Everyone knows about Pelican Bar near Black River in St Elizabeth.  But now there’s a new bar that floats and deserves some attention!  Why?  Because  which ever one of us gets there first will be the FIRST tourists who have seen it.  And because it’s a genius idea!

I got a text message yesterday from my friend Shelley in St Elizabeth, the same guy who gave me the coolest motorbike tour of the south coast in January.  It seems one of his friends opened up the most awesome bar that floats on water!   The photo quality isn’t great because they were sent via text message with whatever phone he was using but is this not the cutest, most genius idea??

Shelley had told me his friend was building this floating bar months ago and then I never heard back from him until yesterday.  The bar is complete and fully operational now and I NEED to get there and see it!  It is located in Hilltop, St Elizabeth which is only about 10 minutes drive into the middle of nowhere countryside from Black River.  It’s very near where I took this picture of the prettiest, calmest lake down there, seen below.

My first thoughts when I received the photo from Shelley was, “WHY are those electrical cords just floating in the water?”  But when he called me back to see what I think of the place he told me those are actually ropes that tether the bar to the shore….and the bar can float out into the lake.  They get power into the bar with a generator so they have electricity to play music, keep the fridge running, etc.    And under the blue tarp at the bottom are empty oil drums so the bar can float.  Genius.  Of all the crazy business ideas I’ve seen in Jamaica this is the one I love the most!  It will be my FIRST stop on my next trip down to the island.

Here’s a second pic they sent me of the owner inside the bar.  Again, not the best quality photo but at least you can see what it looks like.  Anyone want to come with me?  I’d rather go to a bar like this than a tourist bar ANY day!!  If you’re down in Black River and want to stop by it, let me know and I’ll give you Shelley’s number so he can tell you how to get there.

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Update on the floating bar.

I wrote the above post in 2013 and have since visited this bar MANY times.  It is now a fully functioning, motorized excursion complete with a bar, DJ, sound system, bathroom, rooftop area, and…..hello…..a hammock!

The community holds many parties centered around this bar and even go out on night floats.  The view of the stars out on the lake at nights is exceptional and this is STILL my favorite business idea I’ve ever seen in Jamaica.