne Reef with Irie Safari. We were looking for a new experience on Dominica after having done island tours on previous visits. The people at Irie Safari arranged for round trip taxi pick up and we had a guide to help locate interesting sites. I think it is like any snorkel experiences, you never really know what you will see until the day. We saw an octopus for the first time and of course saw the "champagne bubbles"

The staff were very helpful and friendly and tried very hard to ensure we were enjoying our time with them. You can get to the reef on your own, but I think having a guide enhanced our experience and with the "interesting" roads on Dominica, it was nice to have a good, careful driver to get us there.

With that said, it isn't the type of beach I would recommend for sunbathing or hanging out. Many people managed to combine tours of the island with the reef experience, but since we had done this prior, we were quite content with just snorkelling.

[more cruises]

I think it would be helpful for newbies to describe Champagne Bay: Irie Safari is just off the road. They have bathrooms, changing rooms, food and snorkel equip. You walk down stairs and then along a long boardwalk to get to the beach. The beach is composed of what is best described as river rocks - not big boulders that you have to scramble over. I kept my flip flops on and it was very easy to walk to the waters edge to put my fins on (and normally I am not very sure footed) Our guide Diane, from Irie Safari, gave a hand to anyone who didn't feel comfortable on the rocks. I almost let other people's "rock" description convince me not to go but I'm glad I didn't, to me the rocks were really nothing.

 

Our cost was $20 for the taxi and $14 for our guide. Very much worth it in my opinion. We had a great time and saw lots of fish.

 

This photo was at the edge of the reef, right at the drop off. It was very surreal with all the fish "hanging" around. Sorry, my camera was acting up that day so I didn't get my photos.

 

[NakedBeancounter]

I agree entirely (re the ease of navigation of the rocks, which was nothing too bad, and well worth doing for the end product). My wife and I took a taxi from the port at Woodridge Bay to Champagne and I used one of the guides (just me, as my wife doesn't swim). The Guide cost me $10 for about an hour, just the guide and me, which I thought was pretty good for one-on-one attention.

 

We saw some nice fish and the water was very clear. The champagne bubbles themselves were not overly impressive and didn't look much different to the bubbles from the nearby scuba divers, but my guide dived down to the bottom and trapped some water in a tube...she poured the water onto my hands when she surfaced...it was like it was straight out of a hot tap!

 

The highlight for me was seeing an electric ray, and best of all, a full sized Barracuda, which we swam next to and watched it from just a couple of metres away. Wow! With snorkelling you never know what you are going to see, but on balance, based on my experience here last month, it's well worth it.

[ftc2010]

We've been there in March 2010. We've booked a tour with bumpiing (TiTou Gorge, Trafalgar Falls, Champagne Reef). It was a great day!

 

We didn't have so much problems to "climb" over the rocks to get into the water. Unfortunately we only saw "normal" smal fish.

[kendon]

Thanks for the pictures...they always help. The surf can be rough, so combined with the large rocks and the fins on your feet, it can be very "interesting" getting in and out of the water. Anyone with back issues might reconsider....(IMO).

[MartinsCruise]

We've been to Champagne Reef twice and loved it. It was difficult getting in and out of the water especially since I wasn't wearing water shoes or fins but the rocks are mostly smooth. The second time we were there it was much better because we took our time and explored the whole area. There is so much to see. Last year we also went river rafting before going snorkeling and had a great time.

[icequeen]

We have been to Champagne Reef a couple of times and it is truly a unique experience and not to be missed. Yes, it is a bit of navigation to get across the rocks to the water but as long as you move carefully and slowly, it really isn't difficult. The experience of the bubbles rising all around you is the coolest and we saw a lot of different fish. I wouldn't let the lack of beach appeal turn you away from this spot.

 

Enjoy!

[Irish90Cruiser]

We had a great day at Champagne Reef last week. The ocean was pretty rough that day and so visibility could have been even better but it was still amazing. Lots of fish to see. Only St Lucia rivaled the experience we had at Champagne reef. It was a windy day and the waves were crashing in pretty good making the somewhat difficult entry even more challenging. However my 2 daughters(14 and 12) and I made it in and out of the water ok with some effort.