Jamaica is the Caribbean's most culturally rich island — the birthplace of reggae music and Bob Marley, the source of Blue Mountain coffee (some of the world's most expensive), the home of Usain Bolt, and a destination of genuine character, beauty and contradictions. It is simultaneously one of the Caribbean's most visited islands and one of the most misunderstood — its reputation for crime (concentrated in specific urban areas well removed from tourist zones) causes many UK visitors to stick exclusively to the resort zones of Montego Bay and Negril, missing the extraordinary island that exists beyond the hotel gates.
Dunn's River Falls near Ocho Rios — a series of terraced limestone cascades descending 180 metres to the sea through a lush tropical garden — is Jamaica's most famous attraction. The activity of climbing the falls in a human chain, guided by a local leader, is one of the Caribbean's most enjoyable tourist experiences: wet, laughing, good-humoured and genuinely beautiful.
Dunn's River Falls
The falls are best experienced on a tour from Montego Bay, Ocho Rios or even Kingston — a 30-minute drive from Ocho Rios. The falls themselves are extraordinary: cascading over travertine terraces that have formed over centuries of calcium-rich spring water creating perfect natural steps, the whole experience takes approximately an hour to climb from bottom to top. Water shoes are available for hire at the entrance (essential — the rocks are slippery). The falls are busiest when cruise ships dock at Ocho Rios; arrival at opening time (8am) or late afternoon avoids the worst crowds.
Blue Mountains
Jamaica's Blue Mountains — rising to 2,256m at Blue Mountain Peak, making them the highest peaks in the Caribbean — are the source of Blue Mountain Coffee, regarded as one of the world's finest coffees and sold at prices that reflect this. The morning mist that gives the mountains their blue appearance, the extraordinary biodiversity (over 800 flowering plant species, including the Jamaica swallowtail butterfly found nowhere else on Earth) and the network of hiking trails make the Blue Mountains one of the Caribbean's finest natural destinations.
The pre-dawn hike to Blue Mountain Peak (starting at 2am to arrive at sunrise) is one of Jamaica's great experiences — but requires good fitness, warm clothing (temperatures drop below 10°C at the peak) and an overnight stay at a mountain guesthouse to enable the early start.
Negril & the Beaches
Seven Mile Beach in Negril is Jamaica's finest beach — a broad, flat crescent of white sand with calm, turquoise water protected from Atlantic swell by the island's orientation. The beach is backed by a string of hotels ranging from budget to mid-range; the all-inclusive resorts on the northern end offer excellent value. Rick's Café — a clifftop bar south of Negril where locals and tourists alike leap from varying heights into the sea below — is one of the Caribbean's most entertaining sunset locations.
