Treasure Beach Explained

Treasure Beach
Settlement Type:Beach Resort
Pushpin Map:Jamaica
Pushpin Mapsize:260
Coordinates:17.876°N -77.7572°W
Coordinates Footnotes:[1]
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Jamaica
Subdivision Type1:Parish
Subdivision Name1:St Elizabeth
Timezone1:EST
Utc Offset1:-5

Treasure Beach is the name given to a stretch of four Jamaican coves and their associated settlements: Billy's Bay, Frenchman's Bay, Calabash Bay and Great (Pedro) Bay.[2]

The region is isolated from the main tourist areas and the minor roads connecting with the main highway at Black River or Santa Cruz tend to suffer damage in heavy rain, but are usually passable with care.[3] The roads have being rehabilitated and are now better than previous years. There are a few small hotels and guest houses serving tourists seeking a very quiet seaside location.

Hurricane Beryl hit the villages on July 3, 2024 and caused a great deal of damage to the area.

History

The beach resort takes its name from "The Treasure Beach Hotel" opened by a Canadian man who was invited by the Senior Family in the early 1900s. It went on to become the name given to four bays in the surrounding area.

Fort Charles Bay

Fort Charles Bay is the first beach you get to from Black River. The beach is 18 km (11 miles) long and a great swimming beach.

Billy's Bay

Billy's Bay is 3 km (2 miles) east of Fort Charles Bay and is the second fishing beach and settlement reached when approaching Treasure Beach from Black River.

Frenchman's Bay

Frenchman's Bay is the second beach and settlement reached when approaching Treasure Beach from Black River.

There are a number of small, bustling restaurants.[4]

Calabash Bay

From the Pedro Bluff heading west, it’s the second of the bays, after Great Bay, a quaint little fishing settlement with a population of about 3000.

Calabash bay is a 600m long beach has a narrow strip of brown sand mixed with magnetite (black sand). The swimming is good, but since the beach is open to the south, small breakers sometimes appear when it’s windy. Tourists seeking to escape the all-inclusive-shut-in-the-hotel experience find this area of the island most satisfying.

There are a few simple restaurants in the village.

The former Old Wharf Hotel housed a residential treatment facility named Tranquility Bay.[5]

Great (Pedro) Bay

Great Pedro Bay is the most easterly of the settlements and beaches that make up Treasure Beach. The road ends here, regardless of where you are coming from.

See also

External links

Treasure Beach general

Billy's Bay

Frenchman's Bay

Calabash Bay

Great Pedro Bay

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wikimapia. 2009-09-07.
  2. Book: Berkmoes, Ryan Ver. Caribbean Islands. Lonely Planet. 2008-10-01. 5th Revised. 978-1-74059-575-9.
  3. UK Directorate of Overseas Surveys 1:50,000 map of Jamaica sheet E, 1958.
  4. Web site: Jamaica's Other Side. Harris. Patricia. September 2003. Newsweek Budget Travel, Inc.. 2009-09-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20110718225433/http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2005/06/04/AR2005060400587.html. 2011-07-18. dead.
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20030813193704/http://www.tranquilitybay.org/ Home Page