DOMINICA'S 115-MILE national hiking trail, which opened just over a decade ago, traverses the island's mountains, passing sulfurous hot springs and dramatic waterfalls.
Now a sea-kayaking trail has been created to mirror its inland sibling. In fact, the two trails share the same word: Waitukubuli, the name given to the island by its first inhabitants, the Kalinago.
"We wanted to honor the original paddlers when we created the trail," said Wes Moses, the owner of watersports tour agency Soufrière Outdoor Centre and the founder of the Waitukubuli Sea Trail, which officially launched in January 2023. The marine trail's 14 segments stretch 32 nautical miles from Scott's Head, in the southwest, to Capuchin, in the north. The route, which can be paddled in six days from south to north, takes in some of the island's most famous attractions, including the frothy Champagne Beach, where small bubbles rise from the volcanic seafloor. But even a two-day paddle promises spectacular scenery. Last spring, I joined Moses on an overnight journey to tackle the trail's final two sections.
BATALIE BEACH TO PORTSMOUTH
This story is from the February 2024 edition of Travel+Leisure US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 2024 edition of Travel+Leisure US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Oodles of Noodles
Slurping through a lantern-lit alley in Sapporo, Japan, where miso ramen was born
The Sweet Spot
Just an hour south of Miami, Nora Walsh finds a candyland of tropical fruits ripe for picking.
Freshly Brewed
In the Cederberg Mountains of South Africa, Kendall Hunter discovers the powerful effects of the humble rooibos plant.
SHORE LEAVE
Raw, wild, and mind-bendingly remote, yet peppered with world-class wineries and restaurants-Australia's South West Edge is a study in contrasts.
Of Land and Sea
Savoring French flavors on a gastronomic trail between Marseille and Dijon.
FAMILY-STYLE
Food writer MATT GOULDING couldn't wait to get back to the hushed omakase restaurants of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. But would his young kids love the country-and its cuisine as much as he does?
HAPPY MEAL
Many tascas, the no-frills dining spots in Lisbon, have vanished. But others, Austin Bush discovers, are being lovingly reinvented.
A City Abuzz
In underappreciated Trieste, Taras Grescoe finds some of Italy's most storied-and spectacular-coffee shops.
FJORD FOCUS
Norway in December? Crazy-and crazy beautiful. Indulging a family wish, Akash Kapur discovers a world of icy enchantment.
DESTINATION OF THE YEAR Thailand
Full disclosure: I didn't like Bangkok at first. I didn't get it—the chaos, the traffic, the fact that everything was hard to find. But like all good love affairs, my relationship with Thailand—which deepened when I moved from Vietnam 12 years ago to work at Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, where I'm now editor in chief—took time to blossom.
