Monkey Island, Port Antonio

I know the bulk of my posts lately have been Portland focused and I promise I’ll switch it up soon.  But no Portland jaunt would be complete without visiting Monkey Island!

As I mentioned a while back in my review of San Bar Villa, one of my readers told me I should go find Monkey Island while in Portland.  I put it on my mental to-do list but I was like, “An island?  I highly doubt I’ll have time to go to an island while reviewing this villa”.  Well when I arrived at the villa wouldn’t you just know it….the friggin island was in my back yard!  I think I even texted Nancy, the girl who told me about it,  as I stood there looking at it!

 

monkey island jamaica

 

It was raining pretty hard the day I arrived here and I knew I only  had 2 days to fit everything in, so I prayed the rain would let up enough that I could get out to the island.  Low and behold, when I woke the next morning the weather was glorious and sunshiney!  So I told my villa Butler that Monkey Island was the agenda for the day.  He happily obliged and went to get the villa boat ready.

 

monkey island jamaica

 

Monkey island is tiny.  There’s not much to it except a really, really small sandy beach with a canopy of trees hanging over it, and a swing dangling from a tree branch.  Over the two days that I stayed in the villa I saw a few different couples head over there in kayaks or on wooden rafts.  The people would just hang out on the tiny beach for a short time and leave.  Which is exactly what I did.  My butler did tell me that many people hike through the trees and climb up in there but since we had EPIC rainfall the day before he thought it would be much too slippery for us to attempt it this day.  Kind of sad but it’s a perfect excuse to go back another time!  Here’s the tiny beach on the island:

 

monkey island jamaica

 

And the view from the tiny beach back towards the seaside villas.

monkey island jamaica

 

The little swing dangling from the trees is quite a cute spot for photos.  I wish these ones had turned out lighter but I’m still grateful that I had my Butler companion that day to take at least some pictures of myself.  That’s the crappy part about being a solo traveler ALL the time!

 

 

 

The sandy beach and shallow waters are also a cute spot for pictures, and a heavenly spot for just hanging out!  The super shallow water was warm like a Jacuzzi, I could have sat there all day if I didn’t have more on the agenda.

 

 

My villa is directly behind me.  Super close by!

 

Now, there’s one thing I’ve heard about Monkey Island that until I get to try it I really won’t believe it.  I have heard (yes, from you Nancy) that you can actually WALK out to the island at certain times of the day.  There’s supposed to be a time of day when the tides are out that you can wade over there in less than waist-deep water but you have to time it right because when the tides come back in you’d have to swim back to shore.  I’m DYING to experience walking out there!

monkey island jamaica

 

So that was Monkey Island.  My jaunt was far to short but like I said, I’m definitely heading back there next reach.  I still have links with the Butler so I’m gonna make him take me again.

 

Has anyone ever walked out to Monkey Island?

Tell us about it in the comments below!


Comments

14 responses to “Monkey Island, Port Antonio”

  1. Growing up, us kids use to play pirates on that island, we had to defend it from invaders, normally we split into two groups but many a times we ended up defending the island from tourist who wanted come on OUR island. It was a full scale Lord of the Flies type repel all boarders as up to 8 kids would jump out and started throwing stuff at unsuspecting tourist. Rain or shine I love that place.

    1. I adore that story! It kind of takes me back to a time when things were simpler and more free. I can just imagine you as kids, ambushing unsuspecting tourists LOL!

  2. Hey Kristi…. actually Monkey Island is in Port Antonio, just beside the Folly’s ruins at the cricket oval. The island you went on is Pellew Island also named Princess Nina island as it was given as a gift to his wife by Sadruddin Aga Khan (Aga Kahn III son) to his wife, the British model Nina Dyer. I know the locals love to confuse visitors as it helps their business….

    1. It was a butler in a villa who told me this was Monkey Island and he was born in Portland. I don’t understand how that helps business Rafael. Do you care to expand on that?

  3. Pellew Island is the same as Monkey Island actually. The original name was Pellew Island but many years ago when Folly Mansion became ruins, the monkeys held on the property were giving free reign on Pellew Island. Monkey Island caught on after that but the 2 names are still interchangeable.

    1. Thank you very much for clearing that up Rochelle! I was a little confused after Raf posted that because the Butler in the villa I was reviewing out there is born and raised in Portland and he called it Monkey Island so I had to believe he would know.

  4. mikeodonnell Avatar
    mikeodonnell

    you will never be able to walk to this island unless u have the ability to walk on water..monkey island is at folly…

    1. I wonder why Jamaicans tell me this is it?? Well I’ll be back at Folly next month so I’ll discover the real Monkey island then!

  5. Yes I spent 13 years playing on that island , always called monkey island . It’s sad you didn’t get to climb to the top because it’s beautiful there . At the top is a stand of very old bamboo that creaks in the breeze, magical sound . You can lay on the bed of soft leaves and look up into the sky thru the bamboo. . A little bit of heaven you will never forget .

    1. Thanks for your comments Judy! I’ve been told more than once that this particular little island is not Monkey island. I’m going back to find out the truth though LOL. Regardless, I loved your little recap of memories on Monkey island 🙂

  6. Hi love! I’m assuming you had to pay for the boat ride across to the island. Approximately how much does it cost ?

    1. Hi Cayli, actually I did not have to pay because the boat and the butler belonged to the villa I was reviewing. Everything was complimentary for me. If you stay in a villa that has a boat it would be included, otherwise I’m not sure how much one would pay but I’m heading back to that area next month for more explorations so I can try to find out for you!

  7. David Walley Avatar
    David Walley

    Monkey Island is just off Folly Ruins several kilometers West of Pellew Island near San San, where you were. It is so named because Hiram Bingham III, famous for rediscovering Machu Pichu, imported monkeys from Peru as a gift for his father-in-law Alfred Mitchell, the owner of Folly Estate which includes Woods Island, aka, the real Monkey Island. Pellew Island is called Monkey Island by local guides because of confusion caused by the Internet, the name sells more charters, and because neither island goes by that name on any official map. To be sure – visit both!

    1. Kristi Avatar
      Kristi

      David, thank you for that in depth explanation. I guess, since both islands go by that name unofficially, no one is correct.

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