This historic port town on Jamaica's north coast has 19th-century Georgian architecture and one of the Caribbean's largest cruise terminals. Local vendors sell fresh produce at Water Square.
Falmouth sits on Jamaica's north coast, where Georgian buildings from the 1700s line the streets. You can walk past the columned courthouse and stone walls of St. Peter's Anglican Church, float down Martha Brae River on bamboo rafts, or swim in Luminous Lagoon's glowing waters. The town puts you within an hour's drive of Dunn's River Falls and Doctor's Cave Beach.
Swimming in the Glowing Waters
At night, the waters of Luminous Lagoon near Falmouth light up bright blue when disturbed. This happens at the meeting point of Martha Brae River and Caribbean Sea, where microorganisms emit light when the water moves. You can join 45-minute evening boat tours and swim in the illuminated water while guides explain the biological process. The blue glow appears strongest between 7 PM and 9 PM.
Walking Through 18th-Century Architecture
More than 150 buildings from the 1700s and early 1800s still stand in Falmouth's streets. The courthouse has classical columns and wooden jalousies that define Jamaican Georgian style. St. Peter's Anglican Church rises with stone walls and sash windows. In Water Square, local vendors sell fruits and spices beside former sugar and rum warehouses.
Floating Down Martha Brae River
Your three-mile bamboo raft journey meanders through forest sections where almond trees and bamboo groves hang over the water. Local guides steer the 30-foot rafts and point out medicinal plants and yellow-billed parrots along the way. Before boarding at Rafter's Village, you'll find changing rooms, a swimming pool, and a market where local craftspeople create bamboo items.
Visiting Nearby Beaches
Burwood Beach lies close to the cruise port with white sand and calm swimming waters. You'll find changing rooms, chair rentals, and vendors selling fresh coconuts and grilled fish. A 30-minute drive takes you to Doctor's Cave Beach in Montego Bay, where five miles of sand stretch along water that maintains 75-80°F year-round.
Taking Day Trips
Green Grotto Caves stretch over 5,000 feet underground with stalactite-filled chambers and lakes. In the 1700s, these caves served as hiding places for runaway enslaved people, and later became a filming location for Live and Let Die. An hour away at Dunn's River Falls, you can climb 600 feet up natural limestone terraces as water cascades around you.
Getting Around
Most people arrive through Falmouth Cruise Port or from Montego Bay's airport, 22 miles away. Take taxis with JTB (Jamaica Tourist Board) decals for regulated rates and safety standards. The town center follows a grid layout, making it easy to walk between Water Square and historic buildings.
Local Food and Drink
At Hampden Estate, workers make rum using copper stills and wooden fermentation vats from the 1700s. Tours show you how molasses ferments in cedar tanks for weeks before distillation. Around Water Square, street vendors cook Jamaican patties with spiced beef or curry goat filling. Try the jerk chicken, which marinates for 24 hours before slow-cooking over pimento wood.
