North Coast Jamaica: Ocho Rios Falls, the Blue Hole, Ian Fleming GoldenEye, and the Original Port Antonio
The north coast destinations accessible from Montego Bay extend from the famous cascade climb at Dunn's River Falls and the wild jungle swimming of the Blue Hole to the literary estates of Ian Fleming and Noel Coward and the most isolated and beautiful resort of Port Antonio.
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Ocho Rios: The Waterfall Town
Ocho Rios, the resort town 100 kilometers east of Montego Bay on the north coast, is most famous for the Dunn's River Falls, the limestone terrace waterfall that visitors climb in human chains guided by the waterfall staff in one of the most popular tourist activities in the Caribbean. Ocho Rios has the cruise ship infrastructure of a primary port of call and the full range of all-inclusive resorts alongside the Dunn's River attraction.
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Dunn's River Falls: The Cascade Climb
Dunn's River Falls at Ocho Rios, the 180-meter limestone terrace cascade that descends to the Caribbean Sea through a series of natural pools, is the most visited single natural attraction in Jamaica and the signature activity of the cruise ship excursion circuit; the guided group climb up the slippery limestone steps, holding hands in a human chain, is an experience of collective hilarity and mild physical challenge that has been repeated by millions of visitors.
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Blue Hole: The Jungle Swimming Hole
The Blue Hole, a series of turquoise freshwater swimming holes and small waterfalls in the Ocho Rios hinterland accessible by 4x4 excursion and a short jungle trail, provides the counter to the commercial Dunn's River experience: a more wild, physically engaging exploration of the limestone cave pools and the rope swing jumps that gives the adventure-seeking visitor a genuine off-the-beaten-track jungle swimming experience within the resort zone.
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Ian Fleming: The James Bond Jamaica Connection
Ian Fleming wrote all 14 of the James Bond novels at his GoldenEye estate on the north coast between St. Mary and Ocho Rios, having discovered the Jamaican north coast during a wartime intelligence mission and returned after the war to build the simple concrete house he described as his place of work and play. The GoldenEye property is now a luxury boutique resort accessible to visitors for accommodation and the cultural experience of the room where Bond was invented.
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Firefly: Noel Coward's Jamaica
Firefly, the hilltop estate of Noel Coward above Ocho Rios where the playwright and entertainer lived from 1956 until his death in 1973 and is buried in the garden, is preserved as a museum with the personal effects of Coward including his studio paints, his grand piano, and the views over the north coast that he described as the finest in the world. The Coward connection, alongside the Fleming connection, gives the north coast literary heritage a distinctly mid-century English cultural character.
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Port Antonio: The Original Jamaica
Port Antonio in Portland parish, the most isolated and the most beautiful of the Jamaican resort towns, was the original tourist destination in Jamaica developed by the Boston Fruit Company at the end of the 19th century; the twin harbour, the Blue Hole mineral spring, and the Reach Falls in the Rio Grande valley make Port Antonio the finest destination on the island for visitors seeking the authentic Jamaican landscape without the resort development of the north coast corridor.