Firstly, there is a $100 charge per person to go in which is okay for the beautiful scenery by the river. I know they have no control over the river water but the water is way lower than it was even 10 years ago. You can find some swimming spots though which are low for us non swimmers and kids. There is a vast amount of trash though. From baby diapers to food boxes and liquor bottles. Don’t forget to bring food and drinks, although there’s a tuck shop close by. Parking is at your own risk!

This was well worth the drive from Kingston. Only JMD$100 per person on entry. It was a nice short stroll to the river and there were lots of spots where you can take a dip in the water with a bit of privacy. It’s definitely better to go earlier in the day. As we pushed into the early afternoon it became busier.

Beautiful place. Love the small pools of water in the river. Safe for children where we were.

Very relaxing and cool environment. The river was low because of the ongoing drought but nice nonetheless. Admission is $100 JMD payable at the office close to entrance. The security officer will give directions.

Visited the Castleton River (across) the road, not the garden. The experience was okay but not the best. The river was low at this time of year I guess (like ankle deep low). There are some watering holes that you can sit in that can allow for some "stationary snorkeling" 😅. One of the highlights however, are the little cook shops on the side of the road (in front of the police station). Soup was rather hot n tasty ($300 for sml. cup); amongst other delicacy's (fritters, corn n butter, etc.).

It's a lovely place to keep private outdoor functions such as parties, there's access to river on one side and garden space on the other side.

It's a very cool and quiet garden with a beautiful river very close by. There's a police station nearby plus vendors selling soup, food, refreshments not too far away so travel light and expect a relaxing environment

Please try the soup

Castleton Gardens is one of Jamaica's treasures that provides respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. Enveloped by exotic and unusual flora... caressed by the Wag Water River... perfected with its wide expanse of green areas, it's a great spot for gathering of family and friends or if you simply want to "escape" on your own... it offers so many spots for whatever you want to do... picnic, photoshoot, birthday party, sprawl out and take a nap, barbecue on the grill... it's all up to you. With all its great merits, however, it needs a little more "love" from its caregivers.

Lovely and quiet gardens. I only wish that the riverside was kept a bit cleaner....there were few pieces of trash left behind by patrons. Members of the public, please keep the environment clean!!

I think the drought affected the river...the water was shallow with only 2 or 3 spots to really relax. However, the garden area was beautiful and would be perfect place for a meeting, date, or just to relax with friends.

Bringing back fond memories of childhood trips, it was a pleasant time. Unfortunately it's a damp period now, so the ground was a little muddy. But it meant that the river was flowing. So it would have been a good time to take a dip. But you can reserve a gazebo and that problem is solved - you have a dry place with a view of the gardens and riverside to enjoy a fun and relaxing group activity.

Very nice botanical garden and entry is cheap at 100JMD. Nice place by the river with lots of plants. Little explanation for a botanical garden.

Beautiful space with many exotic plants. I'm not sure what kind of activities are allowed here besides touring the gardens though

There are very big rocks in the river, but there are also many pockets of water to swim in and immerse yourself in. The water is cold if you go there when the sun is not at its peak, but you get used to it pretty quickly. It's a great, green area and the drive to the gardens is peaceful and fun. 😊😊

Always beautiful and nice to visit

It's just refreshing to just submerge yourself in nature and Castleton Gardens offers this in spades

Because it's quiet and I feel real comfortable there

Clean, clear and cool water

Nice place to chill out

Nature at it's best, gentle flowing river, trees, grass, flowers even an occasional light shower of rain in a quiet setting however facilities such as rest rooms and seating areas need maintenance and improvement

A cool day

The ambiance is ok

Very nice place, well cared for, inexpensive to get in. $100 jmd. Have covered areas to eat and gather but few tables. River is nice as well.

Enjoyable place with a river. Multifunctional, you can have a picnic or chill family day there or go to the river and splash around. There is also a restaurant on the property.

Great for some R&R

Beautiful place, wonderful service, courteous staff, clean river, tasty food, big up shabby, the Jerked chicken man on the front page serving well done, tantalizingly Spiced jerked chicken and fried GREEN PLANTAIN, yes, he has stepped away from the traditional bread and festival. Truly Jamaican meal. I could not get enough. Big up the the Trampoline man too, adding a variety of entertainment to the patrons. The canteen food was also done in a perfect fashion. Everything was good. Thank you Castleton Gardens.

Lot of interesting trees and plants, pleasant staff, grounds clean and the river clear and clean. Very nice picnic spot. Covid19 protocols strictly enforced.

I went for the river and I didn't regret it one bit!

Lovely

Castleton Botanical Gardens is located in the Junction. The Junction is a winding difficult road. Proned to rock falls and landslipes in the rainy months. The Junction Main Road connects the southern part of the island to the north eastern parishes of St Mary Portland. Castleton Gardens is great for picnics, parties, river bathing, a quiet spot to read or just relax. This is a popular spot for young people and families. Some industrious Jamaicans have set up food stalls serving soup, boiled corn, jerk chicken and pork. I stop for soup. The janga soup is delightfully good. Janga are small river crawfish or shrimp. The gardens are alwzys lush and green. There is a police station in the midfle of everything. Castleton is a worthwhile stop.

Variety

The place needs work. Price to go in was nearly free and the gardens were nice

Its a great opportunity to see some very interesting plants

Nice relaxing place for fun with family and friends...#picnicfriendly

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Lovely scenery , beautiful river

Apart from the sand flies, it was good, very tranquil.

Need new owners.....still a great back to nature place!

Well kept grounds, bathroom and changing facilities can be upgraded.

Very beautiful

If you love relaxation and peace of mind for only 100 JMD take yourself to the beautiful castleton botanical garden and River

Beautiful garden setting

Cool envifonment

It is a nice place to relax with your family, spouse are husband

Really enjoyed it there ....needs restrooms though

What dat wonderful place that look cool

It's lovely there

Nice place to relax with good company

It's peaceful and relaxing

Very Beautiful and relaxing

Breathtaking!

Great place to escape for the world. See the beauty of nature stock in one place for you to take photos, to learn, experience and just to breathe the sensational air. Rivers are great for you to sit by and just wet your feet. It is awesome for the entire family, church outings or school trips. Leave your worries when your leaving because it is also great for a therapeutic experience.

Very nice and quite river and garden get away

Best soup in jamaica

Nice place to just chill and have a picnic

Not many people, always clean with affordable entry. Plants are gorgeous river has lots of great spots. Being swimwear!

The sounds of the water rushing around the large boulders are wonderful to hear, sitting on the rocks with feet in the cold water is relaxing.. However the grounds need some work.

Peaceful and tranquil, great for family, couples picnic or just a day at the river.

Its a nice place to go and relax with friends and family. Clean environment

Beautiful scenery, the place was very clean and well kept.

Castleton Botanical Garden is super amazing , beautiful plants and different variety of trees the river flows sweetly nice musical beat when the water hit the lard rocks .

It is a lovely place to relax and enjoy the outdoors. It has beautiful flowers & trees, a nice rice river plus somewhere that you can get food.

Great place ever to relax

Great river, not for swimming but you can traverse the numerous rock on the river bed

Cool tranquiled location if u ever need to relax and be one with nature .

Nice scenery and the river is very nice. Quiet and tranquil place. Good place to meditate

Castleton is as Botanical and Nature based as Devin House and Hope Gardens. Of course the river gives it its own flare which makes it a very soothing place to be when in need of unwinding. I like it there, its very enjoyable.

Nice place to unwind and take in nature and the river. Get a cup of janga soup across from the police station and wander round the garden and take in the river

This is the perfect place for a romantic picnic or stroll.

Exceptional....... Quiet and peaceful. It was like being one with nature.

A round of applause please for the staff at the garden Ms. Ogilvy and her team are phenomenal. The garden is breathtaking and well maintained. I wish visitors to the river would care not to litter!!!! But standing ovations!!

The banks of the river is filled with trash. If your going for the river and don’t like seeing garbage, find somewhere else

Breath taking

Relaxing

It is a place of peace♥️

idyllic

Picnic area was great and the river was very nice. An overall very good place to relax and unwind in the .ussr of nature! Can't wait to go again😁

IT was a great exprience its my secomd time There me and my family members.

Beautiful piece of the Rock to get away from the Kingston hustle and bustle....

well worth the trip.... if peace and relaxation is what you seek.

Extremely relaxing and peaceful

The river was the most memorable moment for me.

It was absolutely beautiful environment, courteous staff....river was really cool, relaxing rejuvenated by nature☺

Beautiful!!! Great for meditation.

The scenery is absolutely gorgeous

Beautiful lovely place for u n family 90

pretty great

Beautiful river and flowers

The garden and the river is great. The place just needs more maintenance before it can get a 5 star

It's a beautiful place for u and family to have a good time

it's more like walking through a small forrest down a country with a river on the other side.

Clean...spacious and peaceful

Its a green space where you and your family can chilax...and of course the river is the main attraction especially in this summet heat. Rather disappointed as the trees are not pruned and maintained so it just a matter of time before it's gone...then the river dying too...needs intervention now ro save this gem of a location

A good get a way place to be

Being in this peaceful places, with the river running by is indisputable.

Great place to relax with the family. The property is large enough that you can have your own space which is a priority in the pandemic. Love the river 😍

Well if I can go there twice in a week... It's worth the drive. It's peaceful and clean.

Beautiful space filled with wild beautiful plants and tropical trees. The river is it's best feature as the water is refreshing to take a dip. It may appear brownish if there is rainfall in the vicinity. There is an entry just for support and one may support the snack shack that is on site. There are multiple gazebos to choose from but none are close to the river. The path may be muddy if it rains as well so be careful and watch your step. Finally - DO NOT REMOVE ANY PLANTS

It was so lovely there cool an beautiful just wish I had spent more time there and taken some pics,however I will do so the next time I visit

Castleton Botanical Gardens was absolutely amazing. The scenery, the river, the experience! Everything was amazing!! The river was spectacular. It is definitely worth visiting. Adults cost $100 and children are $50.

The location is wonderful but the bathroom was horrifying. Needed to be cleaned and it couldn't flush.

I love the ambience and upkeep. This place is a total paradise. Planning on visiting again. The river was lit!!!

Best spot in town to get Crayfish soup mouthwatering 🤤🤤

Had a great Saturday afternoon. Was not too crowded.

If just want to chill it's good but if you want to swim and actually enjoy the water not the best place

Great Place, natural plants ,good rivers running threw

Clean, beautiful garden and river. River is a long stretch with flowing water and a lot of rocks to swim and chill , place is peaceful and scenery is just lovely if you love nature. Cost is $100 on entry. Love it !

Lovely gardens & refreshing river water...bring mosquito repellent 🙃✌🏽💐🌊💚

The water was so refreshing and nice. I had an amazing time. Restrooms are not up to par need to walk with your toilet paper and be prepared to flush with a bucket. But the experience was well worth the JA 100.

The place is so beautiful it's unbelievable. Well worth my $100JD. I haven't been to Castleton since I was a kid. It's a nice private place. It was a regular for Church and family trips back in the days, and, it still is. I saw some entering as we were leaving. Tom's River is absolutely beautiful. I was in such awe at the beauty of Castleton Gardens. Best to visit before noon. That's when the crowd gets in. The bathrooms and buildings at the front are in need of renovation though. The Government of Jamaica needs to invest heavily in the upkeep of this monumental place. It's a great place. Awesome family day for me. Love it and would recommend for a family visit for anyone.

Entry fee is cheap $20 JMD to use the bathroom There wasn't much seating areas No indoor parking Compound was clean and kept Photo credits: @justsontee ( on Instgram)

Funny enough we didn’t planned to go Castleton but when we were passing there my aunt said she always wanted to go, so we canceled our original plan and went instead. Infront the police station is loads of food options so can buy there before entering. The cost for tickets were cheap. The gardens was clean and cool, loads of shade and very quiet. The river was cold and filled with loads of rocks but nevertheless was relaxing and the children had fun.

Naturally beautiful. The gardens are well kept and have a very relaxing vibe. It's a great place for a family picnics. The river is refreshing but this can be affected by weather conditions like low rain fall. Parking, however, is not always good. Holidays and weekends things can get a little complicated with parking.

Great ambiance and lush spacious scenic views throughout the property. Just needs a nice bathroom facility with piped water.

It’s both a park and a river to take your family to enjoy a lush scenic day. You can even have a Picnic or cook outs on the location. Whether playing in the river or trekking the garden, the view is amazing.

A great place to go relax with friends and family, enjoy a drink or walk with your own food. The river does not really have a lot of place to get a good swim but U can carry games and have fun on dry land.

An amazing chill spot! The garden is located on both side of the road, we visited the side with the river because it rained we weren't able to visit the other side. The grounds was clean and welcoming, we paid 300jmd for our family to enter. What entices me the most about this location is that there are lil huts around the park and you can bring your own food or even cook on location. There is also locals at the main, in front of the police station who sells snack and cooked food. There is also a snack bar on location. The river was relaxing and freezing at first but your body will warm up to it. If you want to see our experience check it out on our channel at Yahman Family TV on YouTube.

I went on a weekday so the garden was empty.. There's a lot of areas to walk around and explore. There's even a hiking trail. I didn't reach the top so not sure what is at the end. The garden has two main seating areas with tables and one of the areas can accommodate more chairs and tables if you wish to carry. Mosquitoes and bugs are a nuisance but at certain parts of the garden they weren't as much present compared to other parts. A lot of insect souds, branches falling and mysterious footsteps were heard. But for the most part all was well. You can still hear the cars passing which means help would be close. And a police station is across the road. Across the road from the garden is the river which is beautiful. The flow wasn't strong. I'm assuming it's because of a lack of rain of recent. You can carry your food and eat on the rocks or by the river side. The cost to enter is $100 and this covers for both the river and garden experience.