DOMINICA — THE ENTIRE island of Dominica is a veritable theme park for the adventure-inclined. And an adventurous drive in Dominica takes the art of the road trip to a whole new level. Driving here is almost an extreme sport, so bring your A-level driving skills and get a good vehicle. Take your time, drive safe and slow and you will experience unparalleled natural beauty, calm, relaxed, wonderful people and sights, sounds and tastes you will never forget.

We got our car from Island Rental Cars — an almost-new Suzuki Jimny, a mini SUV perfect for the roads of Dominica that we quickly dubbed “Jimmy” (the car’s efforts across all terrain were nothing short of heroic). The route began at the Rosalie Bay Resort on the eastern side of the island; we then made our way around the Mourne Trois Pitons to the Layou River to Mero Beach, up to Portsmouth then up to Cold Soufriere, around the Carib territory and back to home base at Rosalie Bay.