diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 1aac15138858..2093581ee6db 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -1,8 +1,15 @@
 language: java
-jdk:
-- oraclejdk8
-- oraclejdk7
-- openjdk7
+matrix:
+  include:
+    - os: linux
+      jdk: oraclejdk8
+    - os: linux
+      jdk: oraclejdk7
+    - os: linux
+      jdk: openjdk7
+    - os: osx
+      # see travis issue https://github.com/travis-ci/travis-ci/issues/2839
+      env: JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home)
 before_install:
 - mvn clean
 - git clone -b travis `git config --get remote.origin.url` target/travis