A Spectacular Day At Winnifred Beach, Portland

Winnifred Beach is a gorgeous stretch of unspoiled beach neatly perched along Jamaica’s north coast in Fairy Hill, Portland. Another testament to the magnificent beauty that is the parish of Portland; this strip of golden sand and turquoise waters is a popular local beach that lures visitors near and far for a day of fun and relaxation in the sun.

If there was ever a concern that the tourist resorts and hotels have grabbed up and privatized all of Jamaica’s most beautiful beaches, no worries. As one of Jamaica’s last remaining free beaches, Winnifred Beach proudly boasts crystal clear waters and finely milled powdery sand to rival any privately operated beach in the world.

Related: Boston Beach, Portland, Jamaica

The beach was named after the daughter of Quaker minister F. B. Brown and was designated as a rest place for missionaries, teachers, and the respectable poor.

A few years back, there was much buzz about the beach as there was an attempt to turn it into a private beach. This garned so much attention that Winnifred beach was even featured on the late world-renowned chef, best-selling author and Emmy-winning television personality Anthony Bourdain's CNN series, Parts Unknown.

Fortunately, after a 5 year legal battle between the community members and the Government of Jamaica's Urban Development Corporation (UDC), who sought to privatise the beach; ruling was made that the beach remain a free public beach for all to use. Therefore, Winnifred remains locally operated and is sometimes referred to as the people's beach.

How To Get There

To get to Portland from Kingston, you can take one of 2 ways. Either you take the junction roadway which connects Kingston and St. Andrew to the parishes of St. Mary and Portland. Or, you can drive via the North to South tollway and then enter from Ocho Rios/ Oracabessa side.

Depending on your chosen route you, the drive from Kingston to Portland takes anywhere from 2 hours to 3 and a half hours. With the journey to Portland from Kingston being quickest via the winding roads of the junction roadway.

The long drive may seem like a bit of a deterrent. But, mesmerizing scenery of beautiful Jamaican coastline and lush foliage from the tranquil countryside make the trip well worth the drive. The drive is so picturesque that you’ll be captivated just making the journey to Portland alone.

Once in Port Antonio, you can use Google maps to assist you to find the Fairy Hill district and the Winnifred beach.

Fairy Hill is approximately 13 km east of Port Antonio and is centered between the Blue Lagoon and Boston Bay communities respectively. Once in the Fairy Hill community, you'll see a sign that directs you to the beach. From there, it's around amother 5 minute downhill drive along a well-paved roadway towards the beach. All in all it's a pretty straightforward trip once you follow the signs.

The Experience

This unmarred beauty is just what the doctor ordered for a relaxing day out. Pristine white sands, crystal clear pools of blue and the sweet smell of salt water greeted our senses as we made our way to the beach.

I have repeatedly professed my undying love for the parish of Portland on this blog so let me just use this time to tell you to prepare for even more gushing about how wonderful this place is.

This was my first time ever heading to Winnifred beach so I wasn't sure what to expect. I've heard rave reviews about it for years, so I held my breath hoping that I wouldn't be let down by an overhyped underwhelming experience. And I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. Yaay Winnifred!!!

Although the beach is free for all to use, upon entering you are asked to leave a contribution of any monetary value to help with the upkeep of the beach. This is what is used to help keep the beach as immaculate as it is, so that visitors can continue to enjoy the pristine surroundings and amenities such as the bathrooms which is operated by members of the community.

Amenities

The beach offers an onsite parking lot where patrons can safely leave their vehicles while they explore the beach.

There is a bathroom/ changing room area which admittedly I didn't check out because I was already dressed in my swimsuit and hadn't needed to use the bathroom while I was there.

There are also a plethora of stalls and shops which offer visitors a variety of food, drinks, trinkets and knick-knacks. And an onsite restaurant where visitors can get their fill of scrumptious Jamaican cuisine. I heard it's one of the best places to get conch soup.

Winnifred beach also has an on duty lifeguard present to add a little comfort for those of us who aren't great swimmers.

And you can also rent beach equipment such as lounge chairs and floating devices to add a little spice to your beach day.

The Beach

Portland has been repeatedly been named one of Jamaica's most beautiful parishes with the most amazing beaches and Winnifred beach is no exception.

Visitors of the beach can revel in this tiny piece of paradise, as there is this sense of calm as your look out into the ocean’s blue. Winnifred beach is one of those places that is perfect for truly escaping and leaving your troubles behind. The laid-back feel and slow pace makes you feel just wonderful to live in the present moment.

Ever since Jamaica opened up it's tourism sector, droves of persons have flocked to the nearest water body to escape the months spent in quarantine and my day at the beach was no different. Locals and tourists alike laid out on the beach to soak up some sunshine and spend some quality time with family and friends.

The day started off with the beach being relatively empty with scattered pockets of visitors spread out across the beach. However, as the day went on, more and more groups started to arrive on the beach. The good thing though was that the beach was large enough that we could still practice social distancing as we enjoyed our day so I wasn’t overwhelmed.

Related: Monkey Island, Portland, Jamaica

I spent most of the day just lounging around and taking a dip in the cool and refreshing waters. I even got a jelly coconut for a delicious treat to keep me cool and refreshed during the day.

Winnifred beach is the kind of chill spot that is perfect for lounging, swimming and spending time with family and friends. There's even a little strip of land that can be used to play football and beach volleyball.

Lunch at Boston Jerk Center

Although Winnifred beach has its own restaurant onsite, my travel buddy, Vanessa and I opted to make the 10 minutes or so drive to the famed Boston Jerk center to fill our stomachs with jerk pork and jerk chicken and festival for lunch.

I've been to the Boston Jerk center many times and admittedly this is the first time I've left disappointed. I don't know if it was an off day but the food just didn't hit like it used to. Hopefully this was merely a one off thing and not the norm.

The Wrap Up

Overall, it was a marvelous day at Winnifred Beach. It has inches it's way to the top of my list as one of the best beaches I've been to. I most definitely recommend and will surely be going back sometime soon. Two thumbs all the way up.

Below I've attached my travel vlog of the trip. If you haven't yet subscribed to my YouTube channel, I'd love your support ❤️

Have you ever visited Winnifred beach before? Enjoyed it? What is your favourite local beach? I love hearing from you guys so leave your comments down below.

Winnifred Beach, Portland, Jamaica