Why Jamaica
The island is two hundred and forty kilometres long and reads in three poles. Kingston, the capital, on the south coast, is the real city — music, university, Bob Marley museum — and it is little visited. Montego Bay and Negril, on the north-west coast, hold the resorts and the beaches. Port Antonio, in the east, is wilder and greener.
The Blue Mountains, in the centre-east, rise to two thousand two hundred and fifty-six metres and are World Heritage listed along with the John Crow Mountains. That is where the coffee of the same name grows.
December to April: dry and hot. From June to November, the rainy season and the hurricane season.
Entry and stay
Requirements depend on nationality. Check yours with the local authorities before booking.
No duration is quoted here, for want of an official source verified at the time of writing — 22 September 2026.
Getting around
A car or a private transfer are the realistic modes. A public bus network exists but is hard to use without local knowledge; route taxis, shared taxis on fixed routes, cover the rest.
Driving is on the left, a British legacy. Mountain roads are narrow and local driving is fast.
Kingston and Montego Bay are four hours apart by road, or half an hour by domestic flight.
Money
The Jamaican dollar. US dollars are widely accepted in tourist areas, at a rate that favours the trader.
Cards work in hotels and large chains; markets, taxis and small shops stay in cash.
Health
No vaccination required from Europe. Dengue circulates; use mosquito protection.
Adequate medical facilities are in Kingston and Montego Bay. Insurance covering evacuation is advisable.
Before you go
Cannabis has been decriminalised in small quantities since 2015 but it is neither legal to sell nor to export. The distinction escapes many visitors and it carries criminal consequences.
Some districts of Kingston are best avoided and local advice should be taken seriously. The rest of the island poses no particular problem.
English is the official language, but the language of daily life is Jamaican Patois, which is not distorted English but a creole language in its own right.