Welcome to Lime Cay
Typically on a Sunday when I want to go to the beach, I head to Hellshire. Though it can be a bit loud and and kinda crowded and obnoxious, I still love it! People watching, a nice dip in the sea, fresh fried fish from Prendy’s or a million other little beach side shops — all make for an interesting beach experience. This past Sunday, however, I decided to meet up with some friends and head to Lime Cay for the first time.
There was quite a bit of work I needed to finish, but I’m glad I headed to beach instead. It felt good to laze around in the sun, take a quick dip in the warm waters and watch the Caribbean Airlines planes land in the distance at Norman Manley Airport. Lime Cay is really small and doesn’t have a lot of beach, but thankfully it didn’t get too crowded. Vending is also prohibited which help cut back on a lot of excess traffic.
The only negative was stepping on a sea urchin (or sea egg as Jamaicans call them). Someone was nice enough to offer to urinate on it for me to help. So sweet (NOT), but I passed. It didn’t hurt too bad and I think I was able to pull a few of the spikes out of my foot and was good to go.
After a relaxing day on the beach, we packed up our things and headed back Port Royal for dinner at Gloria’s. It had been over a year since I had been to Gloria’s and things have changed a bit. Instead of just seating on the road under the tent, they’ve built up a nice little dining area above the kitchen with nice views of the sea and Port Royal.
Tips for Lime Cay Beach and Port Royal
What to bring:
Whatever you need for the beach: towels, sun screen, toy/games, camera, snacks, drinks. Vendors are prohibited, but you may get lucky and have 1 selling cold drinks. Otherwise, you’ll be taking the boat ride back into town to get sustenance.
Getting to/from Lime Cay:
From Downtown Kingston, we took the 98 bus ($80 JA) to Port Royal and got off at the first stop, after the airport, which dropped us right in front of the Y Knot Bar.
If you aren’t lucky enough to have your own boat (or a friend with one), you can catch a quick ride (10-15 minutes) over to Lime Cay for $1000 JA (round trip), just inquire with the persons at the bar.
By the time we finished dinner, night had fallen and we headed back to the main road to catch the bus back into town. There’s no real set schedule for the bus, but we were told the last pick up is around 9:30pm with pickups approximately ever hour. so be mindful if you aren’t driving or don’t have a driver.
Dining at Gloria’s:
Waiting for Dinner at Gloria’s, Port Royal
If you are reading the Lonely Planet Guidebook, you’ll probably see 2 Gloria’s referenced. They are two about a 5 minutes walk apart. The guidebook mentions a difference in price, but there isn’t anymore. Same name, same owners, same price, same menu and same food, just a different location.
The food is great, but it will take FOREVER to get your food, like over an hour. Two hours is not unheard of. You’ve been warned. LOL While we waited (and waited) for dinner to be served, Jono and I walked around Port Royal to snap some photos while the others chatted at the table.
