Transportation on Dominica

Transportation on Dominica: On the islands

Car hire

A licence must be purchased (30 EC$/ 12€) and you must show your driving licence to the car hire company. This will allow you drive for three months on the island. Be wary of the bad condition of the roads and also driving, especially drivers of shared taxis. They are more often in the middle of the road rather than on the left and drive rather fast. Use your horn when approaching a curve with no visibility! Even if the government is trying to improve the road conditions, tropical storms and lorries take care of deteriorating the roads on a regular basis - the State's budget cannot be compared to that of our Transportation Department, so beware of the holes! The road on the Atlantic coast is better than that on the Caribbean coast, because less lorries use it.

If you are not at ease driving on the left, it's easier to drive an automatic! Then you'll only have to concentrate on the road and the landscape. The car hire companies can be trusted, they are usually very honest. Just make sure that when the car hire company takes the imprint of your banking card for the deposit, you get it back at the end of the hire period. That little extra: car hire companies offer to meet you at the boat and take you back free of charge. Plan on a minimum of 40 to 45 € for a small 4x4. A touring car is always less expensive. But they don't always have car seats for children.

Make sure you reserve well in advance if you need a car during times when there are festivals, carnivals and any other festive periods, because the cars for hire are taken by storm!

Rules of the road

Don't forget to keep to the left especially when getting off a roundabout, where there is a tendency to return to the right side of the road!
Give way to the vehicles on your right
Obviously, use the right-hand lane to pass other vehicles
Give way to vehicles on your left when exiting a roundabout.

Bus – Taxis

If you're on a limited budget, busses can be a means to explore the country. This method of transportation is of course very popular but it is very inexpensive. Almost all of the villages on the island can be reached by bus. If you want to be even more "local", you can hitch a ride in the back of a pick-up and appreciate riding outdoors with your hair in the wind. It is very common to ask for a ride to get to a village and there is no problem. This is also a more direct way to meet the Dominicans and get a whole wealth of information on excursions and those little special spots that are difficult to find! Be careful however if you're a young lady ! Don't proceed too easily and do not show any bank notes. For transportation from the hotel to the airport or the port or simply any time you need a taxi: Taxi Association & 449 88 16.