Luminous Lagoon Fun Facts and Things to know before you go

Our trip to the luminous lake was completely impulsive. There was a mix up with the lunch that was included with our taxi driver and I think the driver extended our tour in an attempt to make up for the error.

In case you are completely clueless as to what the Luminous Lake even is, let me give you the readers digest version.

Luminous Lagoon Fun Facts

• A mixture of salt and fresh water lake
• Has patches of warm water
• The Luminous Lagoon is SUPER shallow and a depth of only 4 to 5 feet
• The bright blue light is caused by billions of microorganisms which live in the lake. The microorganisms are what we are actually seeing when we see the “luminous” blue light
• The blue light is temporary and only comes when you agitate the water
• You won’t be able to take a photo of the lights with a cell phone camera. I bet you could with a DSLR on manual though, but I didn’t want to risk my camera getting wet.

Here are a few things you should know about the luminous lake before you go. 

Things to Bring to the Luminous Lagoon

1. Mosquito Repellant

The facility to did provide some when you checked in but we initially declined. But within moments the mosquitos surrounded us and we were definitely losing the battle.

2. Drying towel & Swimsuit

If you choose to, you can take a dip into the lake and actually swim in the Luminous Lake. My husband and I both opted to actually swim.

3. Cash for photos

• Make sure someone in your party has an iPhone because the photos are airdropped to your phone. 
• Our photo package cost $30 and we got all the photos that our photographer took. The photos weren’t great, but to me, it was worth every penny to have them as a keepsake

Tips for the Luminous Lagoon Tour

Expect a long wait before the actual tour

The tour will not begin until it is very dark outside. We are not talking dusk…we are talking night time! Boats depart from the shore at about 9 pm.

Don’t expect a long trip to see the Luminous Lagoon

The entire tour will take place in the center of the lake. If you are someone who gets seasick this will be perfect for you as the trip from the shore to the center of the lake took about 4 minutes.

*Insider tips-

If you choose to jump into the lake even if you are a strong swimmer, I highly recommend using a life jacket otherwise you will be treading water for 20 minutes. The tour guide advised against actually touching the bottom of the lake even though the water is shallow because the muddy bottom makes the lights hard to see. At first, I refused the lifevest but as I noticed others floating with ease I requested a life vest be thrown to me, and I was so glad I did.

If you choose not to jump into the lake, I would advise you to bring mosquito repellant. Without mosquito repellant, you are a total sitting duck to mosquitos and I don’t imagine you would have much fun being gobbled up by the bugs. 

I am so glad that our driver suggested that we take this tour.

The trips overall cost was

Total: $85 

Admission $25 each

Photos $30

Tip for tour $5

You can tell by our faces that we enjoyed every second.

Xo- Chantea

Also, check out our tips for Parasailing in Montego Bay here!