TREASURE BEACH · ST. ELIZABETH

Treasure Beach isn't for everyone — and that's exactly the point. Five quiet coves along Jamaica's south coast in St. Elizabeth parish — Billy's Bay, Calabash Bay, Fort Charles, Frenchman's Bay, and Great Bay — make up a community that pioneered the concept of community tourism in Jamaica. There are no all-inclusive resorts here. Density restrictions keep buildings low, and the beaches are all public. Fishermen pull painted canoes onto dark sand at dawn, and the loudest sound most evenings is the clink of a rum bottle at Jack Sprat, the beachfront restaurant at Jakes Hotel. Jakes itself is the anchor — a boutique property built by the Henzell family that set the template for everything Treasure Beach has become. Katamah Beachfront Resort offers treehouse-style rooms with the waves directly below. Doubloon Villa, Rainbow Tree Villa, and Treasure Beach Hotel round out an accommodation scene that prioritizes character over chain branding. The community bounced back from Hurricane Beryl in 2024 and Hurricane Melissa in 2025 with the kind of resilience that defines the people here. A mile offshore, Floyd's Pelican Bar sits on a sandbar — a driftwood shack accessible only by boat where you carve your name into the wood and drink Red Stripe in the middle of the sea. It's the most photographed bar in Jamaica for good reason. Treasure Beach sits between two airports with no easy option. From Kingston (KIN), it's $610 (4h 15m) south through Mandeville. From MBJ, $365 (2h 40m) over the mountains via Bamboo Avenue's cathedral of coconut palms. From OCJ, $765 (4h 25m). A private transfer from MBJ to Treasure Beach costs $365 and takes 2 hours 40 minutes with Aurum Transfers.