Jamaica does not sell itself like the other Caribbean islands. You do not go only for the beach: you go for a country with its own language, its own music and its own character, one that makes no effort to look like Florida. That is its strength, and it is also what unsettles travellers who wanted an interchangeable resort.
The essentials in four lines
Where to stay: Montego Bay for the shortest transfer, Negril for the best beach, Ocho Rios for excursions, Runaway Bay and the south coast for quiet and lower prices.
Best time to go: December to April. Hurricane season runs from early June to late November.
Entry: Canadian passport valid for the length of the stay, no visa up to ninety days, immigration details to be given online before arrival or on the card handed out in flight.
Flights: the large majority of flights from Quebec land in Montego Bay.
Four regions, four holidays
Montego Bay
The front door. The airport sits minutes from the hotels, which spares you the long transfers you get elsewhere on the island. Doctor’s Cave Beach and the Hip Strip give a street life you will not find inside a gated hotel zone. It is the best choice for a first visit and for a short week.
Negril
Seven miles of sand at the western end of the island, and cliffs on the other side of the point, at West End, where people dive off the rocks. Sunsets there are a local institution. Allow about an hour and a half by road from Montego Bay: that is the price of the finest beach in the country.
Ocho Rios
Excursion country. Dunn’s River Falls are climbed in a human chain, gardens and zip lines fill the days, and cruise ships call at the port. The beach is shorter than Negril’s. You go for what surrounds it, not for the sand.
Runaway Bay and the south coast
Between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, Runaway Bay stays low-key: few resorts, a sheltered beach, softer rates. The south coast keeps fishing villages, the Black River with its crocodiles, and small hotels rather than large complexes. This is the other Jamaica, the one regulars end up choosing.
When to go
From December to April the island is dry and the trade winds temper the heat. That is high season.
Hurricane season runs from early June to late November, peaking in August and September. Prices fall through that period, and it is the moment cancellation insurance becomes obvious.
Jamaica is mountainous: the Blue Mountains rise above two thousand metres and hold the rain. A shower can fall on the north coast while the south is in full sun. A Jamaican shower lasts twenty minutes.
What you need in hand
A Canadian passport valid for the whole stay. No visa is required for a tourist stay of up to ninety days, and the immigration officer usually stamps ninety days on arrival.
Immigration details are given online before departure or on the arrival card handed out during the flight. Do it online: the queue on arrival is not the same.
Customs may ask for proof of a return ticket and sufficient funds.
For the current official advice, see the country page on travel.gc.ca.
On the ground
Money
The currency is the Jamaican dollar, but US dollars circulate everywhere in tourist areas. Bring small US bills for tips and excursions.
Tipping
Several Jamaican resorts advertise a no-tipping policy. Check before you go, because the rule changes from chain to chain while local custom does not.
Getting around
Traffic drives on the left, mountain roads are narrow and local driving is brisk. For a beach holiday, skip the rental car and take transfers and organised excursions.
Leaving the resort
This is where Jamaica gets interesting: jerk chicken cooked on a split oil drum at the roadside beats any buffet. Do it with a driver your hotel recommends rather than at random.
Who Jamaica suits
Travellers who want to feel they are somewhere else, music lovers, couples looking for an adults-only resort with character. The island has some of the best in the Caribbean.
Less so anyone who wants pool-flat water and no surprises. The north coast has swell, the roads shake you up, and the country has an energy that does not stop at the hotel gate. That is exactly why the people who love it keep going back.
To plan this trip, see also Kingston, Montego Bay, Negril, our month-by-month calendar and the All-inclusive vacations section.
