Which Dock? Also Dominica Botanical Gardens

[tip]

We are on the HAL Noordam scheduled to arrrive on January 30, 2012. The port chart shows us to be the only ship on that day.

 

Is it safe to say that we shall dock in downtown Roseau?

 

Has anyone visited the Dominica Botanical Gardens at the edge of town? If so, are they worth while? Would you recommend walking from the ship or taking a cab? If we walk, would be be in a safe area?

[Sugar*Magnolia]

You will dock in Roseau. We have been driven through parts of the Gardens, but I cant say we have ever stopped. It looks beautiful. The walk is probably 10 minutes or under, but you might want to take a cab. We were there a year ago. DH and I dont mind mixing with the locals and we have walked through some of the back streets. You have to have a certain mindset, imho. Here are some pictures of some back streets.

 

 

 

 

 

Fort Young hotel area, near the cruise ship

 

[davidnkim]

You can definetly walk to the Gardens and there are a few nice Churches and a government building to check out along the way. BUT you have to be comfortable walking among locals and expecting to be asked if you want a ride-tour-collectible - you name it. Just like any Island the locals make money off tourist.

 

The Gardens themselves are pretty cool and make sure you walk up the steps in the back-middle of the Gardens.

 

Check out more info here -

http://www.da-academy.org/dagardens.html

 

http://www.dominica-weekly.com/walk-in-beauty-dominica-botanical-gardens/

[tip]

Thank you to CruiseDiavNJ and li'lred for your comments and advice. The Botanical Gardens have now become a must do for us. We want to take the time to enjoy them and not be rushed, thus we are not looking for a ship sponsored or private tour.

 

"The One Who Must Be Obeyed" and I were just discussing the walk and laughed about how a cab dropped us off in what was the middle of nowhere in the Old City of Cartagena, Colombia and how we enjoyed it so much after we got over our initial nervousness. We do enjoy exploring as long as we are in a somewhat safe area.

 

I recognize that Roseau is not as highly developed or as commercialized as other ports, but can you recommend any other sights in the downtown area that we should not miss? Perhaps a place to stop for a drink and a snack?

[davidnkim]

Plenty of small local places for food/snacks/drinks right around the port downtown. If you want something a little more mainstream; to the right of the dock is Fort Young Hotel which has a good restaurant on the water and a bar inside the hotel which are open to the public.

 

For a good walking tour guide - check this out -

 

http://www.avirtualdominica.com/walkingtours/

 

Same website has a ton of info about the Island in general.

[Karysa]

You will dock in Roseau. We have been driven through parts of the Gardens, but I cant say we have ever stopped. It looks beautiful. The walk is probably 10 minutes or under, but you might want to take a cab. We were there a year ago. DH and I dont mind mixing with the locals and we have walked through some of the back streets. You have to have a certain mindset, imho. Here are some pictures of some back streets.

 

 

 

 

 

Fort Young hotel area, near the cruise ship

 

 

Your pictures are beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Your pictures are beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

 

No problem. Glad you liked.

 

I love Dominica, it is a beautiful island. Im always ready to go back!

[snowbirds2]

Thanks for those beautiful pictures. I had listened to the audio walking tour of Roseau a while back and this fills in some of the visual!

 

This is our first trip to Dominica and I've gone from the "Whatever are we going to do there" - to "Wow - where to start - can't wait!" Really excited about this Port!

[jertom]

Thanks from us too for the photos. They are great !

Helping to convince us to walk to the Gardens.

Tom