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Affordable Caribbean: Jamaica
Peter Meehan for The New York Times
Some rooms at the Jamaica Heights Resort offer commanding views of Port Antonio.
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By PETER MEEHAN
Published: October 28, 2007
For many tourists, visiting Jamaica means checking into an all-inclusive resort along the white sand beaches of Negril or Montego Bay. But Port Antonio, in the northeastern parish of Portland, offers a more affordable alternative, along with a slower pace, fewer tourists and more cultural immersion than a weekend of pretty palm trees and stiff rum drinks on the beach.
Skip to next paragraph Affordable Caribbean
Guides and maps to 13 islands.
Select a destination Go to Overview ------- Anguilla Aruba Barbados Curaçao Dominican Republic Jamaica Martinique St. Barts St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Thomas Turks and Caicos Vieques var travelLocId = "jamaica";
Interactive Map Click to Explore Venues
Multimedia
Slide Show Affordable Caribbean: Jamaica
Where to Stay
Many of Jamaica’s cheapest hotels are in Long Bay, a sleepy beach town 30 minutes east of Port Antonio, but the area was hit hard by Hurricane Dean in August. So until Long Bay gets back on its feet, staying in or around Port Antonio is the way to go.
A bumpy ride up Springbank Road will take you to the Jamaica Heights Resort writeMarkerHTML('m101');
map (Springbank Road; 876-993-3305; www.jahsresort.com), which occupies a hilltop with a commanding view of the town’s coastline and the Blue Mountains. Most rooms, from $75 to $125, have private balconies with views, and are clean and handsome, furnished in an attractive colonial style with white wicker furniture and four-poster beds draped with lace mosquito netting. (There are also simpler “backpacker” accommodations for $45 a night.) Charmaine, the wife of the charming proprietor, Helmut Steiner, cooks an excellent breakfast ($12.50) that includes fresh fruit, fresh juice, guava jam, toast, Blue Mountain coffee and one hot dish.
Another hilltop perch is Hotel Mocking Bird Hill writeMarkerHTML('m102'); map (off the A4 between Boston Bay and Port Antonio; 876-993-7267; www.hotelmockingbirdhill.com), a 10-room hotel with a focus on sustainable tourism and island-breezy rooms starting at $125 until Dec. 19 and $165 during the winter high season. There are also a swimming pool and balconies with hammocks.
For more seclusion, try the Rio Vista Resort Villas writeMarkerHTML('m103'); map (off the A4 between Port Antonio and the Rio Grande River, 876-993-5444; www.riovistajamaica.com). It’s a little way out of town (about four miles west of Port Antonio), but the rooms are comfortably furnished, not terribly expensive (starting at $80 with breakfast), and the hotel has well-kept grounds planted with Caribbean flowers and fruits.
Where to Eat
When school lets out in the afternoon, a steady stream of taxis crammed with brightly uniformed students stops at Coronation Bakery writeMarkerHTML('m105'); map (138 Bryan Bay Street; 876-993-3824). Sweet soft breads are the Coronation’s stock in trade, but their beef patties — flaky, annatto-hued half moons stuffed with a mince of tender beef spiked with Jamaican seasonings — are the real find. And at 60 Jamaican dollars each (or $.82 at 73.19 Jamaican dollars to the U.S. dollar), the patties are one of the few things that can be bought with those attractive but nearly worthless Jamaican coins that pile up in your pockets.
Shine Eye Jerk Center writeMarkerHTML('m107'); map (Boundbrook Wharf Road; 876-776-8658) sells delicious jerk chicken for 400 Jamaican dollars a half bird. The chickens are perfectly roasted over a charcoal fire: the breast meat is moist and the skin, particularly on the legs, is almost potato-chip crisp. Miss Shine Eye, the proprietor, said she uses “wild spices” in her marinade, including purple-hued scallions, dried tree barks and spices gathered from the island’s jungle interior.
For sit-down fare, head to Cynthia’s writeMarkerHTML('m104'); map (Winnifred Beach, Portland; 876-347-7085), where everything is made to order, including the savory dough fritters called festival bread, which are rolled out one at a time and dropped into frying oil. Everything at Cynthia’s is good, but lobster — spiny lobster, not Maine lobster — shouldn’t be missed when it’s available. Meals begin at 500 Jamaican dollars, plus drinks.
At dinner, the no-frills (and no walls) Survival Beach Restaurant writeMarkerHTML('m106'); map (24 Folly Road; 876-384-4730) is one of the best deals in town. Housed under corrugated metal on a thin slice of beach just off the main road (A4), the restaurant serves Rastafarian Jamaican dinners: four or five vegetable preparations (callaloo, water spinach sautéed with garlic and onions, is a staple) are partnered with rice and peas for just 1,000 Jamaican dollars.
Free Beaches
Most of the beaches near Port Antonio are free, tucked into breaks along the rocky coastline between town and Boston Bay to the east. (Frenchman’s Cove, which charges a 300 Jamaican dollar entrance and offers chair rentals and waiter service, is an exception that’s worth the small fee.) The sparsely attended Winnifred Beach, writeMarkerHTML('m112'); mapprotected by a reef that keeps the shallow waters calm and warm, has a good amount of sand to stretch out on and shady trees for those particularly hot days. The beach is dotted with several colorful beach shacks, should you need a Red Stripe (about 100 Jamaican dollars) to cool you off from the sun.
Where to Party
Small bars abound in Port Antonio, mostly modest affairs geared toward locals. West Street, in the center of town, is home to a couple of clubs that play reggae, soca and dancehall music. The local favorite is the Roof Club writeMarkerHTML('m111'); map (11 West Street; no phone) a bare-bones place where the dance floor starts to get going late (after 11 p.m.), the music is louder than loud, and the room is filled with a sweet-smelling smoky haze.
What to Do
Much of Port Antonio’s allure is its physical beauty: calm azure waters wash up on white sand beaches that give way to jungle-green hills backed by the Blue Mountain range. Take in that view from a boat, which can be chartered here for a song. Four people can go on a languorous eight-hour ride to Monkey Island for lazing, to the Blue Lagoon for a dip, then to Winnifred Beach for lunch and back again to the western end of Port Antonio, for about 4,500 Jamaican dollars (less for shorter trips). The captain is Dennis Butler (876-854-4763), who keeps his charter boat at Shan Shy Beach, below his father’s Rastafarian restaurant, Dickie’s Best Kept Secret; if he is unavailable, ask around the Blue Lagoon or at your hotel for recommendations.
What to Buy
Most shops in Port Antonio are geared toward necessities, not excesses, but the Musgrave Market in the heart of town writeMarkerHTML('m110'); map (West Street between Port Antonio Square and Main Square) isn’t a bad place to catch a little local flavor and pick up some souvenirs, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, when farmers from the surrounding hills come and sell their goods. Rock Bottom (876-844-9946), a wood carver who makes calabash bowls, brown coral bracelets and decorative wood cutting from blue mahoe, has been plying his trade at Musgrave for more than 20 years. Find him at the back of the market.
Share or read tips on visiting Kingston cheaply.
Peter Meehan for The New York TimesSome rooms at the Jamaica Heights Resort offer commanding views of Port Antonio.
writePost();
By PETER MEEHAN
Published: October 28, 2007
For many tourists, visiting Jamaica means checking into an all-inclusive resort along the white sand beaches of Negril or Montego Bay. But Port Antonio, in the northeastern parish of Portland, offers a more affordable alternative, along with a slower pace, fewer tourists and more cultural immersion than a weekend of pretty palm trees and stiff rum drinks on the beach.
Skip to next paragraph Affordable Caribbean
Guides and maps to 13 islands.
Select a destination Go to Overview ------- Anguilla Aruba Barbados Curaçao Dominican Republic Jamaica Martinique St. Barts St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Thomas Turks and Caicos Vieques var travelLocId = "jamaica";
Interactive Map Click to Explore Venues Multimedia
Slide Show Affordable Caribbean: Jamaica Where to Stay
Many of Jamaica’s cheapest hotels are in Long Bay, a sleepy beach town 30 minutes east of Port Antonio, but the area was hit hard by Hurricane Dean in August. So until Long Bay gets back on its feet, staying in or around Port Antonio is the way to go.
A bumpy ride up Springbank Road will take you to the Jamaica Heights Resort writeMarkerHTML('m101');
map (Springbank Road; 876-993-3305; www.jahsresort.com), which occupies a hilltop with a commanding view of the town’s coastline and the Blue Mountains. Most rooms, from $75 to $125, have private balconies with views, and are clean and handsome, furnished in an attractive colonial style with white wicker furniture and four-poster beds draped with lace mosquito netting. (There are also simpler “backpacker” accommodations for $45 a night.) Charmaine, the wife of the charming proprietor, Helmut Steiner, cooks an excellent breakfast ($12.50) that includes fresh fruit, fresh juice, guava jam, toast, Blue Mountain coffee and one hot dish.Another hilltop perch is Hotel Mocking Bird Hill writeMarkerHTML('m102');
map (off the A4 between Boston Bay and Port Antonio; 876-993-7267; www.hotelmockingbirdhill.com), a 10-room hotel with a focus on sustainable tourism and island-breezy rooms starting at $125 until Dec. 19 and $165 during the winter high season. There are also a swimming pool and balconies with hammocks.For more seclusion, try the Rio Vista Resort Villas writeMarkerHTML('m103');
map (off the A4 between Port Antonio and the Rio Grande River, 876-993-5444; www.riovistajamaica.com). It’s a little way out of town (about four miles west of Port Antonio), but the rooms are comfortably furnished, not terribly expensive (starting at $80 with breakfast), and the hotel has well-kept grounds planted with Caribbean flowers and fruits.Where to Eat
When school lets out in the afternoon, a steady stream of taxis crammed with brightly uniformed students stops at Coronation Bakery writeMarkerHTML('m105');
map (138 Bryan Bay Street; 876-993-3824). Sweet soft breads are the Coronation’s stock in trade, but their beef patties — flaky, annatto-hued half moons stuffed with a mince of tender beef spiked with Jamaican seasonings — are the real find. And at 60 Jamaican dollars each (or $.82 at 73.19 Jamaican dollars to the U.S. dollar), the patties are one of the few things that can be bought with those attractive but nearly worthless Jamaican coins that pile up in your pockets.Shine Eye Jerk Center writeMarkerHTML('m107');
map (Boundbrook Wharf Road; 876-776-8658) sells delicious jerk chicken for 400 Jamaican dollars a half bird. The chickens are perfectly roasted over a charcoal fire: the breast meat is moist and the skin, particularly on the legs, is almost potato-chip crisp. Miss Shine Eye, the proprietor, said she uses “wild spices” in her marinade, including purple-hued scallions, dried tree barks and spices gathered from the island’s jungle interior.For sit-down fare, head to Cynthia’s writeMarkerHTML('m104');
map (Winnifred Beach, Portland; 876-347-7085), where everything is made to order, including the savory dough fritters called festival bread, which are rolled out one at a time and dropped into frying oil. Everything at Cynthia’s is good, but lobster — spiny lobster, not Maine lobster — shouldn’t be missed when it’s available. Meals begin at 500 Jamaican dollars, plus drinks.At dinner, the no-frills (and no walls) Survival Beach Restaurant writeMarkerHTML('m106');
map (24 Folly Road; 876-384-4730) is one of the best deals in town. Housed under corrugated metal on a thin slice of beach just off the main road (A4), the restaurant serves Rastafarian Jamaican dinners: four or five vegetable preparations (callaloo, water spinach sautéed with garlic and onions, is a staple) are partnered with rice and peas for just 1,000 Jamaican dollars.Free Beaches
Most of the beaches near Port Antonio are free, tucked into breaks along the rocky coastline between town and Boston Bay to the east. (Frenchman’s Cove, which charges a 300 Jamaican dollar entrance and offers chair rentals and waiter service, is an exception that’s worth the small fee.) The sparsely attended Winnifred Beach, writeMarkerHTML('m112');
mapprotected by a reef that keeps the shallow waters calm and warm, has a good amount of sand to stretch out on and shady trees for those particularly hot days. The beach is dotted with several colorful beach shacks, should you need a Red Stripe (about 100 Jamaican dollars) to cool you off from the sun. Where to Party
Small bars abound in Port Antonio, mostly modest affairs geared toward locals. West Street, in the center of town, is home to a couple of clubs that play reggae, soca and dancehall music. The local favorite is the Roof Club writeMarkerHTML('m111');
map (11 West Street; no phone) a bare-bones place where the dance floor starts to get going late (after 11 p.m.), the music is louder than loud, and the room is filled with a sweet-smelling smoky haze. What to Do
Much of Port Antonio’s allure is its physical beauty: calm azure waters wash up on white sand beaches that give way to jungle-green hills backed by the Blue Mountain range. Take in that view from a boat, which can be chartered here for a song. Four people can go on a languorous eight-hour ride to Monkey Island for lazing, to the Blue Lagoon for a dip, then to Winnifred Beach for lunch and back again to the western end of Port Antonio, for about 4,500 Jamaican dollars (less for shorter trips). The captain is Dennis Butler (876-854-4763), who keeps his charter boat at Shan Shy Beach, below his father’s Rastafarian restaurant, Dickie’s Best Kept Secret; if he is unavailable, ask around the Blue Lagoon or at your hotel for recommendations.
What to Buy
Most shops in Port Antonio are geared toward necessities, not excesses, but the Musgrave Market in the heart of town writeMarkerHTML('m110');
map (West Street between Port Antonio Square and Main Square) isn’t a bad place to catch a little local flavor and pick up some souvenirs, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, when farmers from the surrounding hills come and sell their goods. Rock Bottom (876-844-9946), a wood carver who makes calabash bowls, brown coral bracelets and decorative wood cutting from blue mahoe, has been plying his trade at Musgrave for more than 20 years. Find him at the back of the market. Share or read tips on visiting Kingston cheaply.
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