Dominica rises steeply from the Caribbean Sea, and the diving follows: volcanic drop-offs, pinnacles, lava formations and reefs, with bubble streams venting from geothermal springs at Champagne Reef. Scott's Head Drop-Off and L'Abym lie in the southwest around Soufrière, while Shark's Mouth and the Cabrits walls lie in Cabrits National Park in the northwest.
About diving in Dominica
In the northwest most sites lie a short, scenic boat ride away inside Cabrits National Park and Prince Rupert Bay. In the central west most sites are off Mero Beach, less than 10 minutes by boat from shore, and from Soufrière more than 20 sites in the Soufrière Scott's Head Marine Reserve are minutes away. A dive week generally starts on easier sites and moves to harder ones as it goes, with the instructor or divemaster on board choosing each day's site. Inside Soufrière Bay waves and currents are rare.
Underwater, the island keeps the shape it has above the surface: mountain peaks continue as drop-offs, walls and canyons, with pinnacles, lava formations, volcanic craters and healthy coral reefs, and geothermal vents send up streams of bubbles. The walls at Cabrits fall away to a sandy bottom and often carry current, giving drift dives over barrel sponges and schools of creole fish. Rodney's Rock is a critter dive whose walls shelter octopus, frogfish and seahorses, and Point Guignard is rich in seahorses, nudibranchs and sea slugs. On the southern drop-offs of the Suburbs and Village, huge barracuda, frequent turtles and big stingrays turn up.
Champagne Reef suits all levels, with calm water and usually light currents, and L'Abym, despite its massive wall, is also suitable for all levels and rarely has any current. The Village, on the southern Atlantic side, is an advanced site, and Point Break, at the northern tip where the Caribbean meets the Atlantic, is for divers who do not mind currents. The geothermal vents make the island especially appealing to adventurous divers and underwater photographers.
Best time to dive Dominica
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
| Sea surface | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F |
| Daytime high | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F |
| Rain | 53 mm2.1 in | 39 mm1.5 in | 46 mm1.8 in | 77 mm3.0 in | 100 mm3.9 in | 119 mm4.7 in | 133 mm5.2 in | 164 mm6.5 in | 155 mm6.1 in | 158 mm6.2 in | 138 mm5.4 in | 84 mm3.3 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 53 mm2.1 in | 39 mm1.5 in | 46 mm1.8 in | 77 mm3.0 in | 100 mm3.9 in | 119 mm4.7 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 133 mm5.2 in | 164 mm6.5 in | 155 mm6.1 in | 158 mm6.2 in | 138 mm5.4 in | 84 mm3.3 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
Diving is favourable all year; December to May is the driest and calmest stretch, and occasional summer rain does little to dive quality.
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, December
Dominica water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface stays between 27 and 29 °C (81–84 °F) all year. Most rain falls from June to November, peaking at about 160 mm (6.3 in) in August; January to March are the driest. Daytime highs sit around 29 °C (84 °F) all year. The coldest water here is about 26 °C (79 °F), so pack a 3 mm full suit.
Dive types & marine life
Sperm whales are present year-round and are the island's main whale-watching draw. Humpback whales are present between November and April, and a number of dolphin species can be seen all year. Turtles turn up often on the southern drop-offs, and frogfish and seahorses on the critter sites.
- Wall
- Reef
- Drift
- Muck & macro
- Pelagic & blue water
- Whales
- Dolphins
- Sea turtles
- Frogfish
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Squid
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
Best dive sites in Dominica
- 1
Champagne Reef
Geothermal bubble streams rise around the reef, like diving in sparkling wine
- 2
Scott's Head Drop-Off
Sponge-covered wall from 12 to 30 m (40 to 100 ft) at the western point of Soufrière Bay
- 3
L'Abym
Wall that plunges straight down from the cliff face, where frogfish and seahorses are common
- 4
Soufrière Pinnacles
Popular second-dive site north of Soufrière village that leads into the L'Abym wall
- 5
Toucari Bay
Day or night dives among octopus, moray eels, rays, squid and lobster
Site guides
Wreck
The Nadine L., a 17-metre wreck (55 feet) sunk in 2003 as a first wreck dive
Reef
A safety stop spent inside a field of volcanic bubbles
Swim-throughs between massive coral-covered boulders
Sand slope
A field of sea pens standing up out of the sand like white feathers
Reef
A fallen boulder shaped like a hand, its top breaking the surface
A wall for all levels, starting on a shelf at 8 m
Reef
A flat coral plateau at 12 m (40 ft) that drops sharply to 120
Reef
Round Capucin Point from the Caribbean into the Atlantic
Muck & macro
Seahorses, batfish and flying gurnards under a cruise ship dock
Reef
A gentle glide over coral, the centre's dive to start a trip with
A sponge-covered wall dived anywhere from 12 to 30 m
A swim-through at 11 m and a crater wall past 37 m
Wall
Barrel sponges shaped like sharks' mouths, on a wall to 40 m
Reef
A sand plateau at 11 m (35 ft) with the wall dropping off its edge
Cave & cavern
Coral archways, a cave and a canyon under Toucari Bay
Reef
Volcanic gas bubbling out of hot, sulphur-stained sand
How to get to Dominica
Flights arrive at Douglas–Charles Airport (DOM) or Canefield Airport, and international travellers often connect through Antigua, Barbados or Puerto Rico. Dive centres cluster along the west coast near Roseau and Soufrière, with short boat rides to most sites.
Photos from Dominica
cisc1970 · CC BY 2.0
anaxmedia · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dive videos
A BUBBLING REEF? Scuba Diving Champagne Reef In Dominica - Ep 123 · Blue Horizon Diving on YouTube
The Reefs of Dominica - Dominica Scuba Diving Adventure - Ep 119 · Blue Horizon Diving on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is there a marine park fee?+
Yes. All visitors pay a small marine park users fee, which funds the moorings and the upkeep of the parks. All of the diving takes place inside one of three marine reserves: Cabrits National Park in the north, the Salisbury Marine Reserve in the central west and the Soufrière Scott's Head Marine Reserve in the southwest.
Is Champagne Reef a shore or boat dive?+
Both: it is entered from a boat or from the beach, and its maximum depth is 4 m (15 ft). The dive usually circles the reef before a safety stop among the hot springs and bubbles.
Is there night diving?+
Yes. Toucari Bay suits day or night dives, Rodney's Rock is a favourite at night when squid, lobsters and crabs are out, and Champagne Reef makes an excellent night dive with huge crabs and lobsters.
Sources
- Diving in Dominica — PADI
- Scuba Diving Sites in Dominica — a virtual Dominica
- Shark's Mouth dive site — PADI
- Champagne Reef dive site — PADI
- Cabrits Dive Centre | Dominica — PADI
- Nature Island Dive - Scuba Diving & Conservation, Soufriere, Dominica — Nature Island Dive
- Dominica — Whale Watching Handbook / International Whaling Commission
- Dominica Dive Sites — Dive Dominica
Photo credits
- Dominica's volcanic peaks rise steeply above the calm blue water of Roseau's bay. by georama, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A shallow reef scattered with yellow tube sponges at Champagne Beach, Dominica. by cisc1970, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
- A dive boat idles in the shallows of Soufrière Bay, Dominica, beneath forested hills. by anaxmedia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Openverse
Embed
Run a dive centre, club or blog? Embed this map of 12 dive sites near Dominica on your own page.
In The Logbook
- Where to dive in DecemberTrip planning · 10 min read
- The best wall dives in the worldWalls & drop-offs · 11 min read
- Where can you legally swim with whales?Big animals · 14 min read
- Do you need a safety stop? What it buys youBody & health · 11 min read
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
Similar destinations
Swim off a beach onto a wall that drops past 900 metres
Panama's cheapest place to learn to dive, with a national marine park just offshore
Shore and boat reefs, plus wrecks from a shallow tug to a harbour-mouth hull
.jpg){kind=link}
A wall off Grand Turk where migrating humpback whales pass within earshot each winter