Boston Bay

Boston Bay is a small cove with the most consistent surf on the island, a beach break that works through the winter months, and it is also where jerk is generally said to have started: the Maroons in the hills behind cooked meat over pimento wood in pits, and the roadside stalls above the beach have been doing it commercially for decades. Ordering pork or chicken by the pound from the pits and eating it on the sand is the standard visit.

What you actually see

• The jerk pits - roadside stalls cooking over pimento wood above the beach.
• The surf - the island's most consistent beach break, working in winter.
• The cove - a small sheltered bay with sand between headlands.
• The pimento wood - the smoke that gives jerk its character, burning at the pits.

When to go

November to March brings the best surf. December to April is the drier season generally. Sundays and holidays are busiest at the jerk stalls.

Honest expectations

The beach is small and can be crowded. Vendors are persistent and prices for visitors are often quoted high; agreeing the weight and price first matters. Currents at the cove are strong when the swell is up.

Nearby

Long Bay is further east, and Port Antonio is west.