Oracabessa

Oracabessa is yet another bastardized Spanish name, whose derivative, Oro Cabeza, translates as "gold head." A half hour's drive east of Ocho Rios, Oracabessa is a secluded enclave of high-end tourism where Ian Fleming's Goldeneye has become the benchmark for sophisticated, hip luxury tourism in Jamaica. Oracabessa has fostered a number of artists whose crafts show more originality while being far less expensive than what is offered in the markets of Ochi, Montego Bay, or Negril. The small community offers some decent beaches and picturesque countryside for those looking to get off the beaten track. Oracabessa experienced a brief boom as an important banana port in the early 1900s. Today the community is experiencing a different kind of boom, with entrepreneur Chris Blackwell building a luxury villa development at Goldeneye that will cement the area's reputation for exclusivity.

The area from Oracabessa to Port Maria has one of the nicest stretches of coast in all of Jamaica, where cliff-side villas were built by the likes of Ian Fleming, Noel Coward, and in more recent times, record magnate Chris Blackwell. The districts of Race Course, Galina, and Little Bay have small, quiet communities where discreet tourism accommodations blend so well with the surrounding landscape that they're easy to miss.