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Jamaican All-Inclusive Vacations
weddings and honeymoons
Jamaica
is a land of endless natural beauty, blessed by nature with mountains, beaches and rivers
beyond compare. No matter your taste, Jamaica has a location for you. Whether you are
looking for the intensity and nightlife of Jamaica's tourism capital Montego Bay, the lush landscapes and waterfalls of Ocho Rios or the tranquility and endless beaches of Negril, you'll fall in love with this island nation. This land is
the home of Reggae music, and birthplace of the legendary Bob Marley who helped spread
reggae music worldwide. Few places on earth offer Jamaica's diversity in culture,
activities and natural beauty. Escape to Eden
Vacations welcomes you to "Come to Jamaica
and Feel Alright"
Jamaica's lesser known cities and locations
Port Antonio
Errol Flynn called Port Antonio heaven on earth--a description echoed by
subsequent visitors who have found this island Eden to be, quite simply, the ultimate
vacation destination. We call it Jamaica’s heart and soul retreat.
Nestled between twin harbors on the island’s northeast curve, where mist-shrouded
mountains drop down to the sea, Port Antonio more than lives up to its reputation as
"the most exquisite port on earth."
Orchids,
bananas and palm trees grow in profusion. Waterfalls drop into fern-edged pools. And some
of the island’s most elegant villas and charming small hotels are tucked into
hillsides overlooking secluded azure coves.
Founded in 1723, Port Antonio was Jamaica’s most important center for banana growth
and export in the late 1800s. One of the island’s first hotels was built here in
1905, and it soon became a vacation mecca for the rich and famous of the day.
Hollywood’s elite arrived in the 1950s, a few years after Errol Flynn sought shelter
in the harbor on his yacht and decided not to leave: He eventually bought several
properties in the area, including a still-thriving plantation.
Today, Port Antonio’s unrivalled beauty makes it popular for movies and fashion
shoots, while its resorts and villas continue to provide inspiration for celebrities,
writers, royalty, and captains of industry, commerce and politics.
From the Romanesque ruins of the Folly, a mansion unwisely built of concrete and seawater,
to Fort George, an 18th-century British stronghold whose cannons still point out to sea,
the past is only a heartbeat away in Port Antonio.
Maybe that’s why life moves at a slower pace then it does elsewhere, so there’s
more time to enjoy swimming, snorkeling or scuba-diving in the shimmering Blue Lagoon,
which is fed by freshwater springs and said to reach a depth of 200 feet.
A bamboo raft ride down the Rio Grande River or a dip in the refreshing pool at the base
of Somerset Falls are other popular activities. Strolling through tropical Athenry Gardens
and exploring the ancient stalagmites and stalactites of Nonsuch Caves, where rare fossils
and Indian relics have been found, another.
Even the most active vacationer will be fulfilled by the leisurely hiking and horseback
riding trips through the Rio Grande Valley which are offered by Valley Hikes, an
award-winning eco-tour organization that also offers excursions to the historic Maroon
settlement of Moore Town.
Basking on the smooth sand of Frenchman’s Cove or any of Port Antonio’s idyllic
beaches could be the best choice of all--unless fishing is a passion. Port Antonio has
some of the best deep-sea fishing in Jamaica, with marlin, tuna, kingfish and dolphin in
abundance, and hosts the annual International Marlin Tournament in October.
Jamaica’s mouth-tingling "jerk"-style pork and chicken is a local specialty
— and some of the island’s best can be found at Boston Beach, the
"birthplace" of jerk cuisine in Jamaica, just east of town.
Accommodations in Port Antonio span the upscale elegance of villas and the luxurious
resort hotels, to the hillside charm of moderately priced small hotels and inns.
Navy Island, set between Port Antonio’s two harbors and reached by ferry, was once
owned by Errol Flynn and renowned for wild Hollywood parties. Today the island is far
quieter—and a favorite for picnics and daytrips.
Picture-perfect, Port Antonio is a panorama of nature’s finest work. Errol Flynn said
this place was more beautiful than any woman he’d ever seen. Others say it is simply
enchanting. Come and experience the graciousness of another era set against the verdant
beauty of nature. Port Antonio, naturally.
The South Coast
Orchids and blue lilies bloom in Mandeville, a breezy hill
town that was founded in 1816 and named for the son of Jamaica’s longest-serving
colonial governor, the Duke of Manchester. This is Jamaica’s other side; a side not
to be missed if you really want to know the true heart of Jamaica.
At 2,000 feet above sea level, with a village green bordered by a 19th-century church and
courthouse, Mandeville’s cool climate, gardens and genteel British heritage have long
made it a favorite weekend destination for Jamaicans as well as discerning visitors.
 Hiking and horseback riding through a rolling countryside rich in orange
and tangerine groves (Jamaica’s ortanique, a blend of both, was developed here in the
1920s) are popular. So are the garden tours offered by the local horticultural society --
and golf at the Manchester Club, which was founded in 1868 and boasts the country’s
oldest (nine-hole) course.
Birdwatchers and hikers, meanwhile, can flock (by appointment) to Marshall’s Pen, a
300-acre cattle farm with a well-kept 18th-century Great House, beautiful gardens and a
renowned bird sanctuary.
About thirty miles southeast of Mandeville, the tranquil South Coast beckons with the Milk
River Bath, a spa that dates back to 1794 and boasts curative waters fifty times more
potent than those of Vichy or Baden-Baden.
This "quiet side" of Jamaica also boasts numerous natural attractions and
wildlife refuges, including the Long Bay Morass, near the fishing village of Alligator
Pond, a swampy refuge for the rare, protected manatee as well as crocodiles. (Unlike those
found elsewhere in the world, Jamaica’s crocodiles are a docile bunch that feed
mainly on fish.)
At Black River, further west, accommodations are available at historic Invercauld Great
House and Hotel. Boat trips take visitors along Jamaica’s longest river into another
freshwater swamp filled with herons, snowy egrets and more of the island’s
crocodiles--many of which are so familiar to guides they’ve been given names like
George and Fred.
The main road between Mandeville and Black River passes through Bamboo Avenue, a
translucent, two-mile-long green tunnel formed by century-old bamboo groves. Detours along
the way lead to the famous Appleton Estate’s sugar factory and rum distillery, as
well as to YS Falls, where a series of pools provide ideal swimming.
The Treasure Beach area, between Black River and Alligator Pond, is another excellent spot
for swimming and is fast becoming Jamaica’s most desirable out-of-the-way vacation
spot.
A few miles from Treasure Beach, where the Santa Cruz Mountains meet the sea, a lookout
point 1,500 feet above the water is known as Lover’s Leap. Legend says that two young
slaves secretly met nearby and pledged their undying love. When their owner decided to
sell one of them, the desperate couple jumped off the cliff hand-in-hand -- but were saved
by a golden net cast by the moon.
From the verdant mountains to the craggy coastline, you’ll find the South Coast of
Jamaica is not just another shore. Come. Here is where you’ll discover another world.
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