Hellshire Beach
A beach where Kingstonians eat fried fish with festival (sweet fried dough) on weekends, with rows of seafood shacks right on the sand.
Hellshire Beach lies on the Hellshire Hills peninsula south of Portmore, about 40 minutes' drive from downtown. The sand is not particularly pretty; the draw is the row of wooden seafood shacks along the beach. Fish such as parrotfish and red snapper are picked fresh, deep-fried and served with escovitch (vinegar-pickled onions), bammy (cassava flatbread) and festival (sweet fried dough), along with lobster and conch soup. On Sunday afternoons the sound systems blast loudly, and locals arrive in droves to eat seafood and swim. Confirm whether prices are charged by weight before ordering. Nearby Fort Clarence Beach charges an entrance fee but is cleaner and quieter.
Opening hours
Open all day (seafood stalls approx. 10:00–sunset)
Nearby sights
- Port Royal & Fort Charles
- Lime Cay
- Spanish Town
- Kingston Waterfront (Ocean Boulevard)
- National Gallery of Jamaica
- Coronation Market
- Trench Town Culture Yard Museum
- Institute of Jamaica