My wife and I just returned from a week of scuba diving and hiking in Dominica and have nothing but positive things to say about our trip.

Nature Island Dive (Soufriere, Dominica) has a clean and well organized shop in the small fishing village of Soufriere. Their boats are capable of handling 10 divers but the most we ever had on board was 4 and most of our dives where private. If you travel in the off season, you can expect the same. The friendly and interesting head dive master, Simon Walsh, can instruct you about diving, photography, tourism marketing, and global eco-politics. All the employees are friendly and truly seem to care about your well being and happiness. All our equipment was setup before each dive and cleaned and stored after each dive. However, once we dove a few times with this great bunch of guys we started to handle your own equipment just to help them out.

All the sites we dove where in Soufriere Bay just a five minute boat ride from the dive shop. The wall dives in this bay contain some of the most beautiful sponge, crinoid, and anenome arrangements I have ever seen. There are few large fish due to local fishing pressure and the use of fish traps in the bay. Also, some of the sites show some damage to corals, sponges, etc. from nets or fish trap bouy lines. Also, some trash is evident in the shallows as you approach the wall you intend to dive. These problems are minor concerns at this time.

We stayed in the upper unit of the "Gallette Cottage" and simply loved our accommendations. The cottage had all we needed for a wonderful vacation: Kitchen, living area, bedroom, bathroom, large patio and covered porch. The porch overlooks Soufriere Bay and the surf gentle washes the rocky beach just feet from the foundation of the cottage. The cottage is not luxurious and does not have air-conditioning but for those whom enjoy tropical climates and the sound of gentle surf during the night, this cottage is for you. We felt it was the perfect place to stay and enjoyed it very much.

Go to "[--]" and have no fear that you will be well cared for and will enjoy your Dominica vaction.

Amazing dive shop! Located right on the Soufriere Scott's Head Marine Reserve, all the dive sites are 5 to 10 minutes away in the boat, whereas all the other shops in the area have a 1/2 hour or more to get to the park. The park is a submerged volcanic crater with the most amazing reefs, and lots of colorful marine life. Although some will say that there isn't anything "big" here, we saw 5' barracuda, sea turtles, rays and many other larger animals. The dive shop is very personal and offers the best service I've seen anywhere. Although the apartments they have available are very nice and comfortable with amazing views, this is a place for people who want to get to know the island and who don't need all the creature comforts of a five start hotel.

We've just returned from 3 weeks in Dominica; the first week we learned to dive with Nature Island Dive at Soufriere and we stayed in their Gallette Cottages just along the bay.

As a couple of 'older' diving virgins we were somewhat nervous about doing a course and passing exams etc. During the course we had two instructors - Anthony and Weefie - both exuding calm confidence and enabling us to learn both the theory and the practice with the minimum pain. The diving in Soufriere is magnificent - we saw astonishing sights every dive - turtles, rays, eels, frogfish, seahorses. All the facilities at NID were excellent and the place worked efficiently and in a relaxed manner.

The accommodation was really good and clean; our cottage had a large bedroom, bathroom, living/diningroom with kitchen and a great balcony from which we saw turtles and dolphins every day. The furnishings were good quality and a bouquet of exotic flowers welcomed us. It was so convenient for the dive centre and we had bikes to hurtle back and forth to Soufriere and Scotts Head.

We also went to Roseau on the local bus - very cheap and exciting! Everyone we met in Soufriere and Scotts Head was so polite and friendly and keen to tell us about their life and ask about ours. We ate at 2 restaurants - Chez Wen in Scotts Head with the best view in the world and Tony's in Soufriere - both delicious and great value.
A highlight was resting in the hot sulphur spring 'pool' at the edge of the sea in Soufriere between dives - so relaxing.

We passed our PADI course and did some more dives - it's addictive! and we went snorkeling and walking in the afternoons. All the staff at NID were unfailingly helpful, courteous and good fun - just what we wanted