Heard of Nature Island? Go Now, Some Say, Before ‘Ecotourism’ Ruins It
Environmentalists are sounding the alarm as a slew of infrastructure projects on the Caribbean island of Dominica are priming a travel boom.
Batibou Bay on Dominica’s north coast.
Photographer: Greg Florent
Dominica is an island resplendent with natural wonders. Semiactive volcanoes spike out of a lush forest covering more than half of the island, and black sand beaches spill into an ocean teeming with sperm whales year-round. Yet to many ecotourists, this Caribbean paradise, 75 miles north of St. Lucia, remains under the radar. With no direct flights from the US East Coast until this February, getting to Dominica and its few luxury hotels required connections in Miami or San Juan, Puerto Rico. But that was the point: Nature Island was worth the trouble.
By 2026 it will be even more connected. The island plans to add another airport and a yacht marina, and enhance its port to accommodate hordes of cruise passengers, with plans to eventually build a new facility. Those ship-bound day-trippers—an estimated million of them each year—will skip strenuous hikes and instead use a 4-mile-long gondola system to see the mountainous Roseau Valley and its stunning pitons (forested peaks).