Visiting the Luminous Lagoon in Jamaica was a last minute decision, but I’m so glad that I went.

I traveled to Jamaica with my best friend, Shannon, where we stayed at a resort in Negril. Relaxing by the pool at the Riu Palace Tropical Bay, I started posting some photos on Instagram. I was casually texting a friend of mine online when she asked, “Are you going to Luminous Lagoon?” It was a tourist attraction that I’d heard about before, but I was not convinced. Was the Luminous Lagoon Jamaica merely a tourist trap? Was it worth the drive? We were in Negril and the attraction was in Falmouth, nearly two hours away. At this point in our holiday, it was Thursday…and our last night in town was Saturday.

“No, I wasn’t planning to go…should I?”

“Yes, yes, you have to go!” my friend exclaimed. “It was the highlight of my trip. I would go all the way back to Jamaica just to go to the Luminous Lagoon again.”

Booking the Tour

With such a ringing endorsement, I looked into booking a tour there. We compared prices between the tour desk at the hotel and booking it online ourselves. It was quite a bit cheaper to book it ourselves. Thankfully, we could book our tour 48 hours in advance online, which gave us just enough time to reserve a tour on our last night in Jamaica. As it turned out, it was a memorable farewell to a vibrant and remarkable country, of which I had only skimmed the surface of what it had to offer.

I was able to book the Luminous Lagoon night cruise with ease using my smartphone. I did this from my lounger chair by the pool at the resort. There were multiple pick-up and drop-off cities listed, which slightly varied by price. This Luminous Lagoon tour included pick-up and drop-off from your hotel and tickets to the Luminous Lagoon (also known as Glistening Waters). I paid using my credit card from my phone and received an email notification that the tour was booked within moments. It was a very simple process. Of course, if you’re using your computer or laptop, you can easily book this tour that way, too.

Visiting the Luminous Lagoon

Or should I say, “Glistening Waters”. The tour is often referred to as Luminous Lagoon. The location itself is called Glistening Waters, with a hotel, a restaurant, and the boat tours at night. If you’ve rented a car in Jamaica, you can easily drive yourself to Glistening Waters and purchase a ticket on site. However, we were staying at a resort without a car, so we booked the tour that included the transfer.

If you’re traveling from Montego Bay, it’s about a 40 minute drive to Falmouth each way. From Negril, our drive was 1 hour and 45 minutes each way. The tour lasted about 45 minutes. It was a really lengthy trip there and back, but it was definitely worth it. It’s almost like waiting in a huge line-up at a theme park to go on a ride. The roller coaster ride might be way faster than waiting in the line. However, the ride is thrilling and exciting, making the wait totally worth it.

What is Luminous Lagoon?

It’s really something you must see in person to fully appreciate, but I’ll try my best to describe it. In the lagoon, there are millions of microscopic organisms that emit a phosphorescent light when they are disturbed. This is a natural phenomenon called bioluminescence. The marshland is brackish, meaning that it is a combination of salt and fresh water (from the Martha Brae River and the Caribbean Sea). These microorganisms thrive in brackish waters. Furthermore, they glow the brightest in shallow water. Luminous Lagoon has a depth of 3 to 8 feet, so the microorganisms glimmer vibrantly. It’s one of the most wonderful luminous lagoons in the world, of which there are only a handful.

Don’t worry, there aren’t any other creatures or predators in the bioluminescent bay. There aren’t any crocodiles or jellyfish. It’s just you and the microorganisms (and your fellow tourist friends).

The Glistening Waters in Falmouth were an incredibly ethereal experience. There are only a few places in the world where you can experience this anomaly. The mangrove lagoon at Glistening Waters is one of the most brilliant and bright. It’s the only place to experience bioluminescence in Jamaica. Furthermore, it’s one of the best places to visit in Jamaica.

Our Experiences in the Bioluminescent Bay Jamaica

Along with a small group of tourists on our boat, Shannon and I descended into the black waters of the Glistening Waters Jamaica (except they weren’t glistening at all at this point). It was dark all around, except for the city lights off in the distance and the twinkling stars above. Once we submerged our bodies in the shallow waters, we were instructed to move our arms and legs back and forth to disturb the microorganisms.

I waved my arms back and forth just beneath the surface of the water. A radiant turquoise-blue glow glimmered and followed my motions. I gently kicked my legs, and the eerie blue glow emerged. Shannon and I were both in complete awe. When we stopped moving, the waters became still and black once again. It almost reminded me of the Northern Lights, except this phenomenon happened at the surface of the water and I was in the middle of it all.

The lagoon itself was very shallow and we could touch the bottom with our feet. The mud was so soft and even a bit slimy. I didn’t care for how the mud felt, so I kept treading water. At one point, I felt a small sting on my leg, as though I had been poked with a small pin. It almost felt like a little bite, though it didn’t hurt very much and it left no trace on my skin. Perhaps the microorganisms were feeling a little agitated?

Getting Photographs

Don’t worry too much about taking pictures with your camera or phone of the Luminous Lagoon Jamaica. They probably won’t turn out that great anyway. Taking pictures of the bioluminescence requires a certain set of skills, which were ones that I didn’t have (and I didn’t have time to prepare for it). Fear not, there is a photographer on the boat that will take pictures of you in the water.

Make sure that you move your arms and legs around as much as possible while he’s snapping the photographs. This way, the water will look vibrant and super blue in the pictures. For a fee (I believe it was $25 or $30), he’ll send you all of the photos of you in the water. It’s nice not having to worry about photos. Sit back and enjoy the experience!

Bioluminescence in Jamaica

When I lifted my arms out of the water, a stream of sparkles dripped back down into the water. My skin was twinkling and sparkling like the stars above. This was equally as fascinating as the eerie blue-green glow. I raised my arm into the air and watched this natural glitter fall back into the lagoon. When we finished swimming and got back into the boat, we had inadvertently brought some of the microorganisms back with us. As we dried off, our bathing suits sparkled as some of the microscopic creatures remained in the fabric.

The Luminous Lagoon Jamaica was such a cool experience! Even though we drove three and a half hours in one evening, it was definitely worth it. If you’re staying in Montego Bay, this attraction is even closer and there’s really no excuse to miss it. Falmouth is only about 40 minutes east of Montego Bay. The Luminous Lagoon in Jamaica is one of those once in a lifetime natural attractions that you simply must see when you’re there.

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NEGRIL TRAVEL GUIDE

WHERE TO STAY IN NEGRIL: I stayed at the Riu Palace Tropical Bay resort. You can check out my review here [and more reviews here]. Many people stay in resorts here, but it’s also possible to book hotels and homes independently. Feel free to compare prices between hotels as you plan your holiday. To have your own place in Glasgow, browse the available listings on Airbnb.

GETTING AROUND NEGRIL: To get from the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay to Negril, you’ll need to book an airport transfer in advance. If you’re interested in getting to Negril from the resort, it’s easy to book a taxi at the resort itself.

THINGS TO DO IN NEGRIL: In addition to our tours to YS Falls/Black River Safari and Luminous Lagoon, we had such a great time going to Rick’s Cafe in Negril. Don’t miss stopping at Ras Rody’s Organic Roadside Vegan for a meal, too!

PHOTOS OF GLASGOW: Check out my entire photo album of pictures from Jamaica to inspire your trip. You can also purchase prints, housewares, and all sorts of gifts made from any of our photos – just click the “buy” button on any picture.

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Our Taxi Ride Back

Our taxi driver, Sydney, was also very friendly and talkative. On the ride back, we were chatting about the various people from all over the world that he has met as a taxi driver. Sydney told us his most memorable tourist story, and I’m going to narrate it to you.

An Intriguing Tale

Sydney was the driver for a tour to the Blue Mountains, though the pick-up spot was in Negril. Blue Mountains are completely on the opposite side of the island, meaning that the trip would easily take four hours in one direction. The pick-up time was very early in the morning at 4:00am. Sydney reached the hotel a few minutes early. A Russian man approached him and motioned that he would need a little more time. Sydney waited. At 4:00am, the Russian man reemerged with his wife, except he didn’t go straight to the taxi. Instead, he sat at a small table in the lobby with a laptop computer. The Russian man waved at Sydney, motioning for him to approach the table.

On the computer, the Russian man played a YouTube video. The video was entirely in Russian. It showed a man in the Blue Mountains at the coffee plantation. The man stood by two trees at the entrance. He took a US $100 bill and a hand-written note, and placed them inside a glass bottle. The man in the video hid the bottle up in one of the trees. Though the Russian man did not speak very much English, it became apparent to Sydney that the couple wanted to go to the Blue Mountains to find that bottle in the tree. The YouTube video was over two years old.

A Strange Coffee Tour

When they arrived at Blue Mountains, the couple did the full coffee tour as originally planned. At the end, it was time to search for that bottle. The Russian man found the exact two trees from the video and climbed the tree where the bottle had been hidden. He searched and searched, but there was no bottle.

Sydney chuckled to himself. As it turned out, the two trees were mango trees. One of the trees was fruit-bearing, and the other was not. If the man from the YouTube video had placed the bottle in the tree that did not bear fruit, it likely still would have been up there. As the bottle was up in a fruit-bearing tree, it was easily found when the mangoes were harvested. It’s likely that a random Jamaican discovered it while picking fruit. He wouldn’t have known what the note said in Russian, but he would have an extra $100 in his pocket!

Sadly, the Russian man only really cared about the note. After all, the tour itself cost way more than $100. He wanted to find the note and bring it back to his village in Russia to show everyone in town. The famous note from the YouTube video would have been the biggest prize, way more valuable to him than the money. Well, at least the couple got to taste some delicious coffee.

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PLANNING A TRIP TO JAMAICA?

Book your accommodation, Airbnb rental, and rental car.

Browse tours and excursions around the country for fun day trips.

Don’t forget to pack your bathing suit and sunscreen!

Research even more with Jamaica guide books to help plan your holidays.

Read the rest of my Jamaica blog posts for the best trip ever.

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Have you ever experienced bioluminescence in person?