This lush tropical Caribbean island boasts 28 endemic bird species, all of which are usually seen by our clients on these unique, locally guided holidays, with daily departures to suit you. Based at the quieter, eastern end of the island you will first stay at Forres Park for three nights, a delightful guest house in a coffee estate in the Blue Mountains. Later you will move to the exquisite Mockingbird Hill for the last four nights, a villa style property with pool. In addition to all transfers being included your week includes a selection of private guided birding excursions which should yield you all the country’s endemics at a relaxed pace. There is time at leisure and opportunities to do other things during your stay too.

‘An excellent trip- everyone we met did their utmost to make our trip memorable. All at Forres Park and Mockingbird Hill were very very good and anxious to please’  G G and P S

Itinerary

Day 1: Fly London Heathrow to Kingston with Air Jamaica’s daily non-stop ‘Champagne Service’. Evening arrival in to Kingston, transfer from the airport (approx 90 minutes drive) to your home for the first 3 nights, Forres Park Lodge.

Dinner 

Day 2: Awake the following morning to the scenic lush Blue Mountains, enjoy the rustic setting of Forres Park Lodge with it’s distinctive character and friendly staff.  In the picturesque village of Mavis Bank which, is the centre of the island's coffee industry, a working coffee plantation with a large variety of fruit trees can be found in the estate grounds.  These trees provide a bountiful food source and are quite a draw for both local birds and neo-tropical migrants. The balcony overlooks a hedge of flowering trees and shrubs, you would be unlucky if within minutes you weren’t looking at  the  Red Billed Steamertail and  the two inch long Vervain Hummingbird, the second smallest ‘hummer’ in the world. Today will be a day spent around the estate as you acclimatise, relax and explore the grounds and trails of the lodge with the local guide. A walk around the  grounds could provide Jamaican Parakeet, Jamaican Woodpecker, Jamaican Tody, Orangequit, White-chinned Thrush, Jamaican Pewee, Rufous-tailed Flycatcher, Jamaican Euphonia, Jamaican Vireo and Jamaican Spindalis.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day 3: A day of guided birding will see you up for an early start, with a packed breakfast and off to Hardware Gap, which nestles at 3250 feet above sea level between the Blue Mountains.  We will bird at Holywell National Park where there’s nearly always a cool mist floating around the tall pine trees with their sweet aroma amid gently sloping trails. There with your birding guide you will seek such birds as Arrow-headed Warbler, White-eyed Thrush, Blue Mountain Vireo, and Sad Flycatcher. This beautiful area of very moist forests receives an annual rainfall of more than 100 inches. Along with the exciting birdlife, the forests also host an array of fascinating ferns including giant tree ferns, some reaching 30 feet in height.

As an additional bonus we have also included lunch at the Gap Cafe which offers lovely views overlooking Kingston and the plains (as long as it is not covered in mist!). Afternoon birding at Clifton Mount which is above Newcastle (the military training camp) and is the private gardens of an old coffee plantation house. Afternoon tea will be served at Clifton Mount (coffee/tea and some pastries/cakes etc).

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day 4:  For those that want a last chance to bird Forres Park there is time before breakfast.   Today will see you going back to the outskirts of Kingston to the botanical gardens, Yellow-billed Parrots should be plentiful, White-winged and Zenaida Doves, White-crowned Pigeon, Antillean Palm-swift, Black-throated Green Warbler, American Redstart and Jamaican Oriole are amongst the other expected species. We then make our way back across the island with en route birding stops at Castleton Gardens and Spanish River. After a lunch of Jamaican jerk (marinaded meats) at Blue Berry Hill we'll continue on to Port Antonio where our hilltop hotel the beautiful Hotel Mockingbird Hill, your home for the next four nights awaits. This relaxed hotel has just 10 rooms, offers a panoramic view of the town below, the Caribbean Sea and the Blue Mountains, amid a lush, tropical garden setting. A mid afternoon arrival will allow time for guided birding on the trails of the hotel's lushly vegetated grounds. Here as many as 40 species can be found including Ring-tailed Pigeon, Black-billed Streamertail, Jamaican Mango, Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo, and Rufous-tailed Flycatcher.

You may almost certainly want to enjoy their charming pool. Dinner will be in their terraced restaurant - a fine culinary experience.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day 5: The next day will see you leaving early with packed lunches to spend the day exploring the John Crow Mountains with your birding guide, along the rarely used Eccelston  road.  This trip should yield you  more endemic species including Black-billed and Yellow-billed Parrots, Jamaican Becard, Jamaican Oriole, Jamaican Crow and Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo.  Onward to ‘Reach Falls’, a seldom visited waterfall where birding will continue.

You will return to the hotel via the coastal road skirting the beautiful Caribbean Sea. There, after a brief respite with lunch at a beach restaurant in Long Beach, you will once again traverse the trails of the hotel grounds for some late afternoon birding with your guide looking for other fascinating birds such as Jamaican Oriole, Caribbean Dove and Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo. The evening will doubtless again provide another opportunity for engaging conversation and another wonderful dinner at this beautifully situated hotel. For those strange and elusive animals the ‘night birders’, the hotel is also a site for Jamaican Owl so you may want to walk off your meal as you search for one of the hardest endemics to catch up with.  

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day 6: Early morning start to Sherwood Forest in the foothills of the Blue Mountains with your guide.  Be sure to check those strange gnarled trees and a heavy growth of mosses, lichens and bromeliads-which in turn harbour some of Jamaica's most elusive specialties. The striking Rufous-throated Solitaire and the unusual Jamaican Blackbird, the only member of its genus. Check the undergrowth for the splendid but secretive Crested Quail-Dove. Enjoy your  packed lunch with a visit to ’Nonsuch’ caves and its tropical gardens which contain a wide variety of flora and is set in 185 acres of plantations which include coconuts, pimento and banana.  Return to the hotel mid afternoon for more birding.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day 7: This day will see you leaving the hotel following a delightful breakfast for your rafting adventure on the Rio Grande. Rafting on the Rio Grande was originally used to transport bananas and was popularized by Port Antonio's most famous resident, the movie star Errol Flynn who would challenge his friends and other visitors to raft races. Today this is a relaxing trip, lazily floating down this quiet, scenic river on a two-seater bamboo raft while you get close views of herons, egrets, kingfishers and possibly some shorebirds. Lunch will be at Miss Bettys, an experience in itself. 

This afternoon you will be dropped off at Frenchman's Cove, a beautiful protected park with a   river flowing into the azure cove making it Jamaica's prettiest white sand beach, once favoured by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. This spot also has great grounds for those who are not tempted by the crystal clear sea for a swim or there is chance to simply relax and enjoy watching the streamertails from your balcony or terrace or by the lovely pool, a very enticing option for many!

Your day will end with your final marvellous dinner overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day 8: Following breakfast, your last day provides you with a scenic ride back to Kingston airport via Morant Bay stopping at Hector’s River for a chance to see the White-tailed Tropic birds and if time permits, a stop at Yallahs Salt Lakes.  Finally, Kingston airport and your flight home unless you are extending your stay and spending more time in this avian paradise.

Breakfast

Day 9: Arrive London Heathrow.

Prices per person sharing twin rooms with private facilities.

Holiday Information

Extra nights and superior rooms at Mockingbird: prices on request 

Tour price includes: return economy class flights from Heathrow to Kingston with Air Jamaica including prepaid taxes, all transfers, 7 nights accommodation (3 at Forres Park, 4 at Mockingbird Hill Hotel) on board basis described (a supplement will apply at Mockingbird  for certain seafood dishes ) in a twin room with private facilities, guided bird watching excursions including transport as described. WildWings bird checklist.

Price does not include: Local airport tax (JM$1000/£11.00), drinks, other meals, gratuities, additional excursions, insurance and items of a personal nature.

Forres Park Lodge

A two storey building set on a coffee plantation at 2500 above sea level with it’s own gardens.. Rooms have private facilities and balcony with mountain views. The food is regional and includes the world famous Blue Mountain coffee grown on the estate. A variety of trails and tracks run through the estate and into the surrounding forest.

Hotel Mockingbird Hill

One of the best kept secrets in the Caribbean has always been Port Antonio, it has unparalleled natural beauty, rugged exciting coastlines, romantic beaches, hidden coves, rivers, and waterfalls with the Blue Mountain range providing a spectacular backdrop. Port Antonio, has retained its charm as a quiet rural township and sleepy harbour about 65 miles northeast of Kingston. Here you can still catch a glimpse of the Jamaica of old. This small, bustling town is like many in Jamaica: clean though ramshackle, its sidewalks surrounding a market filled with vendors; tin-roofed shacks compete with old Georgian and modern brick and concrete buildings. Locals busily shop, talk, and laugh, while others sit and play dominoes.

A Caribbean style villa, Mockingbird Hill, 15 minutes drive from Port Antonio and is situated on seven acres of national park and is noted for its efforts to preserve the environment. Guests are greeted with warm hospitality and can enjoy fine cuisine in the highly acclaimed restaurant Mille Fleurs.

A holiday at Hotel Mocking Bird Hill is more than just relaxing on the beach, enjoying cocktails by the pool and working on your tan. It is about memorable experiences, relaxation and absorbing nature's delights: the busy hummingbirds as they fly from flower to flower, the little green lizard puffing its orange chest, or the fragrance of the night Jasmine in the star-filled sky. Add personalised service and an excellent restaurant to the mix and its all part of the Jamaican recipe for a never to be forgotten holiday, the friendly team will make you feel more than at home in these special surroundings.

Garden View Rooms: Large and airy rooms with handcrafted bamboo furniture, original artwork and garden views from the balcony. The breeze-cooled rooms have fans (and blankets for the cool winter nights!) Free safety box service is provided in the rooms.

Superior Sea View Rooms: Large and airy rooms with handcrafted bamboo furniture, original artwork and splendid ocean view from the balcony. The room is equipped with a fan, coffee making facilities, radio/clock, hairdryer, bathrobes. Free safety box service is also provided in the rooms.

Use of poolside lounge chairs, beach towels and use of snorkelling equipment is free of charge. Laundry service and limited room service are also available.

Daily news printouts as required, library, satellite TV and a gift shop are other services available.

The hotel provides all the privacy and freedom of an intimate hotel, while offering the amenities of a larger hotel.

For more information and bookings please contact Sarah-Jane Thompson at WildWings. Tel: 0117 9658 333 E-mail: sarah.thompson@wildwings.co.uk

Hotel Mockingbird