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Start your tour at Rum Point on the north side of Grand Cayman. Travelers interested in experiencing sparkling water in a bay have a few options in the Caribbean. Usually that means there’s a substantial population of mangroves along the shoreline, since mangroves are an excellent source of B-12. One of the main requirements for a bio bay to exist is a narrow entrance to the bay, which keeps the plankton from being washed back out to sea.īut more importantly, there needs to be a high concentration of vitamin B-12 in the water, which the dinoflagellates need to survive. Scientists surmise the reason behind the glowing is to either startle away predators or to attract bigger ones to eat the predators feasting on the plankton. Interestingly, the light emitted from the plankton, although seeming constant to the human eye, is actually flickering, with each flash lasting about a tenth of a second. Movement in the water triggers the reaction with a compound called luciferin. The tiny plankton are actually called dinoflagellates, and they work like a glow stick - a chemical reaction in the dinoflagellates makes them glow a bright blue. It’s a phenomenon only experienced after dark and only when the plankton in the water are disturbed, say, by a paddle, boat or body part slicing through the water. At Bio Bay, along with Luminous Lagoon in Jamaica, tiny underwater plankton create the sparkling effect described above. The exact reason this occurs may be a bit more scientific than fairies, but the experience is no less magical.

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Kayaks float through the water, leaving a sparkling trail of fairy dust behind them, the rowers able to momentarily infuse their skin with glitter simply by scooping up a handful of the glow-in-the-dark water. They converge on a place called Bio Bay, floating serenely in the water and only appearing if disturbed by man-made craft.

Visibility is best against a dark sky when the moon is less than half full, so plan your visit for the darkest night of your trip.After dark in the Cayman Islands, the fairies come out.

Every night past dark, boats leave from docks at the “Glistening Waters” restaurant.

Prices vary, but our tour (including transportation) cost $50 per person from our hotel in Runaway Bay.

The Luminous Lagoon is located in Falmouth, halfway between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. You can book group tours or arrange private taxi transportation from almost any hotel or resort on the island.

Tips for Visiting the Luminous Lagoon in Jamaica:

I’m prone to hyperbole, no doubt, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that swimming in this glowing pool was one of the most magical experiences of my life.

#Best time to visit luminous lagoon jamaica how to#

Neither my photos nor underwater video captured the phenomena ( have I mentioned that I don’t know how to use my GoPro?), but I found this great video online:

We found that treading water near the surface would emit brightest glow. On raising my hand out of the water, dozens of tiny blue sparks flashed on the surface of my arm.Īfter coming to a stop, Captain Jerry invited us to slide into the shallow water one by one, being careful not to disturb the muddy floor - kicking up mud reduces visibility. I scraped my fingers across the water and watched them glow. As the sky darkened to black, the wake behind the boat started to glow, and our captain turned off the engine. The bus got to the dock at dusk, where we got off and boarded a small motor boat. For about twenty minutes, we sped toward the brackish waters at the boundary of the Martha Brae River and the Caribbean Sea.

Our tour included bus transportation from our hotel. The tiny organisms are harmless to humans and it’s safe to swim alongside them. I remember reading about a bioluminescent bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico, but until I saw a photo in the tour company binder, I didn’t know you could see this wild phenomenon in Jamaica, too. You can’t see them during the day, but by night, splashing the water causes an eerie blue glow. Jamaica’s Luminous Lagoon is home to billions of naturally occurring “bioluminescent” microorganisms, i.e. they light up when touched. Photo: Luis Esteves/ astroturtle What is the Luminous Lagoon? In that binder, though, I found one that is:Ī night tour and swim at a bioluminescent lagoon. It’s always hard to know which of these tourist-oriented experiences are really worth it. She had a fat binder filled with glossy brochures highlighting dozens of ways to spend money. I’m always wary of the packaged tours sold in this environment, knowing that some of the options are overpriced, manufactured activities with little connection to the natural environment or culture of the place. Like many vacation resorts, our hotel in Jamaica had a tour company representative stationed at a booth in the lobby.