3rd Caribbean Symposium - The Venue

Frenchman's Cove is a private estate in an unspoilt part of the north east coast of Jamaica, and is owned by Member Grainger Weston. It consists of 45 acres of rolling landscape with tropical trees and plants. A small river runs through the grounds down to its own sheltered white sanded beach. Dotted around the site are 17 spacious and secluded houses that sleep between two and six, plus a central building sleeping 24 in en suite rooms. Houses are open plan with a large sitting area, en suite bathrooms and a small kitchen. Many overlook the water and all have patios for sitting out. The weather in November is usually warm and sunny (25 degrees) and the water is about 23 degrees, it often rains - very hard - at night.

International flights come in either to Kingston or Montego Bay. Taxis from Kingston take about three hours and cost US$100. We will be hiring a van from Kingston with the main BA flight arriving on Thursday 23rd November. Another option is to take a flight to Montego Bay and then the small Air Jamaica plane to Port Antonio, costing US$55 each way. We are looking into the possibility of a cheap hotel deal. From there it is a US$35 half hour taxi ride to Frenchman's Cove. We recommend that you plan to come a few days before the seminar and stay on a few days afterwards, making a break of just over a week from, say, 23 November to 5 December. The main party from the UK will go out on 23 November and back on 5 December. Grainger is offering Network members and their families a very special rate of US$30 per person per night (plus 12% Jamaican tax) The group lunch will be around VS$9. making a composite rate for half board of $39. This will be payable directly to Frenchman's Cove on site. Mastercard and Visa are accepted. Dinner will be paid separately to the hotel or restaurant, most of which take cards. Prices vary between $15 and $45 per head. depending on the place. In addition, there will be a registration fee of $70 per person, payable on booking.

In addition to the week in November, members are free to visit Frenchman's Cove privately, either for rest. writing a book, for a family holiday or even as facilitator of their own group. In all cases, the US$30 bed and breakfast rate applies. Members interested in arranging a seminar themselves are strongly recommended to visit Frenchman's Cove first.

The legendary Blue Lagoon is only a mile away and has an excellent restaurant as well as swimming facilities. You can arrange to go there by boat. Port Antonio is about five miles away (the van will be available for trips during the afternoon) and Navy Island, once owned by Errol Flynn, lies offshore. We will be arranging various other outings, including a rafting trip down the Rio Grande and a visit to Reach Falls.