Les Cayes is at about 196 km southwest of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. It is also the chief town of an "arrondissement" (a part of a department) with the same name. The "arrondissement" has six "communes" (a "commune" is like a municipality): Les Cayes, Camp-Perrin, Chantal, Île à Vache, Maniche and Torbeck.