Where to Stay in Portland, Jamaica for Port Antonio Christmas Grand Market

Christmas Eve in the parish capital — the square fills with vendors, church bands, food stalls and a family crowd that stays out until sunrise.

If you're travelling to Portland for Port Antonio Christmas Grand Market, this guide covers the essentials: where international visitors should stay, how to get to Port Antonio town square & West Street, and how to build a proper Jamaica trip around the event.

Event details

• What: Port Antonio Christmas Grand Market
• When: December 24, 2026 (recurring annual event — 2026 dates to be confirmed)
• Where: Port Antonio town square & West Street, Port Antonio
• Parish: Portland
• Who's coming: Returning residents, diaspora families and holiday visitors
• Category: Entertainment
• Rental demand: Medium

Why international travelers should attend

Portland rewards visitors who come for more than a beach chair. Port Antonio Christmas Grand Market draws a genuinely international crowd, and the parish is set up for exactly this kind of trip — a Superhost-managed rental market that beats stacking hotel rooms, and enough to see and eat to justify extra nights on either side of the event.

Portland travel guide

Where to stay

Port Antonio is the base for the marina, restaurants and everything walkable. San San and Drapers hold the parish's best villas — five minutes from Frenchman's Cove and the Blue Lagoon. Boston Bay is for surfers and jerk pilgrims, and Long Bay is the quiet backpacker-and-villa end 30 minutes further east.

Browse ProHomesJA's Portland rentals →

Getting around

Fly into Norman Manley International (KIN) — about 2 to 2.5 hours over the Junction road or along the coast. Sangster (MBJ) is a four-hour drive and rarely worth it. A car is essential in Portland; roads are scenic, winding and unlit at night.

Food & nightlife

Boston Bay for the original jerk pits, Woody's burgers in Drapers, Dickie's Best Kept Secret for a candlelit cliff dinner, and the Errol Flynn Marina for sunset drinks. Nightlife is villa-and-verandah, not clubs.

Things to do before or after Port Antonio Christmas Grand Market

• Blue Lagoon — The 180-foot spring-fed lagoon that turns from turquoise to indigo.
• Frenchman's Cove — A river meeting a white-sand beach — the most photographed cove in Jamaica.
• Rio Grande bamboo rafting — Three hours down the island's greatest river with a licensed captain.
• Reach Falls — Rainforest cascades and the underwater 'Rabbit Hole' swim.
• Boston Bay — Jerk's birthplace and Jamaica's original surf break.
• Winnifred Beach — Community-run local beach with fish, festival and no entry gate.

Book your Portland stay with ProHomesJA

We manage Airbnb Superhost-rated homes across Port Antonio, San San, Boston Bay & Long Bay — the exact areas you want for Port Antonio Christmas Grand Market. Whole-home rentals, professionally cleaned, with local support on WhatsApp.

See Portland vacation rentals → · Check Portland availability → · Chat with our team on WhatsApp