Portsmouth
Dominica’s second town, on the wide harbour of Prince Rupert Bay, with a British fort on the twin hills of the Cabrits and the island’s widest river at its edge.
- Arrival
- Douglas-Charles · DOM
- To the town
- About 18 km from DOM, straight line
- Private jets
- DOM, customs, 6 am to 10 pm
- Best time
- February to April
The city
The capital that never was.
Portsmouth was surveyed in 1765 by a Royal Engineer, John Simpson, and meant to be Dominica’s capital. The swamps around it brought malaria and yellow fever, so the government went south to Roseau and Portsmouth stayed a harbour town of a few thousand people. Prince Rupert Bay is a natural harbour, and the British fortified the headland to the north the same year the town was laid out.
That headland is now Cabrits National Park, two volcanic peaks joined to the shore by sediment, with 421 hectares of protected sea. South of town the Indian River comes down to the bay; scenes of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest were filmed along it.
- Fort Shirley Begun by the British in 1765, extended by the French during their occupation and restored since 1982.
- Cabrits National Park East and West Cabrit, 140 and 171 metres high, the remains of an extinct volcano.
- Indian River The widest river on Dominica, reaching the sea just south of town; boat rides on it are one of Dominica’s attractions.
Arriving
The jet airport is close by.
Douglas-Charles, near Marigot on the north-east coast, is Dominica’s jet airport, about 18 km from Portsmouth as the crow flies and nearer to it than to Roseau.
- Antigua 35 min
- Barbados 50 min
- Miami 3 h 15
- Palm Beach 3 h 20
- Los Angeles 8 h 05 long-range jet
When to go
February to April.
Warm all year, 28 to 31 °C by day. The island’s met service puts the dry season from January to May, and February to April are the least rainy months here, at about 100 mm each. From August to November the north-west coast takes 240 to 300 mm a month.
- 28° J 144 27°
- 29° F 95 26°
- 29° M 110 26°
- 30° A 105 27°
- 30° M 177 27°
- 31° J 173 28°
- 31° J 156 28°
- 31° A 243 28°
- 31° S 269 29°
- 30° O 279 29°
- 30° N 300 28°
- 29° D 201 27°
Where to stay
Around the Cabrits, and one in the capital.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- InterContinental Dominica Cabrits Resort & Spa Set inside the park on the Cabrits peninsula, a short way north of town, with a spa.
- Secret Bay Two MICHELIN Keys in 2026: treehouse-style villas and clifftop villas, and Zing Zing for dinner.
-
Fort Young Hotel Fort Young of 1770 turned into a waterfront hotel in the capital, rated four-star by its owners.
Where to dine
Two tables at Secret Bay.
No MICHELIN restaurant guide covers Dominica. Both are restaurants of Secret Bay listed by Relais & Châteaux; menu prices are not published.
- Zing Zing Relais & Châteaux Creative, six-course Discovery Menu Secret Bay, above Tibay Beach
- Bwa Denn Relais & Châteaux Daily tasting menu Secret Bay, Portsmouth
Flying to Portsmouth?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.