Port Antonio and the East Coast

The Arts

The parishes of Portland and St. Thomas form Jamaica’s easternmost region and contain the island’s least exploited natural treasures. A quiet town in the center of Portland’s coast affectionately known as "Portie," Port Antonio boasts some of Jamaica’s most secluded beaches among a handful of other stunning natural wonders.

The world-famous Blue Hole, or Blue Lagoon, where ice-cold spring water mixes with the warm waves lapping in from the sea, is surreal beyond measure and reason in itself to visit the region.

Navy Island, an abandoned little paradise in the middle of Port Antonio's twin harbors, is surrounded by coral reefs and sand bars. Steep, lush hills rise from a coastline dotted with beaches, inlets, and mangroves. Reach Falls is a nature lover's paradise, where local guides take visitors by the hand along trails that only they can see through the middle of the river. In Bath, natural hot springs have a mineral composition that is said to cure almost any ailment. When one of these destinations occupies top priority on your daily agenda, life just seems to flow at the right speed. Perhaps the languid pace of this side of the island is just meant to be, and as a visitor you won't be sorry for the lack of crowds.

Located about 65 kilometers from Morant Bay around the eastern flank of the John Crow Mountains and about 95 kilometers east of Port Maria, Port Antonio is the largest town in Portland, and the parish capital. The fact that the area attracts only a minute fraction of the three million or so visitors Jamaica gets each year is either the way it should be, or a crying shame, depending on whom you ask. Those who depend on the tourist trade complain the area is not marketed to its potential, while it is said those who own the area's most extravagant private homes prefer it just the way it is.

Extras

Let us help you on your way!

Car rental

Airport Lounges

  

 

Carriacou Gallery

Carriacou Gallery (9 a.m.5 p.m daily) features work of co-owner Barbara Walker, in addition to many other local artists.

In: Art Studios and Galleries

Michael Layne

Michael Layne: considered by many the top ceramist in the parish and has exhibited at galleries in Kingston countless times. Layne was born and raised in Portland, studying at Titchfield High School and then going on to Edna Manley College in Kingston to concentrate in ceramics. Today Layne teaches art at Titchfield High School and works out of his home studio (open by appointment), where he creates works that include large bottles, bowls, and vases assembled with clay slabs, decorated with oxides, and single fired.

In: Art Studios and Galleries