Every aspect of life
in Jamaica is imbued with a sense of pride for the island and its
people. There’s that common search for "everything being irie,"
which is more than just a phrase to describe being relaxed and
content. It sums up that feeling when people come together to create
a work of harmony that someone could only discover in Jamaica’s
peaceful paradise. Holding a dish of jerk chicken while listening to
live reggae next to a placid turquoise sea seems to do the trick.
That singular sense of
rhythm and joy is a major reason for so many vacations booked to
Jamaica. All that reggae-inspired dancin’ and romancin’ is a
positive reminder of the island’s national motto: "out of many, one
people."
Montego Bay
Accessibility and
convenience have always been one of Montego Bay’s best selling
points because of Sangster International Airport and Jamaica’s
largest stable
of beachfront resorts
a mere 10-15 minute cab ride away. Another major selling point is
that within the last few years, the region has developed into a
world-class golfer’s playground with four championship golf courses
featuring postcard perfect
fairways bordering the
sea. All of the courses are either almost brand new or have been
recently modernized.
These include a Robert
Trent Jones layout at Half Moon Montego Bay; the 18 spectacular
holes cascading down the hillside surrounding The Tryall Club; the
completely revamped Cinnamon Hill at Wyndham Rose Hall Resort &
Country Club; and the lushly landscaped new White Witch links at The
Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall designed by Robert von Hagge. The area hotels
can put together value-filled packages with guaranteed tee times
where visitors can play two or more courses during one stay.
Anchoring the Wyndham
and Ritz-Carlton golf courses is Rose Hall, one of the Caribbean’s
most dramatic sugar plantation homes, or "Great Houses." Perched
atop a verdant hillside, the elegantly restored home overlooks 400
acres of lush lawns sloping down to the sea. Likewise, the Greenwood
Great House was constructed in 1790 by a cousin of poet Elizabeth
Barrett Browning.
Ocho Rios
It
was in Ocho Rios where mass tourism first took off in Jamaica during
the advent of the jet age. The region has built up over the years a
wealth of cultural activities, outdoor excursions and interesting
shopping that set Ocho Rios apart as a resort area offering much
more than sun, sea and sand.
Dunn’s River Falls is
easily Jamaica’s most well known attraction and for good reason.
Visitors come from all over the island to traverse the boulders and
falling water as they make their way up into the jungle. Other
spectacular natural settings include a variety of gardens where
visitors can wander through acres of bougainvillea, ginger lilies,
heliconias, anthuriums, orchids and massive banyan trees. Spots to
visit are Shaw Park Botanical Gardens; Coyaba River Garden & Museum;
Cranbrook Flower Forest; and Fern Gully with over 500 varieties of
ferns planted since the 1880s.
For art lovers, Wassi
Art is a little known commune high up in the mountains where
resident artists create exquisite clay pottery and sculpture. This
is a must for shoppers also, because it has the best variety and
pricing compared to the cruise ship docks. It’s fun to buy the local
wares from where they were designed, and tourists have the benefit
of seeing the clay-making process firsthand while the artisans work
their magic on the pottery wheel.
A must-see diversion
for all stripes of visitors, Island Village is an expansive
shopping, dining and entertainment complex owned by Chris Blackwell,
the legendary producer of Bob Marley. The open-air and lushly
landscaped attraction is home to various restaurants including Jimmy
Buffett’s Margaritaville, plus colorful shops selling both designer
labels and local Jamaican wares. A highlight is the ReggaeXplosion
museum dedicated to reggae and its many fans. Make sure to check out
the dance floor inside designed for the hearing impaired. Below the
floor are high powered speakers that make the floor reverberate so
people can feel the reggae beat as it emanates up through their
bodies, while they watch classic reggae concerts on the large video
screen.
Negril
Negril is one of the
Caribbean’s most laid back destinations for a large-scale resort
setting, so much so it’s earned a reputation as "the capital of
casual." The selling point here is simple. Visitors have direct
access to seven miles of uninterrupted, pure white beach fronting an
unbelievably calm blue-green ocean. This is what the postcard
promised and this is what Negril delivers. No hotel is more than
three stories tall, and much of the beach is home to an array of
funky beach bars and restaurants with most of their tourist
clientele barefoot and grinning. Every year, it seems another small
and colorful inn-style resort opens up where visitors feel like
they’re staying with a Jamaican family and their cute,
well-manicured gingerbread home.
Bordering the main
beach is seven more miles of seaside cliffs and grottos first
popularized by visiting hippies in the 1960s. Dotting the cliffs are
a series of open-air restaurants and bars that cater to hundreds of
tourists nightly who migrate here to watch the nightly sunsets over
the Caribbean Sea. As the dying sun lights up the waters, the reggae
bands start pumping out their hip-swayin’ beat while everyone knifes
into their spicy Jerk chicken and sips on Jamaica’s Red Stripe beer.
One special event during sunset on the cliffs are the professional
cliff divers at Rick’s Café who perform graceful acrobatics from 60
feet above the warm crystalline waters.
Most importantly in
Negril, the region has the highest number of hotels in the Caribbean
certified by Great Britain’s Green Globe environmental organization.
The local government is adamant about keeping the destination in its
pristine ecological state, meaning no cruise ships or heavy
industry.
Port Antonio
Situated between two
idyllic harbors, the town of Port Antonio is one of the most verdant
landscapes in all of Jamaica because it’s nestled at the foot of the
mist-covered Blue Mountains. The narrow roads twisting through the
countryside are literally swathed in cascading bougainvillea, tall
royal and traveler’s palms, and
jungle vines straight
out of Tarzan. Far away from any tourist hordes, the region is
popular for romantic couples and ecotourists who come for the Garden
of Eden atmosphere.
Accommodations offer a
choice of full-service properties directly on the beach or more
homey environs higher up in the hills with breathtaking views and
loads of old Jamaican charm. There is not much in the way of
man-made attractions in Port Antonio, but there’s enough of that
throughout the rest of Jamaica. Instead, visitors tend to hang out
at their hotels and breathe the fresh Blue Mountain air while
sipping on the world-famous Blue Mountain coffee. The most famous
attractions are Blue Lagoon and the bamboo raft tours down the
mighty Rio Grande River that winds through the palm-strewn hills.
Other activities
include Athenry Gardens, the ancient stalagmites and stalactites
inside Nonesuch Caves, swimming under the Somerset Waterfalls, and
hiking/horseback riding through Rio Grande Valley.
South Coast
The
southern coast of Jamaica is the next big thing in terms of tourism,
with Sandals Resorts opening a new property this winter. The selling
point here is life in the Caribbean as Jamaicans know it—authentic
and supremely peaceful. The "quiet side" of Jamaica is highlighted
by the breezy hill town of Mandeville sitting 2,000 ft. above sea
level, and the Treasure Beach area with its empty beaches and
spectacular villa rentals around Bluefields Bay.
The genteel British
heritage and cooler climate of Mandeville make it attractive to
Caribbean travelers seeking something new to discover beyond the
beach. Highlights include garden tours led by the local
horticultural society and golf at the Manchester Club, which opened
the first golf course in the Caribbean way back in 1868.
Around Treasure Beach,
there are three once-in-a-lifetime opportunities no visitor should
miss if they’re in the region. YS Falls is a magical escape with
waterfalls emptying into a series of pools for swimming and swinging
on ropes. For rum aficionados, there’s a fun tour and free tasting
at the historic Appleton Estate sugar factory and rum distillery.
And whatever one does in the south coast of Jamaica, a pontoon ride
up the Black River to see the wild alligators up close is a must.
Sitting in silence a couple of miles up the river among the
mangroves and vines is as pure a Jamaican event as any tourist will
ever discover.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Marriage requirements:
Proof of citizenship and proof of divorce, if applicable. French
Canadians need a notarized translated English copy of documents and
a photocopy of the original French documents
Destination Information
Official language:
English
Government:
Representative democracy
Temperature:
Averages 82ºF
Rainfall:
78 inches annually
Official currency:
Jamaican dollar, but the U.S. dollar is widely accepted
Entry requirements:
Valid passport or birth certificate with photo identification
Departure tax:
$27
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Contact:
One of our Dream Excursions Vacation Specialist at 1-888-898-3628 or
email us at
request@dreamexcursions.com for
fast, friendly assistance.
