All activities / River Cruising / Scenic Float / Portsmouth
River Cruising / Scenic Float in Portsmouth
Dominica's second town, on Prince Rupert Bay on the north-west coast, beside the Cabrits National Park and its restored 18th-century Fort Shirley. The town sits at the mouth of the Indian River, the island's widest, whose mangrove-lined lower reaches are a protected reserve toured by hand-rowed boat and known as a Pirates of the Caribbean filming location.
Why here
The Indian River tour is the gentlest, most atmospheric hour in Dominica, a slow row up a protected mangrove river into the coastal rainforest. Motors are banned inside the reserve, so a local guide rows you upstream by hand from the river mouth at Portsmouth, and the quiet is the point: the only sounds are the oars and the birds. The lower river is walled by huge buttressed bwa mangue swamp-bloodwood trees whose roots splay out across the banks and arch overhead into a green tunnel, and in their shade you spot herons, egrets, kingfishers, land crabs and iguanas. Fans know the river as a Pirates of the Caribbean location, the swamp shack built here for Tia Dalma, the witch character in Dead Man's Chest, and guides point out where the set stood. The row usually pauses at a rustic riverside bush bar deep in the greenery for a rum punch before drifting back down on the current. It is not adventure so much as immersion, a short, cheap, richly guided float that reads the ecology and history of the coast, and an easy counterpoint to the island's hard hikes and dives.
Best months
The tour runs year round and takes about an hour to 90 minutes on flat, slow water, so it suits all ages and needs no fitness or experience. The drier season from December to June brings clearer water and calmer weather; heavy rain upriver can raise and cloud the water and occasionally interrupts trips. Mornings are best for birdlife and light through the canopy, and it can be buggy in the mangroves, so bring insect repellent, sun cover and a hat. Boats are small and open, rowed rather than motored inside the reserve; expect to get in and out at a low wooden landing.
Getting there & around
The Indian River tour starts from the boat landing at the river mouth in Portsmouth, on the north-west coast about an hour's drive from Roseau and around 45 minutes from Douglas Charles airport. Guides are licensed members of the Portsmouth Indian River tour guides' association and take turns; you can arrange a boat at the landing or book an operator ahead, especially on cruise days when it is busy. Trips run to a fixed reserve tariff, take an hour to 90 minutes, and often include a stop at the riverside bush bar. Bring small cash for the guide, the bar and a tip, plus repellent for the mangroves.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Cobra Tours
OutfitterCobra Tours, run by Andrew 'Cobra' O'Brien, has operated from the mouth of the Indian River in Portsmouth for over thirty years and won a national Director of Tourism award. Its guides row visitors upstream by hand, since no motors are allowed inside the protected reserve, past the swamp set built for the witch's house in Pirates of the Caribbean, to a riverside bush bar. The family firm also runs island tours, water taxis and full yacht-agent services.