The South Coast

Jamaica > The South Coast & Mandeville

The South Coast & Mandeville

While Negril gets the crowds, the South Coast of Jamaica has only recently begun to attract visitors. The Arawak once lived in sylvan simplicity along these shores before their civilization was destroyed. Early Spanish settlers came here searching for gold; today's traveler comes looking for the untrammeled sands of its secluded beaches. Fishermen still sell their catch at colorful local markets, and the prices, as they say here, are "the way they used to be" in Jamaica.

Most visitors here come east from Negril through Savanna-la-Mar to the high-country, British-style town of Mandeville, then on to a boat tour up the Black River, home of freshwater crocodiles. (Those with more time hit Treasure Beach first before going on to Mandeville.)

The area attracts an adventure-oriented visitor who doesn't want to be picked up in a minivan and hauled to an all-inclusive hotel behind a guarded compound with canned entertainment. It's a sleepy place devoid of duty-free stores, musicians in yellow shirts singing "Yellow Bird," and toga parties. Instead of air-conditioning, you get mosquito nets and ceiling fans.

Yet the beaches here are the equal of those of Mo Bay or Ocho Rios. Restaurants, for the most part, are of the sort you'd have found along the roadside in Jamaica in the 1950s - and some of them are still charging 1950s prices. Local lifestyles, too, remain mostly unchanged by time.

This last frontier of Jamaica will no doubt be invaded by tourism within the next decade or so. But for now it appears, at least in its more remote parts, a sleepy dream from long ago.

The South Coast

Think of this as the undiscovered Jamaica, though the region is beginning to attract more visitors every year; they're drawn by Jamaica's sunniest climate.

Local adventures are plentiful on the South Coast. Among the most popular is a boat tour up the Black River, once a major logging conduit. Another favorite is the trip to the Y. S. Falls, where seven spectacular cascades tumble over rocks in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, just north of the town of Middle Quarters.

Bluefields & Belmont

These twin fishing villages are approached via the Al highway, 12 miles (19 km) to the southeast of Savanna-la-Mar. Bluefields Beach (actually a series of small beaches) is one of the finest in the area, drawing visitors every weekend from as far away as Kingston.

Exploring the Area

To reach the South Coast, head east from Negril, following the signposts to Savanna-la-Mar along Sheffield Road; the highway isn't particularly good until it broadens into the A2 at Savanna. After passing through the village of Blue-fields, continue southeast to the small town of Black River, which opens onto Black River Bay.

From Black River you can take the A2 north and northeast to the city of Mandeville, Or you can continue along the coast to Treasure Beach, though the road narrows at this point. If you'd like to continue to the very end of the road, head east to attractions at quaintly named Lover's Leap, Alligator Pond, and Milk River Bath.

Discuss This Article (The South Coast & Mandeville)

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Streets Of Mandeville

by LIZ from Ontario, Canada

My husband was deported to Jamaica recently. He says he has an apartment in a house on Monitor Road or Monitor Street in Mandeville. I can't find them on any map. Lately he has been acting very dodgey on the phone, constantly asking for money, and lying to me about various things that I catch him on, so I just wondered if there is such a road in Mandeville. Mandeville is always the city name that comes up on my cell phone bill.

Jamaican Vacation

by cherry chung from Jamaican living in Canada.

I am a Jamaican living in Canada. Last time i went to Jamaica for three weeks vacation, most wonderful time I spent with my husband. We leave Kingston to Ocho Rios stop off at the Crane Ridge Resort for a couple of nights then move on to the Green Crotto, then to the White whitch of Rosehall. Then a couple of days at the Glorianna hotel in Montego Bay, then back to Clarendon where i was originally from, was a wonderful holiday.

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