Planning Your Trip

Where to Go
KINGSTON

Metropolitan Kingston is an energetic city with remarkable restaurants, a pulsating nightlife, and many of Jamaica's cultural and historical treasures. There's no sugarcoating the juxtaposition of poverty and wealth, but their coexistence inspires a prolific music industry and vibrant visual arts scene. Beaches, waterfalls, and cool mountains are just a short drive away. In neighboring St. Catherine, fishing villages in Hellshire and Old Harbour Bay make great day-trip destinations and offer some of Jamaica's freshest seafood.

THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

Straddling the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Mary, Portland, and St. Thomas, the Blue Mountains produce some of the world's finest coffee and afford visitors spectacular views, cool air, and the best hiking and bird-watching in Jamaica. There are two main routes up the southern slopes leading to either Buff Bay on the North Coast via Irish Town, or Blue Mountain Peak via Mavis Bank.

PORT ANTONIO AND THE EAST COAST

Port Antonio, Portland's parish capital and the biggest town in the east, has an old-world charm that lingers in luxurious villas and hilltop resorts. Despite Portland's claim as the first Caribbean tourist destination, it has, for better or worse, been excluded from the massive development projects of the past 50 years, and the area's natural beauty remains its principal draw. Hiking trips to lush forests, waterfalls, and challenging peaks in the interior can complement lazy beach days along the coast.

OCHO RIOS AND THE CENTRAL NORTH COAST

Throngs of tourists disembark cruise ships each day in Ocho Rios, and many head to Jamaica's most popular tourist destination, Dunn's River Falls. A maze of duty-free stores and other shops vie for customerson the western side of town, while world-class hotels and villas stretch along thewater's edge. Contrasting the hustle andbustle of Ocho Rios, St. Mary is laid back, with several plantation tours offered among its hills, mountains, and quietfishing villages.

MONTEGO BAY AND THE NORTHWEST

Montego Bay (known as Mobay) is Jamaica's Vibes City, famous for its rebellious past and vibrant present. Beaches and plantation tours are popular attractions, and hotels book up several times throughout the year for lively festivals and events. Rivers along the eastern and western borders offer rafting, and Mobay has an active yacht club with a lively social calendar. Neighboring Trelawny encompasses a rugged inland terrain known as Cockpit Country, riddled with caves and underground rivers.

NEGRIL AND THE WEST

Jamaica's westernmost parish has the country's most popular beach resort town, Negril. Once a quiet fishing village, Negril is known as the capital of casual, where recreational activities like water sports and cliff jumping complement the inactivity of relaxing in the sun. A wetlands area inland from the beach is backed by gentle hills suitable for hiking and bird-watching.

MANDEVILLE AND THE SOUTH COAST

The South Coast comprises Jamaica's off-the-beaten-track region, where waterfalls, crocodile-infested wetlands, and seafood are the main attractions. Treasure Beach, a string of bays and fishing villages, is Jamaica's community tourism heartland. Mandeville offers cool highland air and the western hemisphere's oldest golf course, as well as several fine restaurants. Clarendon, farther east, is a small parish with swaths of unexplored coastline and a unique ethnic heritage.

When to Go

Jamaica has typically been marketed as a destination for escaping the winter blues, but it can be just as good, or better, in the heart of the northern summer, when temperatures are comparable or even cooler than in places as far north as New York.

Jamaica's hurricane season with regular low pressure systems accompanied by rain, runs from June through October. In the absence of a large front, however, rainfall usually lasts only a few minutes and shouldn't be cause for concern in planning a trip.

The high and low season should be more of a factor in planning a trip, as many establishments set rates according to the typical demand for rooms in any given month. High season runs December 15–April 15, when accommodations can be twice as high as during the low season. Some establishments set their own specific dates, and others vary pricing throughout the year, whether for Easter, Thanksgiving, or the week between Christmas and New Year's. If escaping the winter blues is not your first priority, visiting during the low season can be much more cost-effective. Check with each establishment when planning a trip to see how pricesvary seasonally.

The Jamaican calendar is filled with annual events, many of which are worth considering in planning a trip. A music festival like Rebel Salute, Jazz & Blues, Follow Di Arrow, or Sumfest is one of the best ways to jump out of the tourist box and appreciate Jamaica's culture alongside Jamaicans from all walks of life. If music isn't your thing, there are several other annual events, like the Calabash Literary Festival, food festivals, and fishing tournaments.

Before You Go
Passports and Visas

Jamaica now requires passports for all visitors, including those from the United States and United Kingdom. A tourist visa is required for many nationalities. A complete listing of visa requirements can be found on the website of the Consulate General in New York (www.congenjamaica-ny.org/visas). Visitors must also be able to demonstrate sufficient funds to cover their stay and be in possession of an onward or return ticket or itinerary. It helps to know where you will be staying on arrival, as immigration officials tend to detain visitors on entry until they can provide an address.

What to Take

Most Jamaican ATMs will accept foreign debit cards to dispense cash. The best exchange rates are found at foreign exchange traders like Scotia DBG and FX Trader. Banks accept travelers checks, but typically have long lines and offer poor rates.

Where clothing is concerned, what to take depends entirely on the nature of your trip. Most all-inclusive hotels have semi-formal dress codes (a collared shirt, dress shoes) for their fine dining restaurants; if church or a business meeting is in order, formal attire is a must.

If nobody needs to be impressed, however, Jamaica can be the most casual place on earth, where certain esteemed members of society refuse to wear shoes for greater proximity to Mother Earth, and nude beaches abound at hotels like Couples, Breezes, and Hedonism. However, outside the beach resort towns like Negril, entering a place of business without a shirt will be frowned upon.

Cool, light-colored cotton clothes are best for the heat and humidity. Obviously, so is your favorite bathing suit. For cool evenings, pack a long-sleeved shirt and long pants.

Many travelers to Jamaica are surprised to find that Jamaicans rarely wear shorts on a normal day, while jeans and full suits are common everyday attire. It is not necessary to buy an entire wardrobe of Hawaiian shirts before your trip, and in a pinch plenty are sold in gift shops across the island with the requisite "Jamaica, no problem" printed across the front.

You'll definitely want to bring your most flashy getup if you're planning a night on the town. In nightclubs such as Fiction and Privilege in Kingston, women are remarkably dressed up; men will come dressed in their shiniest shoes and most "criss" jacket to "flex" in the corner till the dance floor heats up.

For hiking and overnights in the higher elevations of the Blue Mountains, you'll want a sweatshirt, parka, boots, and warm socks.