Surfing in Jamaica

Jamaica’s natural bounty includes 150 miles (240km) of beaches, 120 rivers, and 6 mountain ranges, with the tallest peak reaching 7,402ft (2256m) in the Blue Mountains.

When it comes to surfing, even though the north coast has some bigger NE swells, white-sand beaches and quality river mouths favouring rights, it is the south shore which has greater consistency and some good lefts along the grey sand beaches.

Summer is the most consistent surf season with continuous trade winds fanning many miles of Caribbean Sea and pumping non-stop swell on the island. The summer months see surf up to double overhead at least 6 or 7 times.

Winter also brings in some great surfing opportunities. There are week long swells up to 4' overhead on both the north and south coasts.

Even though Jamaica is not yet an international surfing destination, world famous surfer, Ian Walsh, believes that the island has all the necessary attributes for top-quality surfing and is on its way to becoming a popular destination for surfers from around the world.

For the last five years, Jamaica has been hosting the international Makka Pro surfing contest. This year the Makka Pro will run from the 29th to the 31st of July at the world famous Makka surfing beach at Southaven in Yallahs Saint Thomas. Surfers are expected from the Caribbean, North, Central and South America to what is today the biggest, pro-surf contest in the English speaking Caribbean.

Guests at Silver Sands villas and Ocho Rios Apartments can arrange trips with Mysilversands to seek out the surf spots and catch some of the surfing action in Jamaica.

(Photos courtesy of the Jamaica Surfing Association, www.jamsurfas.webs.com)

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