Jamaica Travel Guide

What You Need To Know: The Bare Bones

Size 10,991 km2
Population 2.5 Million
Currency Jamaican Dollar

Getting Through Customs

Citizens of the UK, EU and Commonwealth countries must produce passports and an onward ticket for stays up to 6 months. US and Canadian citizens don't need passports but should produce evidence of citizenship with a photo ID (bizarrely a passport would probably suffice) again this is for a visit up to 6 months in length.

Health & how to maintain it

Drink only bottled, boiled or purified/filtered water. This is just to be on the safe side. Avoid ice cubes unless you know they come from a 'safe' source. You won't need any specific inoculations but it is advisable to make sure Tetanus and other basic jabs are up to date. Try and only eat food that is properly prepared and cooked if you are away from main resort areas. Take normal precautions against the heat. In the main areas of population on the island medical help is good but in the more rural districts becomes less reliable. Make sure you have enough insurance to cover any eventuality including medical evacuation back home.

Driving and Getting Around

Travel by car is the easiest and most flexible way of getting around. It is also quite expensive and many of the roads are not great. Drive on the left. The Bus system is reasonably comprehensive and well priced and the crammed buses are a great way to get close to the people. Travelling by air is a good and fairly cheap way of travelling longer distances but you still have the problem of getting around once you are at your destination airport.

Keeping out of Trouble

Marijuana is widely grown and is part of the 'local reggae culture', it is also illegal as is possession of all kinds of drug (cocaine is very common). If you are caught expect to be dealt with harshly. Jamaica has a very bad reputation regarding violent crime. Whilst not entirely unwarranted it is not as bad as the media would have us believe. Take normal, sensible precautions and you will be OK. Kingston at night can be dodgy as can certain parts even during the day. Listen to local advice on where to avoid. Pickpockets and bagsnatchers work the busy tourist areas so conduct yourself accordingly.

Insurance

Make sure that you have full and comprehensive insurance that covers any eventuality. You need cover for loss or theft of all money and documents, cover for theft or loss of luggage, full medical and accident insurance.

Cash and Plastic

Traveller's cheques are easily exchanged in the resorts and credit cards are readily accepted. Hole in the wall cash machines are available but check to make sure your card is supported, most of the big ones are. Cash is the best way of doing business in the rural parts of the Island. Make sure your cash is in sensible 'small' denominations.

The Best Time to Go?

The weather is typically Caribbean all year round rarely dropping below 200 -except in the mountains- it can get into the low thirties in high summer.

So what's it really like?

Some countries walk, some stride, sadly some hobble, Jamaica positively struts. Though a place not without its problems there is much to recommend Jamaica, this far outweighs the negative aspects. Jamaica was the first place with 'all inclusive' resorts. Whilst this undoubtedly appeals to many people, to remain the entire duration of your stay in a manufactured enclave is to miss out on much of what the island has to offer.

In many ways Jamaica is the original island paradise; colourful locals, exceptional music, golden beaches, cerulean seas and stunning landscape set against a historical colonial background. All of this is true but fails to address the dark side of the island and the issues of economic hardship facing much of the population, this is reflected in the crime rate and lurid tabloid press headlines.

The idyllic tropical paradise is hardly visible in the islands history. The Spanish arrived first and their first act was to decimate the indigenous Indian population. What invaluable tools of colonial exploitation the common cold and syphilis turned out to be. With no local workers they set up a slave based society (thus kick-starting the African slave trade), that lasted right up until the British came to stay. Following the British take-over, freed Spanish slaves and their descendants (the Maroons) fought a guerrilla war against the British. This went on for seventy years and although they did so successfully, the Maroons could not halt British development.

Economic growth was based on the vast sugar cane plantations, a system supported by slavery. Plantation owners made vast fortunes on the back of the misery of their workers. When abolition finally came in 1834, the plantation owners merely shipped cheap, 'indentured' labour in from India. This was slavery by any other name. How proud the colonialists must have been!

Subsequently Jamaica's history has continued to be one of mini boom followed by bust, leading to a gradual decline in many areas with violence often not far away. However with the country still heavily in debt and many of the people struggling to survive there is still a lively and positive atmosphere. Things are improving for the Jamaican people; whilst foreign tourist cash continues to roll in and the bauxite industry remains strong there is continued optimism that things will continue to improve. Whatever transpires the people, supported by a vivid cultural identity, will meet it all with their characteristic, unquenchable spirit.

Cricket

Cricket is the sport of the Caribbean and Jamaica is one of the places where it most fervently followed. If you are in Jamaica at the same time as a touring side is in town, it is worth going to see. The exuberance and colour the West Indian supporters bring to what is regarded as somewhat of a genteel sport in other parts of the world is something else.

Elsewhere on the Island, there are other sports. Any of the resort towns will offer diving and snorkelling plus the warm seas are an open invite to the sailing and windsurfing fraternity. Many of the resorts on the north coast also offer deep-sea fishing for marlin, tuna and dolphin (no, not flipper but a small fish with the same name).

Many of the 'all inclusive' enclaves are based around golf courses and there are some very fine courses including the Tryall, which is home to the Johnnie Walker World Championship.