Floyd's Pelican Bar

Floyd Forbes built a shack out of driftwood and scrap on a sandbar about a kilometre off Parottee Point in the early 2000s, initially as somewhere to sit while fishing, and it turned into one of the more photographed places in Jamaica: a bar on stilts standing in waist-deep water with nothing around it but sea. Boats run out from the shore, people swim off the sandbar and eat fish cooked on the spot. Hurricanes have destroyed it more than once and it has been rebuilt each time.

What you actually see

• The bar - a driftwood structure on stilts standing a kilometre offshore.
• The sandbar - waist-deep water around the bar, walkable in places.
• The boat run - a fifteen to twenty minute trip out from the shore.
• The fish - caught and cooked on the spot when it is available.

When to go

December to April is the calmest and driest. Rough sea stops the boats entirely and this is common in hurricane season. Late afternoon is the classic time to be out there.

Honest expectations

Boat fares vary widely and should be agreed in full before setting out, including the return. The bar has been destroyed by hurricanes several times and rebuilt. There is no shade or shelter to speak of and no facilities.

Nearby

Treasure Beach is west, and Black River is northwest.