Mandeville
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Mandeville

Mandeville

Cool highland town in Manchester parish, known for its English character and central green.

Mandeville sits at about 600 m in the central highlands of Manchester parish, and it shows: the town is noticeably cooler than the coast, with a tidy, prosperous air and a long tradition of attracting Jamaicans who've returned from overseas. It's sometimes called the most English town in Jamaica, a reference to its cool climate and its green central square.

The town sees almost no tourist traffic, which is part of its appeal. There's good hiking in the surrounding hills, and the Manchester Club — Jamaica's oldest golf course — is here. The Agroville farms nearby grow the local sorrel and other produce.

Mandeville is a useful stopping point if you're driving between Kingston and the south coast attractions (Lover's Leap, YS Falls, Black River Safari) or crossing the island to the north coast. It's an honest, functioning Jamaican town rather than a place shaped by the tourist trade.

Guide

Day Trips

Mandeville's location near the centre of the island makes it a good base for trips in three directions: south to Lover's Leap and Treasure Beach, west to YS Falls and Black River, and east to Kingston. None is more than two hours away by road.

Guide

Getting There

Mandeville is on the main road across the centre of Jamaica, almost exactly two hours from Kingston and about ninety minutes from Montego Bay over the spectacular Spur Tree Hill. Knutsford Express coaches run several times a day from Kingston and Montego Bay; the bus station is on Caledonia Road. If you are driving from the north coast, the Mandela Highway and the A2 link Kingston to Mandeville and continue west toward Black River.

The nearest international airport is Kingston (NMIA), about two hours away. Sangster (MBJ) at Montego Bay is also feasible at around 90 minutes. There is no scheduled passenger air service to Mandeville itself.

Guide

Things to Do

Mandeville is not a sights town in the conventional sense. It rewards slow visitors: an early walk around the green, an afternoon poking around the marketplace, a round of golf on the country's oldest course, and maybe a guided look at one of the working bird sanctuaries that ring the town. The cool climate and the lack of crowds are the main draw.