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Jamaica map
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Embassies & Consulates
CANADA
Canadian High Commission, 3 West Kings House Road, Kingston 10, t 926 1500-7, f 960 3861, kngtn-td@dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Opening hours 8am-4.30pm Mon-Thu and 8am-1.30pm Fri
UNITED KINGDOM
British High Commission, 28 Trafalgar Road, PO Box 575, Kingston 10, t 510 0700, f 510 0737, bhckingston@mail.infochan.com
Opening Hours, 8am-1pm and 2pm-4.30pm Mon-Thu and 8am-1pm Fri
British Honorary Consul, Montego Bay, t/f 999 9693 (office hours only), f 954 6394/5
UNITED STATES
Embassy of The United States of America, Mutual Life Building, 3rd floor, 2 Oxford Road, Kingston 5, t 929 4850-9, f 935 6001, after hours emergency t 001 876 926 6440, usis@cwjamaica.com
Opening hours 7.15am-4pm Mon-Fri
United States of America Consular Agency, St James Place, 2nd Floor, Gloucester Avenue, Montego Bay, t 952 0160/952 5050 or 952-6575 (home)
Opening hours 9am-12 noon Mon-Fri |
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Emergencies
Police – 119
Fire – 110
Ambulance – 110
Air/Sea Rescue – 119
Hurricane Update - 116
Hospitals with Accident and Emergency facilities include
Cornwall Regional Hospital, Montego Bay, t 952 5100 or MoBay Hope Medical Centre t 953 3649/3981/9310/2712. Kingston Public Hospital, t 922 0210 or University Hospital of the West Indies, Kingston t 927 1620. St Ann’s Bay Hospital (for Ocho Rios) t 972 2272, Port Antonio Hospital t 993 2646, Savanna-La-Mar Hospital (for Negril) t 955-2533 |
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Flights/Getting There
As a relatively large island with many visitors and returning residents, Jamaica’s air connections are very good from North America and fairly good from Europe. There are both scheduled flights and many chartered flights. There are two major international airports, of which the better served is Montego Bay, which is the main tourist hub anyway. From here there are onward flights to Kingston, particularly on Air Jamaica (which sometimes touch down in both cities), but there are also good services on small local airlines too. Jamaica also has very good direct links to the other islands in the Caribbean basin, including the major centres in the South Eastern Caribbean, and as far south as the Dutch islands of Curacao and Bonaire.
The following airlines currently serve Jamaica:
UK
Virgin Atlantic flights from Gatwick to Montego Bay and Kingston (Air Jamaica codeshare), British Airways from Gatwick to Kingston and Montego Bay, Thomas Cook Airlines from Gatwick and Manchester to Montego Bay, and Thomson Airways from Manchester and Gatwick to Montego Bay.
Europe (all flights into Montego Bay)
Air Europe from Milan. Belair from Zurich. Condor from Frankfurt and Munich. Lauda Air from Milan or Vienna/Zurich. LTU from Dusseldorf. Martinair and Holland Excel from Amsterdam.
USA
Air Jamaica into Montego Bay from Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington DC, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale (via Kingston), Los Angeles, Miami into Kingston also, New York-JFK daily to both Montego Bay and Kingston, Newark, Orlando and Philadelphia - code share with Delta Airlines on some services. American Airlines into Montego Bay from New York – JFK, Dallas and Miami, and into Kingston from Miami. Continental Airlines into Montego Bay from Newark, Houston, Miami and into Kingston from Newark. United Airlines, into Montego Bay from Chicago and Washington DC. US Airways, into Montego Bay from Charlotte (NC), Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Spirit Airways from Fort Lauderdale to Montego Bay and Kingston, and Orlando to Montego Bay. Delta Airlines from Cincinnati to Montego Bay. JetBlue Airways from New York - JFK to Montego Bay, from 30 October 2009 to Kingston and from 28 February 2010 from Orlando to Montego Bay.
Canada
Air Jamaica/Air Canada (code share) from Toronto to Montego Bay and Kingston.
Central America
Copa Airlines, from Panama to Kingston.
Regional
Air Jamaica from Montego Bay to Barbados, Cuba, Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Grenada and Curacao, with limited services to Haiti and Dominican Republic. Caribbean Airlines (former BWIA) from Barbados, St Maarten, Guyana, Antigua and Trinidad to Kingston, Cayman Airways, Grand Cayman to Montego Bay and Kingston. Cubana, from Cuba to Montego Bay and Kingston. Air Jamaica Express which had scheduled services within the region ceased all operations on 14 October 2005.
Domestic flights in Jamaica
In case your flight arrives at the wrong airport for your destination, there are also flights within the island too, with scheduled and chartered hopper flights between Montego Bay, Kingston Ocho Rios, Negril Runaway Bay and Port Antonio.
Air Jamaica Express which had scheduled services from Tinson Pen Airport – the domestic airport in Kingston, ceased all operations on 14 October 2005. Tim Air, and International Air Link, small charter airlines, have regular services out of Montego Bay to Ocho Rios, Tinson Pen in Kingston and to Negril and they are happy to charter to Port Antonio, Runaway Bay and Mandeville. |
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Flora & Gardens
Jamaica is immensely beautiful and almost unbelievably fertile. It is so lush that you might almost expect a pencil to take root. It is also an island of exceptional geographical variety. While it is originally volcanic, parts of the island are also clad with limestone. It is far rainier in some areas of Jamaica than others. There are areas of rainforest and cloudforest but there are also very dry areas that look like savannah. About two fifths of the island is above a thousand feet in elevation. And of something over 3000 species of flowering plant, around 800 are endemic (including around 200 species of orchid), not found anywhere else in the world. There is plenty to keep anyone interested in flora interested, both professionals and anyone with even a window-box at home.
If the Arawak Indian word Xamayca ever actually meant ‘land of wood and water’ the description is extremely apt, because even now they are the principal features of the geography of the island. Almost the whole island is covered with forest and the rivers are extraordinary. There are dry limestone forests, where the trees grow out of a gnarled substrate of pitted rock and tend to be spindly with small leaves. Red birch and bauhinia grow here. There are even sections of Jamaica dry enough to have cacti, such as Portland Bight in the south, where there are also logwood and acacia trees. Then there are wet limestone forests, in the mountains and particularly in the rainier North-east, where the ground manages a small amount of earth. Here you find broadleaf trees that grow to over 100 feet, including West Indian cedar. Beneath them is a layer of shrubs such as thatch palms and bromeliads, as well as many of the orchids. The different types of forest attract different animals of course, including birdlife. On the coasts there are wetlands, tangles of mangroves that surround reed beds and stretches of brackish water and which attract a different wildlife again, including crocodiles and wading birds.
As you climb higher you come to montane forest (rainforest), where the large trees, such as the blue mahoe, are sometimes overgrown with bromeliads, ferns and ginger lilies. An estimated 60% of the species in the montane forest are endemic. And the elevation can have curious effects too. In the Blue Mountains they can grow crops as untropical as lettuce and strawberry. And above 5000 feet you pass into elfin forest, where the growth becomes stunted and the branches hang with wispy strings of old man’s beard.
Of course you can see some of the flora of Jamaica just by wandering around the gardens of your hotel or villa, but visiting botanical gardens in the Caribbean is always fascinating and even for people with very little interest in horticulture at home is great fun. Many of the plants have extraordinary stories of having been carried across the world by the plant hunters two centuries ago. The famous Captain Bligh may be remembered for his mutiny, but six years after the saga of the Bounty he succeeded in his mission, which was to bring breadfruit from the Pacific to the Caribbean where it was used to feed the slaves after a famine.
Plants you may well see in the botanical gardens include the lignum vitae tree (guiacum officinale), whose blossom is Jamaica’s national flower, a pretty cluster of blue to purple shaded blooms. The trees are very attractive, however traditionally they are also useful, as they have the densest wood in the world. It is so heavy that it sinks and was strong enough to replace metal parts in engines, such as ball bearings and even axles (if your tools were tough enough to fashion it, that is…). It is also used to make police truncheons. Translated, the Latin name means “wood of life”, as the tree is also known for its medicinal properties, and its gum resin is used in some drugs.
The national tree is the blue mahoe hibiscus elatus), a fast growing tree that can reach 60ft or more and which produces splendid hibiscus-like flowers that bloom bright yellow and then gradually change colour as they age, going golden, then orange and finally dark red before being shed. The wood of the blue mahoe is durable, and very attractive, and is often used for making furniture, and carved objects.
Areas and gardens of note included:
Bath Gardens, near the eastern end of the island
The second oldest gardens in the Western hemisphere, created to propagate plants for food and cultivation, including the breadfruit.
Blue Mountain & John Crow Mountain National Park,
A reserve around the Blue Mountain and other peaks, with a couple of orientation centres and fairy glade hill trail.
Castleton Botanic Gardens, on the Wag Water River north of Kingston
An old botanical garden originally used for the propagation of plants for plantations, now full of stories about the plants and their histories.
Cinchona Gardens, above Section, Blue Mountains
A garden first planted in 1868 with cinchona, from which quinine was extracted to treat malaria.
Cockpit Country, south of Falmouth
An extraordinary area of wet limestone forest, once so dangerous that it was called ‘the land of the Look Behind’, now interesting for its plants, caves and endemic birds.
Coyaba River Garden and Museum, Ocho Rios
A modern botanic garden above the town, lots of tropical flowers and trees. The museum shows St Ann’s Parish since Arawak times, in artefacts, maps, colonial pictures and local architecture.
Cranbrook Flower Forest, Laughlands, St Ann
Forty acres of landscaped gardens and walkways showing tropical plants and flowers and a section of rainforest. Also a hiking trail.
Fern Gully, above Ocho Rios
A delightful fertile cleft running down to the town (also a main road) overhung with a tangle of ferns and lianas, through which only angled shafts of light protrude.
Martin’s Hill Orchid Sanctuary, Kirkvine Manchester
A garden with over 100 of Jamaica’s 200 species of orchids on view.
Royal Botanic Gardens Hope (Hope Gardens), Kingston
More a park than botanical garden now, but a pleasant escape from the humdrum of the city. Also a small zoo.
Shaw Park Gardens, Ocho Rios
Lawns and multi-layered lily ponds and many flowering trees and bushes.
The following are hotels and villas around Jamaica that have particularly nice gardens or are well positioned to explore the flora. | Forres Park Guest House
A small and friendly nature retreat in Mavis Bank in the heart of the Blue Mountains. Excellent bird-watching and hiking, but also a retreat from the humdrum. | Emerald Seas
A superb and elegantly furnished, luxury 4 bedroom seafront villa just east of Ocho Rios in Jamaica, with stunning sea and coastal views from the cascading, cliffside gardens, which, like the villa, are lovingly tended and in immaculate order. | Drambuie Estate
A refined, intriguing five bedroom property in plantation style with stunning views over Montego Bay. Drambuie was built in the 1940s using original stonework and combines new and traditional architectural styles with colourful flair. Ideal for large groups, an excellent spot for Jamaica weddings. | Strawberry Hill
An exquisite small hotel in modernised plantation style, set at 3000 feet above Kingston in the Blue Mountains. Strawberry Hill is a Caribbean gem with an extremely and luxurious air. With a full service spa, an excellent dining room and high levels of service, it is a superb escape. | Hotel Mocking Bird Hill
A small eco friendly retreat set on the hillside above Port Antonio, with fantastic coastal views over the lushest and most beautiful part of Jamaica. Mocking Bird Hill has a welcoming atmosphere, good comfort and facilities, some adventure (bird-watching and hiking) in the hills around and excellent home made fare in their restaurant, Mille Fleurs. | Noble House
An immaculate, 4 bedroom villa in a gracious, older style, located at Unity Hall just west of Montego Bay. Noble House is surrounded by lawns with flowerbeds and fruit trees and gives right onto 500ft of beachfront. Spacious living area and a private terrace with a sea view from each bedroom. | Tranquillity
A delightful seafront property set in beautifully tended shorefront gardens just to the west of Montego Bay. The five bedrooms are in a mix of old colonial style in the main house and more contemporary design in the separate cottage. Swimming and snorkelling right there. | Roaring Pavilion and Spa
One of the Caribbean’s finest rental villas, a stunning four bedroom house in truly elegant Jamaican style, set just west of Ocho Rios on the beach made famous by Ursula Andress in the James Bond film Dr No. Top notch service and great style. One of the few Caribbean villas with its own spa. Also a fully equipped gym. | Norse Hill
Grand four bedroom Jamaica rental villa set high above the coast at San San just east of Port Antonio. Family style, with elements of the Orient and Scandinavia, fantastic gardens and spectacular views of the most beautiful part of Jamaica. | Hibiscus Lodge Hotel
A friendly, family owned hotel set in three acres of lovely gardens on a dramatic cliff top within walking distance of Ocho Rios’ town centre. It has quite simple but comfortable rooms overlooking the sea and a bar and pool that cling to the cliffside. Also a well regarded restaurant, the Almond Tree. |
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Food & Cooking
The food you are likely to come across in Jamaica is fairly typical of the British Caribbean. In the hotel dining rooms and in the restaurants catering primarily to the tourist trade you will usually find the same often ‘international’ fare. There may be some local flavours, but the food tends to be targeted at the largely American and British visitors and so it is usually fairly bland and often unadventurous. In fact many of the ingredients are imported too, despite Jamaica’s fertility. Restaurants may be themed, say Italian or Mexican, but in fact there are surprisingly few top independent restaurants even in the main resort towns. Only a few of the hotel dining rooms have pretensions to sophisticated international cuisine. There are of course many fast food chains, some American and some Jamaican, but the style is still the same.
If you look a little further afield, though, there is plenty to discover. The island has fantastic fruits to begin with. There are bananas, pawpaw, mango (including varieties Julie, Bombay and No 11), pineapples and exotics such as soursop and sweetsop, guineps and guavas, otaheite apples and endless varieties of citrus including lime, lemon, orange and grapefruit, ortanique and ugli fruits, which is named for its knobbled, warty skin. Of course there is the coconut, which can be used in a huge variety of ways, but there are also cashews and peanuts. Fruits are widely served as juice and in desserts, particularly in ice creams.
Jamaican vegetables tend to be quite heavy and starchy and they are not really what most travellers want to eat in a hot climate. They are interesting though, and you will see them for sale if you visit the market. You will find yam, a tuber that grows underground beneath a shaggy vine, cassava, another root vegetable that was used by the Arawaks, and the sweet potato. There are many sorts of vegetable bananas and there is even one vegetable that you will find in a tree. The breadfruit starts off standing upright like a lollipop and then hangs down is a starchy green cannonball which thuds to earth. Untypical perhaps is the chocho, a light green, pear-shaped vegetable that can be used in salads.
Jamaican food may not be what you might want to eat for a week while on holiday. It tends to be quite thick and is often heavy, a stew served with a volley of hefty vegetables or rice. It is worth a try though, and although you may get a night at your hotel in which they serve a buffet of local dishes, you can also find some restaurants around the tourist towns that serve specifically Jamaican food. Just a few restaurants around Jamaica use the island’s exceptional ingredients in an inventive way. For a list of dishes, see below.
The Jamaicans also love their street food. The best example of this is jerk (also below), but you will also find stalls at the roadside where they have fried chicken and festival, fry fish and bammy or a corn soup. If you see vendors standing at the roadside (particularly at Black River and holding small bags with pink produce, these are ‘swims’ or peppered shrimps. Tasty but hot (and don’t put your hand near your eyes).
If you are interested in learning how to prepare local dishes, and are staying in a villa then you can ask the cook to show you how to prepare food in Jamaican style. There are currently no cookery courses available on island, but some of the larger resorts have culinary demonstrations for guests as part of their weekly activities, for example Royal Plantation every Thursday.
Some of the favourite Jamaican dishes you will come across are as follows. There is also a list of food festivals.
Ackee and Saltfish - is Jamaica’s national dish and usually eaten for breakfast. The peach coloured fruit of the ackee tree has cream coloured flesh which, when cooked, looks and tastes not unlike scrambled eggs, with a hint of avocado. This is sautéd with flaked saltfish (dried salted cod which has been soaked then boiled), onions, green pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, thyme, tomatoes and seasonings. The unripe ackee is poisonous, so before use the pod should always be allowed to open up and ripen naturally (revealing its shiny black seeds). You can buy canned ackee.
Bammy – a flatbread made from deep fried cassava flour, often served as an accompaniment to escoveitch fish.
Run-down – a creamy and piquant sauce made from coconut cream, scotch bonnet pepper, garlic, onion, thyme, chopped tomato and allspice, which is then simmered with fish or seafood, with whole mackerel the traditional choice, served with boiled green bananas, yam, roast breadfruit and dumplings. Run-down also works well with chicken.
Curry Goat – a mild curry made with goat on the bone served with chutney and either plain boiled rice or rice and peas.
Duckanoo - also known as Tie a Leaf and Blue Drawers, duckanoo is a popular sweet pudding steamed in banana leaves. Its main ingredients are cornmeal, grated coconut, grated sweet potato, green banana, spices and brown sugar.
Escoveitch Fish – usually a whole fried fish such as tilapia (a fresh water fish caught in Jamaica) or red snapper filets, served with a pickle-like sauce, made with vinegar, scotch bonnet peppers, garlic, onions, thyme and pimento seeds, which is heated and served over the fish and some extra sliced onions. Traditionally served with bammy, see above.
Bun & Cheese - really a loaf of sweet bread with mixed dried fruit, fruit peel, mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg (not unlike a tea bread or very dense fruit cake) that is traditionally enjoyed at Easter with sliced cheddar cheese, like a sandwich. However it is so popular that it is eaten year round.
Festival – a slightly sweet, deep fried dumpling stick, eaten with jerk.
Jerk – a method of cooking and marinating meats that originated with the Maroons, runaways that held out against British rule for nearly 200 years in the interior of Jamaica. To preserve meat that they had hunted, it was marinated in a mixture of spices, wrapped in leaves and slow cooked in a hot stone pit or sometimes cooked over pimento wood fires. Today Boston Bay is ‘the home of jerk’ and has several jerk ‘pits’ at the roadside, serving pork, chicken and local sausage grilled en-mass over open fires, using a selection of local woods – pimento wood is seldom used being expensive and hard to come by. The jerk seasoning is a mixture (recipes do vary) which basically consists of scotch bonnet peppers, scallion, pimento (allspice), thyme, salt, allspice, nutmeg, garlic, vinegar and sugar, which is then used for marinating whatever is to be grilled. The jerk of your choice is hacked into bite sized pieces, literally, with a huge cleaver, for easy eating and can be accompanied by a festival (slightly sweet, fried dumpling) or a piece of baked yam, sweet potato or breadfruit, and is usually drunk with an ice cold Red Stripe. For those who like their jerk really hot, ask for some jerk pepper sauce to dip into. To find out more about jerk centres see here.
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning can be found in larger supermarkets in the UK. The main brands are Walkerswood, Grace and Dunn’s River.
Patty – the Jamaican patty is a popular lunchtime fast-food, and the equivalent to a hamburger or a sandwich in other climes. It is made from a slightly crusty, pastry dough formed into a semi-circle envelope/turnover and filled with hot and spicy ground meat filling. The most popular flavour is beef, but you will also come across chicken, lamb, prawn and saltfish as alternatives. There are two main patty chains in Jamaica, Tastee’s and Juici’s, and each has its fans. Tastee’s is the original and has been in the business for over 30 years, and for many is the patty of patties. If you do fancy a patty, don’t leave it until too late in the afternoon as they tend to sell quickly – around 100,000 patties are sold in Jamaica every day.
Rice & Peas – actually kidney beans or gungo bean and not peas mixed with rice cooked in coconut milk, and seasoned with garlic, thyme and spring onion. Sometimes scotch bonnet pepper is added.
Solomon Gundy – the main ingredient is smoked herring which is mashed together with peppers and seasonings to make a spicy paté-like mixture which is then eaten on crackers (water biscuits), or used in cooking.
Stamp and Go – known by different names on other Caribbean islands but hugely popular nevertheless, these are basically fish fritters. Sometimes they are known as fishcakes. They are made from saltfish, mixed into a flour-based batter with spring onion, seasonings and scotch bonnet pepper, then deep fried. They are best served hot, and are almost always served at rum punch or cocktail parties, with a hot pepper dipping sauce.
Blue Mountain Coffee
Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is some of the most famous in the world. The beans must to be grown on the slopes of the Blue Mountains within specified elevation restrictions - coffee grown outside these are known as High Mountain Supreme, Jamaican Prime or Jamaica Select according to the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board. The Arabica coffee beans are handpicked, with 100% pure Blue Mountain coffee coming from the Mavis Bank (whose factory handles 40% of the island’s coffee and markets its own roasted beans as Jablum and its green beans exported in wooden barrels as M.B.C.F.), Silver Hill, Moy Hall and Wallenford (Government Station) Estates. Many regard it as the world’s finest coffee. It is certainly among the world’s most expensive. Name brands selling pure Jamaican Blue Mountain ground or coffee beans in shops island wide, are Jablum and Country Traders. Around 85% of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is exported to Japan, 10% to North America and the rest goes to Europe or the Caricom countries, so if you are a coffee fan it is worth while stocking up whilst on island. Prices are considerably less than what you would pay at home.
Mavis Bank Coffee Estate, Blue Mountains, t 977 8013
Tours of the estate to see the various processes of drying and roasting coffee are available on working days, best by appointment.
A number of food festivals are held throughout the year, the main being as follows (please see Calendar of Events for dates):
Jamaica Chicken Festival, t 922 4200, events@caribbeaneventsgroup.com
The West Indians love their chicken and Jamaica is no exception. There is a Labour weekend beach bash at James Bond Beach, featuring chicken cooked in all manner of ways. There are culinary competitions, demonstrations, recipes to collect and live entertainment.
Jamaica Coffee Festival, t 922 4200, events@caribbeaneventsgroup.com
A showcase for Jamaica’s world famous Blue Mountain Coffee. Held in Kingston, the festival features demonstrations on all there is to know about coffee, including the art of cupping and the preparation of roasted beans. Various coffee based liqueurs, ice cream, desserts, foods, merchandise and recipes are on show.
Portland Jerk Festival, t 715 5465, portlandpdc@hotmail.com
Boston Bay is the home of jerk and each year lovers of this hot and spicy dish converge at nearby Folly Estate to dine out on jerk pork, jerk chicken, jerk fish, jerk lobster, jerk sausage and jerk conch served with a festival, baked breadfruit or yam, and rice & peas. There is live entertainment, and games, and a jerk eating competition.
Trelawny Yam Festival, t 610 0818 (Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency)
An annual event spread out over a week in the lead up to Easter weekend, culminating in the Grand Yam Festival Day on Easter Monday. The yam, which is a very starchy, large, potato-like ground provision is cultivated extensively in Trelawny, and the festival’s celebrations feature cultural performances, champion farmer competitions, the best dressed donkeys, a dominoes tournament, culinary competitions, and a Festival Village with vendors selling yam dishes, jerk and every popular Jamaican dish imaginable. |
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Golf
Jamaica has some excellent golf courses. There are around a dozen altogether, but the highest concentration and the best are centred on Montego Bay in the North West, where you will find six within easy driving distance. Some of the others courses are around the other main resort towns - Negril, Rio Bueno, Runaway Bay, Ocho Rios and Port Antonio (nine holes) - but many Jamaicans like to play golf too and so there are also a couple of courses around Kingston and one near Mandeville (nine holes).
If you want a golfing holiday, then your best bet is really to go to Montego Bay, because of the concentration of courses there and the levels of comfort. There are courses attached to the following hotels - Half Moon, the Ritz-Carlton, Rose Hall Resort & Country Club (all to the east of the town) and Tryall (twenty minutes to the west) and of course if you are staying there you will be offered preferential tee-off times (though they do allow outsiders). These courses are mostly set inland and so they are all fairly hilly, but they are all close enough to the sea to get views of the coast and for them to be affected by sea breezes. They also have pros attached that can offer instruction of course.
Half Moon, t 953 2211
18 hole, 7119 yard, par 72 championship course designed by Robert Trent Jones Senior. Green Fees - Summer season, 9 holes US$55 (non resident guest US$70), 18 holes US$85 (US$130), golf carts US$25-35, caddy fees US$12-25, clubs US$40-50, shoes US$10 and driving range US$5 (basket only). Rates valid 16 Apr-14 Dec 2008 and are subject to 18.5% tax and service. There is a putting green in the main resort.
Tryall Club, t 956 660
18 hole, par 72 championship course designed by Ralph Plummer. Tyrall Club has played host to international events as the Johnnie Walker World Championship. Green Fees - Summer season, US$40 for guests of residents, US$55 for in villa guests, US$80 for non residential guests. Golf carts US$20-30, shared caddy fees US$23-45. Fees and rates are subject to 16.5% tax.
White Witch, t 518 0174
18 hole, par 71, 6859 yard course designed by Robert von Hagge and Rick Baril. White Witch boasts 600 acres of lush greenery and ocean views from most holes. Greens Fees - US$169 for hotel guests, US$189 for non hotel guests and $99 per round from 2.30 to 4.30 pm. Rates include Caddy Concierge Program, greens fees, cart, and practice balls. Rates do not include tax or gratuity for caddy.
Cinnamon Hill Ocean Course, t 953 2650
18 hole, par 71, 6637 yard championship level golf course designed by Robert Von Hagge and located at the Rose Hall Resort & Country Club. Pro shop, club and shoe rental, golf instruction, practice area, caddy service, cart rental. Recently renovated.
Superclubs Ironshore, t 953 3681
18 hole, par 72, 6633 yard course designed by Robert Moote. Bar, restaurant and pro shop facilities. The (mandatory) caddy service will come in particular use when navigating the challenging blind holes. Club rental US$21 for 18 holes, carts US$35 for 18 holes.
Sandals Golf and Country Club, Ocho Rios, t 974 5691
18 hole, par 71, 6311 yards. Complimentary green fees and golf lessons to all Sandals guests. Caddy is mandatory, US$17 for 18 holes. Carts are optional, US$40 for 18 holes. Club and shoe rental available.
SuperClubs Breezes, Runaway Bay, t 973 2436
18 holes, par 72, 5389 yard championship course designed by Commander John Harris. Golf school, lecture room with video equipment, driving range, practice green, sand trap and chipping area. Golf school instruction is included for guests. Green fees are included for guests of Breezes Runaway Bay Resort & Golf Club, Grand Lido Braco Resort & Spa, and Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa. Green fees for non guests are US$80. Club hire, US$14, carts US$23 (9 holes), US$35 (18 holes), mandatory caddies US$11 (9 holes), US$16 (18 holes), club rental, US$14.
Negril Hills, t 957 3890
18 hole, Par 72, 6333 yard course built by Robert Simmons. Green fees: 9 holes US$28.75, 18 holes US$57.50. Golf club rental US$18, mandatory caddy rate US$7 (9 holes), US$14 (18 holes), cart rental US$17.25 (9 holes), US$34.50 (18 holes). Snack carts circle the course providing drinks and light snacks.
Accommodation set on a golf course or well positioned for golf includes: | The Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort
The Ritz-Carlton Golf and Spa Resort is set in Rose Hall, a few miles to the east of Montego Bay. A large and luxurious beach hotel, it has the exceptional service of the Ritz-Carlton brand and includes a full service spa, a championship golf course and conference facilities. | Tryall Club
A top notch villa resort set in extensive grounds running down to Jamaica’s north coast to the west of Montego Bay. Tryall has around 70 privately owned villas, many of them extremely elegant, scattered around hillsides and the fairways of an excellent golf course. Some central facilities, with a beach club and restaurant. | Greatview
A first class, 5 bedroom luxury villa overlooking the coast east of Montego Bay, offering an exceptional standard of accommodation, comfort and facilities, with services to match. Newly built, the villa is furnished with family heirlooms, Asian antiques and traditional Jamaican pieces. | Half Moon
A large and luxurious resort on 2 miles of shoreline and beaches just east of Montego Bay. Half Moon has hotel rooms, suites and villas in its extensive grounds, and an extremely wide range of activities, including a children’s centre, conference facilities, shopping centre, golf course, riding stables. A popular Caribbean and leading Jamaican resort. | Pavilion
A bright and cheerful, well furnished holiday home set within well tended gardens at Rose Hall just east of Montego Bay. Beautiful views to the coast at the front and to the interior countryside behind. |
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Health & Fitness
The majority of large resorts and hotels have their own fitness rooms or gyms which are normally reserved for guest use only. Day passes can also be purchased for many of the all-inclusive resorts, which will include use of fitness facilities, however may not cover specific classes, for instance yoga. If you are travelling independently, or are staying in a hotel without facilities, there are gyms in the various resort towns and of course in Kingston.
A number of the luxury villas now also have fitness rooms or fitness areas. These include Amanoka and Fortlands Point at Discovery Bay, Greatview at Springfarm Estate near Montego Bay, Silent Waters near Montego Bay and Roaring Pavilion near Ocho Rios. Other villas provide guests with club membership privileges at nearby resorts, such as Round Hill and Wyndham Rose Hall. |
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Hiking
Jamaica offers an extremely diverse landscape for walkers and there are some surprisingly large mountains for an island just fifty miles across. It is exceptionally lush and beautiful too. There are dry limestone forests (and some wet ones) all over the island and as you climb higher you come to rainforest and eventually cloud forest where there are ferns, stunted and gnarled trees hanging with wispy strands of old man’s beard.
Hiking has always been popular within certain areas, particularly the Blue Mountains, where people have long climbed to the top of the Blue Mountain Peak, but recently hiking has increased in popularity lately and consequently new areas have opened up. Besides the Blue Mountains there are organized hikes into the John Crow Mountains (in the North East of the island, out of Port Antonio) and the extraordinary Cockpit Country in the center west of the island, an area of eroded limestone hillocks that stand like a shaggy green eggbox, their peaks 300 feet high.
There are paths all over Jamaica leading to remote plantations and so you will use these for some of the walks, but there are also some trails through the high forests beyond the plantations. Along the routes there are plenty of things to see. There are also some caves and some fantastic rivers and waterfalls with rockpools that make for a delightful swim, which you will appreciate after walking in the heat. Hikes to the Blue Mountain’s highest peak at 7402ft tend to set out before dawn in order to reach the summit for sunrise, when there is a better chance of getting a view as it is often covered in cloud during the day. There are also hikes to see the sunset, which has a reasonable chance of clear weather too.
The ground in Jamaica can often be very rough underfoot (because of the limestone base) and it can also be muddy, so you should take some suitable lightweight but sturdy boots. It can also be rainy, so take a waterproof top. The best clothes for hiking are long cotton trousers with detachable legs. If you hike to the Blue Mountain Peak then it can be cold in the night, so you should take an extra layer to keep you warm until you get moving.
It is a good idea to hike with a guide in Jamaica (you are guaranteed to get lost without one), not least because they are a fount of information about the extraordinary flora that you will see along the way. Always take water supplies with you, and note that some tours require you to take your own food and snacks. Finally, don’t forget to take insect repellant.
Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park –
The most popular area for hiking, the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park covers an area of nearly 200,000 acres of these two ranges in the North-East of Jamaica, between Port Antonio and Kingston. With land as high as 7000 feet, they have an important and prolific biological diversity. The national park is managed by the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT/Green Jamaica), t 960 2848/9, www.jcdt.org, and includes two visitor and recreational centres, Holywell Recreational Area and the Portland Gap Visitor Centre. There are trails to follow form here, including one leading to the peak.
A number of companies around Jamaica offer guided hikes.
Cockpit Country Adventure Tours, Albert Town, Trelawny, t 610 0818, stea@cwjamaica.com, www.stea.net
A small eco-tourism company managed by the Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency (STEA), which offers three different guided walking tours into the extraordinary landscape of the Cockpit Country.
Sunventure Tours, Kingston, t 960 6685, sunventure@hotmail.com
Sunventure offer a variety of nature-based tours in the Blue Mountains and Cockpit Country. These include hiking, caving, safaris and bird watching. Hikes to the Blue Mountain Peak involve an overnight stay. Other hikes include a 4 hour climb to Cinchona Gardens, or a 7 hour hike including the gardens and the Grande Ridge of the Blue Mountains. Hikes through the Cockpit Country vary from 3-4 hours to a full on 10 hour hike, and can include a boat trip on the Luminous Lagoon outside Falmouth.
Valley Hikes, Port Antonio, t 993 3881, valleyhikes@cwjamaica.com
An eco-tourism organization with trained guides who all come from the local area. The company offers a wide range of hikes within the Rio Grande Valley (the watershed between the Blue Mountains and the John Crow Mountains) and further a field, and they last anything from a couple of hours to two days with a night camping out. |
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History/Population/Politics
For a Caribbean island, Jamaica has a long and turbulent history. And in parts both romantic and extremely brutal. For a while it was the richest colony in the Caribbean, built on the back of the brutal subjection of slaves. As always it was a leader in the British Caribbean.
It started quietly enough. A number of Arawak tribes lived in Jamaica before the arrival of the Europeans. The Tainos led a fairly simple life, fishing, gathering food from the wild and cultivating small plots. They lived in caneyes, wooden, thatch-roofed cottages, slept in hammocks woven from cotton and made pottery. They wore few clothes but painted their bodies. Perhaps the most striking thing about them was that they deformed their skulls, binding them so that they formed a point, and made the bone extremely hard - tough enough to break the Spaniards’ swords sometimes. The name Jamaica derives from an Arawak word Xamayca, which, so the speculation goes (there is little evidence for it), meant ‘land of wood and water’. If nothing else it is a good appreciation of what the island is like.
It is thought that there were around 100,000 Tainos living on the island at the time that the Europeans arrived. Within a hundred years they were wiped out. They died in hordes from European diseases such as smallpox, even the common cold, to which they had no resistance. (They did manage to pass back syphilis and tobacco, so they had some revenge.) Also, the Spaniards also used them brutally in their search for gold and then put them to work on plantations.
Columbus landed and claimed the island for Spain May 4th 1494. (Now it is believed that he sailed into the bay at Rio Bueno, and not Discovery Bay as was once thought.) His only return to the island was on his fourth voyage in 1503, when he then limped in after a year’s exploration, his ships in such bad repair that he had to beach them and use the wood to build a defensive fort. The authorities in the main colony in Hispaniola knew he was there but didn’t want him interfering in their colony. He mouldered there for a year before they saved him.
In 1510 the Spaniards arrived to colonise the island, setting up their first settlement at Sevilla la Nueva on the north coast. The island remained a backwater in the gradually developing New World - Cuba and Santo Domingo were more important initially, then even they were rejected as the Spaniards turned to the Spanish Main – and so Jamaica was used as a supply station for other islands, farming pigs and ranching cattle. Little Spanish influence remains in Jamaica nowadays, beyond the names of a few towns and rivers. They did however leave a nasty surprise for the British colonists in 1655.
The British, or English as they were known then, took the island after an unsuccessful invasion of Santo Domingo, a part of Oliver Cromwell’s Western Design (to take as much Spanish territory as possible in the New World). Eight thousand soldiers descended on the undefended island. They landed at Kingston, marched to Spanish Town and took it without loss of life. Unlike previous invasions, they never left. The Spaniards fought them on and off for five years but in 1660 they gave up and left for Cuba. The nasty surprise they left was that they released and armed their slaves. The Maroons battled with the British for nearly 100 years.
The British immediately fortified Port Royal. It quickly became the home base of the buccaneers, and unofficially the springboard of English operations against the Spaniards in the Caribbean. The buccaneers were an unofficial army in times of war, when they carried letters of marque from the Governor, giving them permission to capture enemy shipping. Of course they never quite lost the habit in peacetime, and carried on their activities, which then tipped into piracy (even if it often had the tacit assent of the Governor). Port Royal became the richest place in the world for its size in a few years and the ‘wickedest city in Christendom’. Until a natural vengeance was wreaked on it by the earthquake of 1692. Please see the Story of Port Royal and of the Buccaneers and Pirates.
Meanwhile the British were attempting to develop the sugar plantations, cutting into the forests and planting cane. And for their part the maroons did their best to prevent it, by raiding the plantations at night, burning them and encouraging the slaves to escape. Runaways were welcomed and so there was a general haemorrhage of slaves from the plantations. Only the coastal areas could be protected. Eventually, in 1739, a treaty was signed with the Maroons, who were awarded their own areas where they could live undisturbed as long as they returned runaway slaves. See the full story of The Maroon Wars.
It was at this time that the plantations really got in gear in Jamaica and a uniquely brutal system of slavery developed. It also fuelled the slave trade with its infamous ‘Middle Passage’, in which Africans were packed aboard ships for the trans-Atlantic voyage in appalling conditions. Slavery lasted for another 100 years, until the mid 1800s, when outside pressure forced it to be made illegal. Slavery officially ended in 1834 and full emancipation came in 1938. See a description of Life on the Plantations and of The Slave Trade and then the story of Abolition and Emancipation. Eventually West Indian sugar itself became uneconomic and although other trades came to the fore, for instance the export of bananas, the island steadily slipped into the doldrums.
The twentieth century saw a rising black consciousness, led by men such as Marcus Garvey, who became Jamaica’s first National Hero (see the Story of Marcus Garvey), and as elsewhere in the Caribbean, a political consciousness too, that gave birth to trade union movement. From it eventually grew the political parties that forced universal adult voting rights in 1944 and eventually Independence from Britain. The two most colourful figures were Alexander Bustamante, leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, and Norman Manley, who led the People’s National Party. After a brief attempt at a West Indian Federation for a few years from 1958, Jamaica took its independence on 6th August 1962.
Population
Jamaica is the largest English-speaking island in the Caribbean and it currently has a population of approximately 2.71 million, with the greatest concentration of people living around the capital, Kingston. The island’s second town, Montego Bay, in the north west, is far smaller, at less than 100,000 inhabitants.
Around 91% of Jamaicans are of African descent. The remainder are made up of 7.3% mixed race, 1.3% East Indian, 0.2% Chinese and 0.2% of European descent and 0.1% “other” such as Syrians, Lebanese, and Jews. The literacy race is just under 88%.
Politics
Jamaica has been an independent nation since 1962, when it took its independence from Britain. It is still a member of the British Commonwealth and it retains a Westminster style bicameral parliamentary system with a Prime Minister at its head and a Governor General, currently Kenneth Hall, who is appointed by the British Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, as the official Head of State. Currently Jamaica is led by the Right Honourable Bruce Golding of the Jamaica labour Party (JLP), which was elected to power in September 2007 after a 33 to 27 seat victory at the polls. The main opposition party to the JLP is the People’s National Party (PNP) which was in office from 1989 to 2007, under Prime Minister PJ Patterson and Jamaica’s first woman PM Portia Simpson Miller. Other major parties the National Democratic Party (NDM) and the United People’s Party (UPP). The next election is due by September 2012. |
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Horse Riding
There is plenty of opportunity for horse riding in Jamaica and it is a wonderful way of seeing the island. It also has a long tradition. Two centuries ago it was the way that the planters and their overseers would get about their estates and across the island. Nowadays you will follow many of the same trails that they used, through the canefields and plantations. One thing the planters probably didn’t do, though, was ‘Ride and Swim’. This is a popular nowadays, a trail-ride that leads down to the beach where you canter along the sand and in the surf. Finally, it is worth noting that the horses that you will ride in Jamaica are often good. Many are former polo ponies and retired racehorses. The two sports are popular on the island and retired horses which live out their years on the recreational riding circuit.
There is a good selection of stables to choose from around the island, one pretty much near each of the main towns. They offer rides through the banana, sugar and coconut plantations of Jamaica’s extremely scenic countryside, and of course along the beach. They can cater for all standards and will put novices on a leading rein where applicable. If you are intending to ride then it is worth remembering to take a suitable pair of riding trousers (avoids chafing) and footwear. Most stables have a minimum age and maximum weight requirement in place for trail rides, and all bar one outfit in Negril ride English style on English saddles.
Equestrian associations include the Equestrian Federation of Jamaica, the Jamaica Polo Association and the Jamaica Branch of the Pony Club. |
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Island Hopping/Itinerary
The islands around Jamaica in the North-Western Caribbean are culturally very different from Jamaica and so they make an excellent combination if you visit them together on a trip. The problem is that they are also quite large, meaning that you will want to spend time in both, spending the time to travel around and explore the islands. They are also a relatively long way away, which can make the transfers expensive. Don’t forget, though, that Jamaica itself is also large and varied enough for you to create an itinerary around it. Please see below for a sample itinerary.
Cuba obviously holds enormous fascination to many people and as a Latin island with an extraordinary political history, it makes a very good two-centre trip with Jamaica, say for a week. There are day and weekend trips into Santiago de Cuba, Havana and to the beach at Varadero, but you can also fix a week’s return flights, so you might consider travelling around it. Slightly further afield, there are flights to the Dominican Republic and to Puerto Rico. These are also Latin islands, but again are very different from one another.
The Cayman Islands are extremely developed by comparison with Jamaica and much more modern and ‘American’ in style. It can be something of a relief after the excitement and bustle of the bigger island. The Caymans have excellent diving, particularly Little Cayman, which is delightfully slow and gentle. There are also regional flights to the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Finally, there is also Miami, so you can make a two-centre holiday with Florida.
Regional Airlines
Most of the tour connections fly in and out of Montego Bay, but there are also some scheduled services which also touch Kingston on the way in or out.
Air Jamaica
Flies to Grand Cayman, Cuba (Havana and Santiago de Cuba), Bahamas plus services to several islands in the Eastern Caribbean.
Air Jamaica Express
The airline ceased all operations on 14 October 2005.
ALM
Flights from Curacao to Montego Bay and Kingston
Caribbean Airlines (former BWIA).
Flights from the eastern Caribbean including Antigua, St Martin, St Lucia, Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad.
Cayman Airways
Connections three times a week to Montego Bay
Cubana
Kingston and Montego Bay to Santiago de Cuba and Havana
There are also some local charter airlines that operate out of Montego Bay
International Air Link and Tim Air are small airlines that offer scheduled flights within Jamaica from Montego Bay to Negril and to Kingston (local airport), as well as air charter services to any airport in Jamaica.
Day trips to other islands:
A number of companies offer day trips to Cuba from Montego Bay
Tropical Tours Ltd, t 952 0400/7555
Offers day trips to Cuba on request from Montego Bay including Champagne and snacks in flight, sightseeing and shopping in Santiago, and lunch. Also Cuban Visa Card. Passports are compulsory, but will not be stamped in Cuba. They also offer 7 night cultural packages.
Island Itinerary of Jamaica
You can make this tour of Jamaica, following the coastline clockwise, in a couple of weeks. It will give you some time in the major resorts if you want, but also the opportunity to see something a little more Jamaican, including the magnificent interior and possibly Kingston. It will also give you a chance to get the best of the island’s ‘chilled’ atmosphere at the same time. There are places to stay to suit almost every budget.
Assuming you fly into Montego Bay, you will probably want to get beyond the main tourist towns on the north coast, between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, in order to relax for a while. This is where many of the best beaches and the main facilities are, along with the liveliest crowds and you can return to them later if you want something a little lively. So instead, head for Port Antonio in the East, Treasure Beach on the south coast, or Negril, which although it has some large hotels, also has some of the coolest and calmest places to stay in the whole of the Caribbean.
Port Antonio is a charming and laid back town set in the most strikingly fertile part of the island. It seems fairly undeveloped at first sight, but tucked into the hills and very pretty coves beyond the town there are actually quite a lot of places to stay – small hotels, guest houses and plenty of villas. It is a lovely place to slow down and relax.
After three or four days you will be ready to move on. The trip to Kingston across the Blue Mountains (on the Section road, when open) or via Annotto Bay is absolutely stunning, but the East of Jamaica might also be worth considering. Beyond Boston Bay (itself worth a stop as the ‘Home of Jerk’) around Long Bay and Manchioneal it is extremely low key much as the Caribbean was twenty or thirty years ago. When you get there, Kingston is busy and hectic and while it is not necessarily that relaxing, unlike most Caribbean islands, it has some ‘city’ interest, in the major monuments, shopping centres and restaurants and lively bars, as well as a park and a zoo. It also has the extraordinary history of Port Royal nearby. All of this is almost diametrically opposed to the atmosphere in the Blue Mountains, where you can escape for a bit more calm and quiet. The mountains are particularly good for nature too.
Many of the most interesting ‘sights’ are around the tourist areas, so there is reason to dip into the humdrum of the North Coast (stay in one of the smaller, more charming hideouts), but if this doesn’t sound like you then head straight for Treasure Beach, a lovely dozy village with just a few bars and hotels. If you didn’t stop in Negril on arrival, then you should definitely do so before leaving. It is just the right mix of tranquil cool and lively bars and beach activity to suit your mood before you leave. Form Negril it is an hour’s drive to the airport at Montego Bay. |
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Local Organisers
Local organisers are a link into the best an island can offer in all sorts of ways. You may find them based in your hotel, offering tours or simple airport transfers, but through their contacts they are also able to arrange many other things for you – a surprise celebration for one of your party perhaps, a wedding, even a cliff-top dinner for two in an incredibly romantic location – and Jamaica has some truly wonderful places in which to stage events. Local organisers, or destination management companies as they are known in the trade, have the knowledge and the best contacts on the island to get anything done that you need.
If you book a flight inclusive holiday from the UK or Europe, the services of a ground handler should be included in your package. They will transfer you to your hotel and offer orientation. But as an independent traveller they might also be useful as well. They offer a concierge service which can help you to arrange what you want, from transfers to custom made tours or other advice.
On Jamaica we recommend the services of Glamour DMC, a respected destination management company based in Montego Bay. Started in 1987, they provide a wide range of services such as a concierge service, event and activity planning, ground transfers, organisation of programmes for incentive and convention groups, guided tours, weddings, cruise ship services and tour operator representation. For a full description of Local Organisers’ services review, please see here.
| | Glamour Destination Management (Glamour Tours)A highly respected destination management company based in Montego Bay in Jamaica. Glamour Destination Management, located at Ironshore Estate near the Half Moon Hotel, provide a full range of ground handling and concierge services, such as airport transfers, on-island tours, wedding planning as well as conference and incentive organisation. |
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Local Transport
Getting around Jamaica by public transport can be something of an adventure. It is a good way to get a true feel for Jamaican life, but as a method of transport it is time consuming and not that comfortable. Buses are usually hot, crowded and often noisy – on board they play the latest tunes at high volume to get things really swinging, or to keep the driver happy at least. It is at least easy on the pocket, but most Jamaicans avoid it if they can, and they should know...
The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) operates the bus services in and around the Kingston, Spanish Town and Portmore areas (Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region – KMTR) with a fleet of over 600 Volvo and Mercedes Benz buses. Timetables can be viewed on www.JUTC.com. The traffic in Kingston seems completely chaotic - drivers nose for gaps in the crowd as they get moving, then bob and weave in the traffic, dodging potholes and posses of school kids, overtaking in the blink of an eye when a gap appears.
The system for long distance travel is a little different. The routes are run by private minibus services, which link the main towns, and from where local services fan out to cover the local areas. It is possible to reach pretty much anywhere in Jamaica, but it is best to start off early in the day. The traffic on the other hand is not much different from in the town. It’s just that the drivers perform all the same manoeuvres at higher speed, so it can get a bit hair-raising. Private minibuses do not depart according to a timetable. They operate to some mystical schedule in which they leave at a second’s notice on the whim of the driver. Usually this is when the bus is full, but it may be before if he thinks he will pick up fares along the way.
In order to catch a bus, head down to the bus station in the town (there is usually just one per town, but Kingston has two – downtown for the North coast and Half Way Tree for Spanish Town and Mandeville). Ask around for the bus for your destination, and at the same time you might want to find out the fare. Then confirm the fare with the driver before you board a bus. You may not have to pay until later, but it is a good idea to have the agreement before you board. Out on the road you will be picked up almost anywhere. Signal to the driver by pointing rapidly and repeatedly at the ground.
The other main method of public transport, particularly around the main towns other than Kingston, are the route taxis. These are shared taxis, which cost a little more than the bus (but considerably less than a private cab). If anything their drivers are even more infamous than minibus drivers. At the speed that they go you might think that they were trying to take off. And yet they assume the invulnerability of a tank. Be warned. |
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Medical
Like the rest of the Caribbean, Jamaica has a hot but fairly benign climate. If you are unlucky enough in your holiday to need them, there are medical facilities in all of the main towns on the island, however your first port of call should probably be your hotel front desk as most hotels have a doctor on call. Pharmacies are located island wide, with many offering a 24-hour service. Visitors’ prescriptions can be fulfilled following consultation with a local physician.
Hospitals
The following are primary hospitals and have either an A&E department or 24-hour emergency service.
Cornwall Regional Hospital, Mt Salem, Montego Bay, t 952 5100, MoBay Hope Medical Centre, Half Moon Shopping Centre, Rose Hall, Montego Bay, t 953 3649. Kingston Public Hospital, t 922 0210, University Hospital of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, t 927 1620.
Secondary hospitals include St Ann’s Hospital, St Ann’s Bay (for Ocho Rios), t 972 2272, Port Antonio Hospital, t 993 2646 and Savannah-La-Mar Hospital (for Negril), t 955 2533.
Vaccinations
Vaccinations are not required for entry into Jamaica with the exception of travellers who are coming from an area infected with Yellow Fever. In this case a vaccination certificate is required from travellers over one year of age.
There is no malaria in Jamaica, but there are very occasional outbreaks of dengue fever – another mosquito-borne disease which happens after considerable rain. You should take normal precautions against mosquito bites. If you are susceptible then make sure to use insect repellent during daylight hours and after sunset. |
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Music
Music is an essential part of Jamaican life. It is played everywhere, constantly, and almost always at high volume – on the buses, at every public gathering and of course in all the bars and clubs. On Friday and Saturday nights stacks of speakers 15 feet high appear by the side of the road, higher than the bar that has the sound system. Music is also one of Jamaica’s most successful exports. The island first made a mark with ska in the sixties and then of course in the seventies reggae exploded to international fame, finding willing listeners around the world. In its various forms, Jamaican music continues to reach around the world today.
In Jamaica itself it doesn’t take long to discover just how vibrant the music scene is. The rhythm has moved on. There is a harder ‘dancehall’ style running in parallel with the softer and more melodic ‘culture’ reggae, which has more conscious (and certainly less ‘slack’ lyrics). While Jamaican music is definitely about dancing (and the rhythms are definitely well geared for that), just as elsewhere in the Caribbean, reggae and other Jamaican sounds have a strong element of social comment. Sometimes this is rebellious, sometimes visionary, and other times it is just plain ‘slack’ (vulgar). It is difficult for a newcomer to understand the patios, but lyrics are a constant source gossip and hilarity as singers address topical and universal issues in their songs.
Mento was the most popular sound in the first half of the twentieth century. Played on a string band, it is slow and melodic and has the same aspect of social comment as the later Jamaican rhythms. You will still occasionally hear mento bands, mainly at local celebrations. They are made up of acoustic guitars, a fiddle, a ukulele and a boom box (a box with a series of metal teeth or a broom handle and string). The other key aspect of the rhythm is the off beat, which fed through into the later Jamaican rhythms, making them so distinctive.
Ska came with the arrival of sound systems in the fifties and sixties. It was a riotous, very quick and compulsive dance beat. It had many influences, from music that was arriving from the States at the time, the rhythm and blues to jazz and Jamaican folk music. The ska dance style also had folk roots. The flex-kneed shuffle in which dancers hold their body forward came directly out of Pukumina ceremonies. While the rhythm was fundamentally about dance, but it also had an edge of protest in a time of great tension in Jamaica. It was frowned on initially by the Jamaican establishment, but at the time of Independence in 1962 it came to be seen as an elemental expression of Jamaican creativity and originality. The ska sounds were the first to travel abroad. The most famous band was the Skatalites.
After a few years the ska rhythm slowed down and transformed into rocksteady, which has a heavier drumbeat, a more melodic bass and increased lyrical content, but eventually that too changed, crystallising in reggae, which was to become so famous around the world. Rocksteady singers included Alton Ellis and Jackie Edwards. Better known singer that moved onto reggae include Desmond Dekker, Jimmy Cliff and Ken Boothe.
Reggae appeared in the very late 1960s, speeding up and adding an extra lilt, but still keeping the elemental off beat. It also maintained the voice of protest. The songs may have a mellow or upbeat tune, but this belies the lyrics, which can be very angry. Reggae also became associated with rastafari, a faith born in Jamaica in the 1930s. While the connection marginalized the music in Jamaica itself, it added enormously to its international following and reggae stars became known for their dreadlocks, red gold and green colours and smoking ganja or marijuana. The most famous reggae star is of course Bob Marley, but other famous names include Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs and groups such as Burning Spear, Black Uhuru and Third World.
While the reggae rhythm has continued to be popular on the island and abroad (where it has spawned groups in it turn), in the late 1980s the main interest in Jamaica itself turned towards a new rhythm, dancehall, a compulsive and monotonous rap grafted onto a hard and fast reggae beat. There is little melody – delivery is everything – and DJs sing and shout their lyrics over established rhythms. As always the songs address topical issues, but they are particularly known for their slack content, much of which is too filthy to publish.
Currently the music scene in Jamaica is divided between DJs, who sing hard dancehall, and Singers, who adopt a more mellow ‘culture reggae’ style (that sounds much easier on the ear). You can hear day-long culture reggae on the radio station Irie FM.
Some key places to visit and Music Festivals in Jamaica include:
Bob Marley Museum, 56 Hope Road, Kingston, t 927 9152
The former home of Bob Marley in uptown Kingston, where his original Tuff Gong recording studio was located. The museum features memorabilia, photographs and film of the celebrated reggae singer.
Bob Marley Mausoleum, Rhoden Hall, Nine Mile, St Ann, t 995 1763
Located in the village of Nine Mile where Bob Marley was born in 1945, and where his mother Cedella Marley Booker still lives. The house where Marley grew up and the mausoleum are open as a museum. Prepare to be hustled.
Reggae Sumfest, Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre, Montego Bay, t 953 2933, info@reggaesumfest.com
Reggae Sumfest is the highlight of Jamaica’s music festival scene, attracting international reggae stars, and is a fun and happening event held during late August. Concerts are held late evening and can attract up to 20 performers per show, ending in the wee hours of the morning. They feature not only reggae, but dancehall and some rhythm & blues acts.
ReggaeXplosion, Island Village, Ocho Rios
An audio visual exhibit depicting the evolution of Jamaica’s popular music from mento through ska then reggae, including dancehall and DJ, with videos, soundtracks and images portraying the story from the 50s to present day. There are specific soundbooths screening DVDs for each musical genre and a large main screen for further footage. |
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