Treasure Beach

Treasure Beach is not one beach but a run of four fishing bays along Jamaica's arid south coast, where cactus grows on the headlands, the sand runs from gold to grey-black, and the sea is rougher and less postcard-turquoise than the north. What it has instead is a community that built its own kind of tourism: small locally owned guesthouses instead of all-inclusives, fishermen who double as boat guides, and a rhythm that visitors describe as the real Jamaica far more often than any resort strip. Boats leave from here for Floyd's Pelican Bar, a driftwood shack standing on a sandbar a mile offshore.

What you actually see

• The four bays - Frenchman's, Calabash, Great Bay and Billy's Bay.
• Floyd's Pelican Bar - the stilted driftwood bar on an offshore sandbar.
• Fishing boats on the sand - the working pirogues that define the coast.
• Lover's Leap - the dramatic cliff viewpoint east along the coast.

When to go

The south coast is the driest part of Jamaica, so it works most of the year; December to April is calmest and sunniest. Hurricane season runs June to November. The Calabash literary festival brings the area alive in early summer on alternate years.

Honest expectations

Swimming here needs care - the south coast has real surf and currents on some bays, and there are no lifeguards; ask locally which bay is safe on the day. Sand is coarse and darker than the north coast, so anyone chasing white powder should look elsewhere. Nightlife is minimal and that is the appeal. A car helps enormously, as sights are spread and buses are slow.

Nearby

Black River safari, YS Falls and Lover's Leap are all within an hour.