Best time to visit
When the light is right
Dominica is chosen for its forest, rivers and sea rather than for a single beach season, so the right dates depend on what you most want to do, from waterfalls and trails to diving and time with the whales.
Caribbean · Windward Islands
Dominica
The Caribbean’s Nature Island: rainforest, 365 rivers, the world’s second-largest boiling lake and a UNESCO World Heritage site, with Secret Bay’s clifftop villas on its coast.
Now in Dominica
From Choose a departure city Approx. flying time, non-stop equivalent
Caribbean · Windward Islands
Dominica
Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, is the largest of the Windward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean: an independent, English-speaking country known as the Nature Island. Its rainforest runs down to the sea through 365 rivers, past waterfalls, hot springs and subterranean volcanoes, to beaches of both white and black sand. Much of the island is protected as national parks, one of them a UNESCO World Heritage site.
This is an island to explore rather than simply to lie beside: the Caribbean’s longest hiking trail, the world’s second-largest boiling lake, and reefs that place Dominica among the world’s top ten dive destinations. Because it is off the beaten path, the welcome is real, whether at the farmers’ markets, on a trail or at a table away from the resort.
On the coast near Portsmouth, Secret Bay keeps twenty-seven freestanding villas with private plunge pools on a rainforest promontory above the Caribbean Sea, with two secluded beaches and a dedicated host for every villa: the base we choose for the island.
For a Caribbean week in another register, the Grenadine calm of Canouan and the long white beaches of Turks & Caicos sit alongside Dominica in our Caribbean guide.
Why visit
A reason to make the journey.
- The Nature Island Rainforest, 365 rivers, waterfalls and hot springs, with much of the island protected as national parks, one of them a UNESCO World Heritage site.
- An island on foot The Caribbean’s longest hiking trail, the world’s second-largest boiling lake, Freshwater Lake, and waterfalls such as Trafalgar, Victoria and Jaco Falls.
- Beneath the surface Reefs that rank Dominica among the world’s top ten dive destinations, the bubbling shallows of Champagne Reef, and time in the water with the whales.
- An authentic Caribbean Independent and English-speaking, with farmers’ markets, the Kalinago Territory and local guides who make the island personal.
- Secret Bay Twenty-seven freestanding villas with private plunge pools on a rainforest promontory, and the first property in Dominica to join Relais & Châteaux.
In motion
The nature island
Rainforest, cliffs and a Caribbean sunset on the west coast of Dominica.
Featured properties
Stays we would choose here
Houses we know by name, the ones we would open for this landscape.
The house
In stills
A first reading of the stay: rooms, light, and the quiet between them. Each still is a note, not a catalogue.
When and how
Light, season, and the arrival
Each season keeps its own calendar. We plan the transfer around it.
Seasonality
When to go
On Secret Bay’s promontory alone, two distinct microclimates meet. We plan dates around what you want to do on the island and confirm them with Secret Bay when you inquire.
Airport / logistics
Arriving without hurry
Fly non-stop from Miami on American Airlines or from Newark on United, or connect to Douglas Charles Airport (DOM) through Barbados, St Maarten, Puerto Rico, Antigua or Guadeloupe. Secret Bay provides private transfers to and from the airport.
Luxury experiences
Hours we would keep
- The Indian River A traditional fishing boat from Tibay Beach into the Indian River, rowed quietly beneath the Bwa Mang trees.
- Into the gorges Canyoning through an ever-changing landscape of gorges, rivers, waterfalls and pools hidden deep in the rainforest, or a swim into Titou Gorge.
- With the whales Swimming with the whales, or whale watching off the coast, arranged with Secret Bay’s adventure concierge.
- Birds of the forest A guided nature walk with one of Dominica’s leading bird experts.
- Sail at sunset A 40-foot sailboat along the coast as the sun goes down, or the island’s best snorkel sites by private speedboat.
Ways of traveling
Open the collection
Begin with the collection that holds these houses and shores.
Collection
Sportfishing & Adventure
Blue water, clear rivers and the far edge of the map: marlin off Fiji, trout on the Ahuriri, bonefish on South Andros, salmon by helicopter in Alaska and roped days on the Antarctic ice.
Open the collection
Collection
Weddings & Celebrations
Weddings, vow renewals, milestones, reunions and retreats at the houses we know best: a forest wedding in Phuket, a Tuscan hamlet, a lodge beneath the aurora, or an island with no other guests.
Open the collectionFrom the Journal
Stories from this landscape
Where we write about this place: the seasons, the houses and how the days are best arranged.
Journal · 7 min read
Islas Secas and Its Kindred Private Islands in Central America and the Caribbean
Islas Secas, Panama’s fourteen-island private archipelago, and seven kindred escapes in Belize, Dominica, Turks and Caicos, the Grenadines and Costa Rica for a second chapter or a longer journey.
Read the story
Journal · 8 min read
The Angler’s Year: From Bonefish Flats to Salmon Rivers
Bonefish on the South Andros flats, marlin off Fiji, trout on the Ahuriri and king salmon in Alaska: the lodges we choose when the fishing is the reason to go.
Read the storyRelated destinations
Other destinations we return to
Landscapes that sit well beside this one.
Destination
The Caribbean
The Caribbean island by island: Mustique and Canouan in the Grenadines, Turks & Caicos, the Dominican north coast, Dominica’s rainforest and a private cay off Belize.
Destination
Mustique
Mustique villas on a private island in the Grenadines: quiet roads, staffed houses above their own coves, and a week shaped around the terrace rather than a hotel corridor.
Destination
Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s green north, where Amor Arenal keeps thirty-one hardwood casitas on a forest canyon in the foothills of Arenal Volcano.
Plan My Trip
Begin with a conversation.
Tell us the season, the company, and the feeling you want to keep. We will write back with a considered path, not a link to a search.
Write to an advisor