# Charles Town Community, Buff Bay, Portland Parish – Villages > Source: https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/charles-town/ Community · Buff Bay # Charles Town Charles Town is a community of Jamaica in Buff Bay, Portland Parish. It covers **9.22 km²**. 5 named villages and localities are recorded here. - 9.2km² - 263 mtypical elevation ## Where is Charles Town? Charles Town lies in [Buff Bay](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/), [Portland Parish](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/), [Jamaica](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/). It borders 6 other communities: [Bangor Ridge](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/bangor-ridge/), [Belvedere](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/belvedere/), [Buff Bay](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/buff-bay/), [Bybrook](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/spanish-river/bybrook/), [Skibo/Chepstowe](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/spanish-river/skibo-chepstowe/) and [Tranquility](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/tranquility/). By area it is the 409th largest of 775 communities in Jamaica. It covers 7.0% of [Buff Bay](https://wherepedia.org/jamaica/portland/buff-bay/). The centre of Charles Town is about 27 km in a straight line from Kingston, the capital. The centre point is at 18.2022° N, 76.6568° W. Source: [Jamaica Social Development Commission (sdc.gov.jm) via OCHA HDX, administrative boundaries (COD-AB, CC BY-IGO)](https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cod-ab-jam). ## Things to see in and around Charles Town OpenStreetMap lists 4 named sights in Charles Town: 2 caves; 1 attraction; 1 museum. - Charles Town Museum and Safu (Asafu) Yard · museum - Quao’s Village · attraction - Charlestown Cave · cave - Plum Valley Cave · cave ### Nearby, outside Charles Town - Plum Valley · attraction, Belvedere1.9 km - Spring Garden Cave · cave, Skibo/Chepstowe2.1 km - Orange Vale Plantation Ruins (18th c.) · attraction, Belvedere2.2 km - Bybrook Valley · attraction, Bybrook2.3 km - Skibo Road Cave · cave, Buff Bay2.9 km - Johnsons Field Holes · cave, Belvedere3.3 km - Marston Spring Falls · waterfall, Bybrook3.4 km - Leighfield Wood Cave · cave, Bangor Ridge4.7 km - Big Dunn Falls · waterfall, Shirley Castle5.0 km - Prior Park · attraction, Belvedere5.8 km - Guts Mountain Cave · cave, Orange Bay5.8 km - Clermont Cave · cave, Orange Bay5.9 km Source: [© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract — named settlements](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright). Named attractions, museums, viewpoints, historic sites and natural features mapped in OpenStreetMap. Places of worship are not listed. ## Know before you go: Charles Town - Time zoneUTC−5, no daylight saving · America/Jamaica - CurrencyDollar (JMD) - Country calling code+1-876 - LanguagesEnglish - Plug typesType A, B - Driving sideLeft ### Nearest airports - Tinson Pen Airport (KTP) · Tinson Pen30 km - Norman Manley International Airport (KIN) · Kingston33 km ### Nearest railway station Old Bog Walk Railway Station (Bog Walk), about 39 km from the centre. ### Daylight Days are longest in Jun (about 13.2 hours, sunrise around 05:30) and shortest in Dec (about 11.0 hours, sunrise around 06:30, sunset around 17:33). Source: [GeoNames country and time-zone files (CC BY 4.0)](https://www.geonames.org/); [Wikidata (CC0) — plug types, mains voltage, driving side; retrieved 2026-11-02](https://www.wikidata.org/); [OurAirports (public domain)](https://ourairports.com/data/). Airports with scheduled passenger flights; straight-line distances. Daylight is calculated for the 15th of each month in local standard time. Check entry and visa rules with official government sources before travelling. ## Villages and localities in Charles Town Open gazetteers list **5 villages, towns and localities** in Charles Town. - Carlton Gap - Charles Town - Charles Town (Maroons) - Cotton Tree Pen - Starapple Grove Source: [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/); [© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract — named settlements](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright). ## Landscape and landmarks of Charles Town Named natural and historic features inside Charles Town, from the GeoNames gazetteer. ### Hills and mountains 1 mountain pass. - Rose Hill Gap · 219 m Source: [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/). Places of worship are not listed. Elevations are from the GeoNames terrain model and are approximate. ## Weather in Charles Town and the best time to visit Using the climate of Buff Bay, the warmest month is Aug (average 28 °C) and the coolest is Jan (26 °C). About 927 mm of rain falls in a year; the wettest month is Oct (170 mm) and the driest Feb (19 mm). The most comfortable months for a visit are **November to July**. - Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec Month Average °C Rain mm Jan 26 33 Feb 26 19 Mar 26 29 Apr 27 41 May 27 111 Jun 28 89 Jul 28 69 Aug 28 104 Sep 28 127 Oct 28 170 Nov 27 87 Dec 26 49 Source: [NASA POWER climatology, retrieved 2026-10-29](https://power.larc.nasa.gov/). ## Nearest hospital, bank and fuel from Charles Town Need Nearest mapped Distance Hospital Annotto Bay Hospital · Annotto Bay Town Centre 14 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.27284&mlon=-76.76204#map=17/18.27284/-76.76204) Bank Scotiabank · Annotto Bay Town Centre 14 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.27047&mlon=-76.77056#map=17/18.27047/-76.77056) ATM Scotiabank · Constant Spring 22 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.05239&mlon=-76.79267#map=17/18.05239/-76.79267) Petrol pump Texaco · Buff Bay 3.5 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.23358&mlon=-76.66111#map=17/18.23358/-76.66111) Hotel Sea Bell Resort · Hope Bay 11 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.20074&mlon=-76.55410#map=17/18.20074/-76.55410) Mall Royal Mall · Central Port Antonio 22 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.18001&mlon=-76.45143#map=17/18.18001/-76.45143) School Buff Bay High School · Buff Bay 2.6 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.22547&mlon=-76.65946#map=17/18.22547/-76.65946) College College of Agriculture, Science and Education · Snow Hill 18 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.20463&mlon=-76.48785#map=17/18.20463/-76.48785) Police station Annotto Bay Police Station · Annotto Bay Town Centre 14 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=18.27057&mlon=-76.77284#map=17/18.27057/-76.77284) Source: [Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0) and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)](https://overturemaps.org/). Straight-line distance from the centre of the division, within 40 km. ## Other communities in Buff Bay - Balcarres - Bangor Ridge - Belvedere - Buff Bay - Spring Hill - Tranquility - Windsor Castle ## Quick answers - Where is Charles Town?In Buff Bay, Portland Parish, Jamaica - What borders Charles Town?Bangor Ridge, Belvedere, Buff Bay, Bybrook, Skibo/Chepstowe and Tranquility - What is there to see in Charles Town?Charles Town Museum and Safu (Asafu) Yard, Charlestown Cave, Plum Valley Cave, Quao’s Village - What time zone is Charles Town in?UTC−5 - What currency is used in Charles Town?Dollar (JMD) - What language is spoken in Charles Town?English (main languages nationally) - How many villages are in Charles Town?5 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap) - What is the highest point in Charles Town?Rose Hill Gap (219 m, GeoNames elevation model) - What is the best time to visit Charles Town?November to July - Where is the nearest hospital to Charles Town?Annotto Bay Hospital, about 14 km from the centre - Where is the nearest bank to Charles Town?Scotiabank, about 14 km from the centre - Where is the nearest ATM to Charles Town?Scotiabank, about 22 km from the centre - Where is the nearest petrol pump to Charles Town?Texaco, about 3.5 km from the centre - What is the P-code of Charles Town?JM050205 (OCHA common operational dataset)