Come for the moonlight, stay for the magic. Port Antonio is a made-for-romance setting, surrounded by turquoise waters and misty mountains. It's a tranquil town with twin harbours, a river called Rio Grande and a beach at Boston. A bottomless lagoon called Blue Hole, and roadsides framed with orchids and wild ferns will make your dreams come true.
The northeast coast is Jamaica's undiscovered quarter - one geared toward the traveler than the tourist.
It's one of the island least accessible coastal regions and also its wettest. The trip to this section is worth it.
This is the island's windward corner, where surf rolls ashore into perfect beach-lined coves, and waves chew at rocky headlands.
About Port Antonio, Jamaica
White-sand beaches and colonial-era edifices are relatively few, although several beautiful pocket-size beaches line the shore, and Long Bay has a spectacular wave-washed, diamond-dust beach. You 'll also find several unspoiled fishing villages where budget accommodations can be found.
The only town of importance is Port Antonio, popular with budget travelers looking for offbeat sport. A fistful of world-famous, deluxe resort-hotels 'unfold like a board game of castles and palaces,' say writer Herb Hiller, recalling the days when Errol Flynn and other luminaries lent the area renown and panache.
Port Antonio 68 miles east of Ocho Rios, has been the capital of Portland since 1723 when the parish was founded. Poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1855-1919) described the town as the 'most exquisite port on earth.' Back then it was Jamaica's main banana port. Melancholic Port Antonio's still has the rakish air and tropical lassitude of a maritime harbour, and there is little of the hustle of Montego Bay or Ocho Rios. Goats snoozing in the shade of verandas sum it all up.
Port Antonio has long resisted efforts to develop it as a tourist resort, despite the limelight provided by socialites who have vacationed her e for the past 50 years. In the past decade, it was also the setting of various movies, including The Mighty Quinn, Club Paradise, Cocktail an a remake of Lord of the Flies. The town comes half-alive each October during the International Marlin Tournament, considered Jamaica's most prestigious deep-sea fishing tournie.
Pictures of the square and buildings over 100 years old in the town of Port Antonio, Portland
Port Antonio is a charming seaside town nestled in tropical green hills with twin harbours and beautiful Navy Island. Following World War 1, the rich and famous began arriving in yachts, amongst them then world's wealthiest man, J.P. Morgan; newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst; actress Clara Bow; and the legendary lover-and-actor, Errol Flynn, who built a home on Navy Island (today a resort and marina, but originally a British naval station). They stayed in Tichfield, also the original name of the town, in a residential area which is till admired for its examples of Victorian gingerbread architecture including the classic DeMontevin Lodge which is over 128 years old.
A town from which 'green gold' bananas are shipped, Port Antonio is preferred by a select coterie who prefer to vacation out of the mainstream of Jamaica's tourism. It is also renowned for its International Marlin Tournament in October.
The upscale resorts and private villas east of town still help keep Port Antonio resolutely old-fashioned. To get a sense of the town's marvellous setting, you have to get up high. Follow Bonnie View Road to the hotel of that name or, better yet, head up to the well-named Jamaica Heights. The compact town center is nestled between twin harbours separated by the Titchfield peninsula from Navy Island, half a mile offshore at the mouth of the West Harbour.
Long Bay, Portland
Long Bay is one of the most dramatic settings in all of Jamaica. The aptly named bay is a 1-mile-wide crescent with rose-colored sand, deep turquoise waters, and breezes pushing the waves forcefully ashore. Canoes are drawn up on the beach with fishing nets drying beside them. You may be able to hire a fisherman to take you out. There's a dangerous undertow. A good place to admire the views is from the headland at the east end of the bay.
Long Bay appeals to budget travelers seeking to ease into a life of leisure in a fishing village that's a total escape from touristy resorts. A few surfers are also drawn, and the sunrises are spectacular. The lifestyle here is laid-back, but the locals are belligerent toward foreign visitors, although several roughneck-type foreigners have settled here and now live a counter-culture lifestyle.
