“The home of Alright” is their motto and “alright” Jamaica certainly is. With friendly and smiling people to greet you with enthusiastic patois and warm handshakes, colourful and happy music, the island is one big personified hug.
Even the sea has a consistently warm temperature of around 22-24C and is more of a bath than a dip in the ocean. These calm Caribbean waters are perfectly still and are perfect to snorkel and watch the creatures in the ocean. For those who wish to really experience the island you can rent a car and use the new highway that easily links the major destinations, so you can truly explore the island. You can drive on the left hand side of the road too, but you must be over 25.
There is a reason that Jamaica is often synonymous with romance, honeymoons and weddings. It is legal for you to get married on the beach and, with a huge range of activities and places to explore, Jamaica makes the perfect honeymoon destination. A new trend has taken the world by storm – to “trash the dress” at the end of your wedding day, to signify that you won’t get married again. A popular place to do this is Rick’s Café, which has a huge cliff for you to fling yourself (or the dress!) off as a nice end to your wedding day. If this isn’t up your street you may just want to watch the sunset from this cliff top, watching the sun gently bleed into the sea – the perfect end to such a romantic day.
In the warm water you can take a catamaran to great snorkelling destinations and watch the sunset whilst sailing the Caribbean. Dunn’s Waterfall is a popular attraction: tumbling white water sprays down a collection of smooth rocks, leaving natural rock pools you can dip into. You can go on group tours to scale the falls. The turbulent water at the bottom makes brilliant rapids for river tubing. See the nature of Jamaica whilst being thrown around down the river for the time of your life!
On the island, the Cool Runnings rollercoaster takes you on a tour of the island at height and through the forest. Or take a calypso raft for Jamaica’s solution to a romantic gondola ride. Mystic Mountain can be viewed by the Sky Explorer; the Rainforest SkyExplorer is a chairlift that sends you above the treetops, up 700 feet to the top of Mystic Mountain. The descent carries you through the heart of the forest, giving you glimpses of the tropical rainforest. Or traverse around decks and swing through the forest on a zip-wire and see the indigenous foliage at a height.
For a more cultural view of the island you can take a camel through the banana plantation and learn about the history of the beautiful estate. You can also take open-air carriage rides, go on a cooking tour, horseback riding, Segway tour and feed the ostriches. Horse riding is readily available for a range of ages.
Patois Key Terms
Hello : Hail up
Move up : Small up yuhself
What’s going on? : Wag wan?
See you Later : Likkle more
Child/children : pickney
Key Tips to know when going to Jamaica
- Red licence plate shows that a vehicle is legally allowed to take passengers e.g. a taxi or bus
- Jamaicans are very warm and friendly people so expect to get your hand shaken and be chatted to
- The currency is the Jamaican dollar
- The atmosphere is laid back, friendly and chilled out
- The wet season is from May to November, which coincides with the hurricane season
- The dry season is from December to April
- Regardless of the season, pack your summer clothes, and a couple of jumpers just in case
- There is an artificial icy adventure playground in Montego Bay with an artificial snowboarding slope
