Craighton Estate

The Craighton Estate is popular with travelers who want to experience Jamaica’s natural beauty and coffee heritage. Explore the elegant Craighton Estate Great House, trace the island’s coffee-growing history, taste coffees, and hike into the plantations to see and learn how their Arabica beans are harvested and processed. You can purchase Craighton coffees to take home, too.

Book a visit directly with the estate or join one of the tours that visit Craighton from places such as Kingston, Runaway Bay, Ocho Rios, and Montego Bay; they usually include round-trip transport. Options include Blue Mountain shore excursions that center on Craighton, plus private and group tours that team a Craighton tour with hiking, nearby beauty spots, and sightseeing in Kingston.

• The Craighton Estate will appeal to coffee, history, and culture enthusiasts, or anyone wanting to experience the Blue Mountains scenery.

• Plan to spend 60-90 minutes here.

• Children aged 6-12 pay a reduced ticket price.

• The plantation and house tour are not accessible for wheelchair users or those with reduced mobility, although the talk and tastings are.

• On-site amenities include restrooms and car parking.

Perched above Kingston in St. Andrew Parish, the Craighton Estate is best reached by tour, cab, or self-drive—no public buses run here. If you’re driving from Kingston, take Highway B1 northward and follow this zig-zagging road past Strawberry Hill and the Irish Town Cafe before turning right into Craighton. From the north, the entrance is just past the New Castle Army Post.

The estate is typically open every day except Sunday. Opening hours are usually open from morning until later in the afternoon. However, times may change, so it’s best to check before visiting. The estate tours are most popular in Jamaica’s peak December-April season and during mornings and early afternoons. If you’re visiting independently, come near opening and closing times for fewer crowds.

Jamaica’s Blue Mountains coffee is considered some of the world’s best, largely because of the region’s rare climate. The mist-swathed mountains boast rich volcanic soil, cool temperatures, and high altitudes; producing a sweet, alkaline coffee from Craighton’s Arabica beans. Once you’ve sampled the coffee, it’s worth buying: The venture is owned by a Japanese company, and all the coffee is exported to Japan only.