What to Take to Jamaica

Packing for a trip to Jamaica is easy if you remember to bring a few important items.  In this article we highlight some items that will make your vacation more enjoyable and hopefully they will save you from returning with a sunburn.  So,  grab a suitcase a nice cold beverage and start filling it up with some of our ideas.

Clothing

Since Jamaica is a tropical island, warm weather outfits are a must!  Depending on how active you plan to be outdoors during the heat of the day, I would suggest some shirts wick sweat away from your body to keep you as dry as possible.  Columbia clothing makes these types of shirts but you can also find copies of them at Target for 1/2 of the price.  If you plan on wearing cotton shirts you might want to pack a few extra ones so you can change your shirt if it gets wet.

Two other items that are very important are hats and sunglasses.  Hats with a visor will protect both your head and to a lesser degree, your eyes from the bright sun.  Sunglasses with a good UV rating are worth the money since you can’t buy replacement eyes.

Shoes

Anything goes in Jamaica when it comes to shoes so long as your feet can breath.  Sandals, flip flops and tennis shoes with webbing all work great just remember to put sun screen on your feet so you don’t end up with a nasty sunburn.  If you plan to do a bunch of walking in Jamaica make sure you break in your new shoes before your trip!  If you wear socks, I would strongly suggest taking several extra pairs.  After walking around for a few hours in the heat of the day your socks might be a little on the wet side.

Electronic Stuff

Take a good camera, extra batteries and plenty of memory cards!  On my first trip to Jamaica I took over 15GB of pictures and only had two memory cards with me.  I can’t count the number of times I wished I had one more memory card with me.  Now I take 16GB worth of memory for my DSLR camera and 20GB for my other cameras.

If you plan on using your laptop while sitting on the beach all day or to watch movies on your flight to or from Jamaica, you might want to look into an extra battery for it.  Also, don’t forget to take travel plugs, especially if you are travelling from Europe.

Protection From the Elements

Sunscreen, sunscreen and more sunscreen!  While they sell it all over Jamaica, if you have a favorite brand you might want to take your own.  Taking your own will also save you from having to find somewhere to go and buy it before you toss your luggage and run to the beach as soon as you get there.  Be sure to apply more sunscreen as the day goes on since it will wear away from swimming and drying off.

Bug spray is needed if you venture up into the hills and in some cases on the beach in the evenings.  If you have a favorite brand, maybe something without DEET you might want to pack it.

Water Play

If you like to snorkel dive you might want to take along your own mask and snorkel.  While you can rent gear all over the island, taking your own will save you money and you don’t have to wonder who used the snorkel before you.  Water shoes are also an excellent idea to protect your feet from sea critters and are needed if you plan to explore any of the waterfalls.

While this article does not contain everything you might require in Jamaica, hopefully it gave you some good ideas of what to take.  If you would like to learn more about Jamaica Travel, join us over at our forum.

Is Jamaica Safe?

While the news loves to cover negative things like murder and pickpocketing in Jamaica and then twist the facts to make some of them look like they are overrun with crime, the truth is Jamaica is a very safe place to visit.

Many first time visitors travel to Jamaica with concerns about being robbed or even worse and after a few days they figure out that it is all media hype!  Statistics prove that Jamaica is less dangerous than many parts of the United States.

Jamaica  Safety Tips

Below are some tips for having a safe vacation in Jamaica but these tips also apply anywhere in the world.

1.  Don’t carry large sums of cash on you.  If you are going out for a $50 dinner you might want to bring $100 not $2000!

2.  USE THE HOTEL SAFE!   Most hotels have safes and they are pretty SAFE, if you google around a little you will find that not many of them are broken into by hotel staff or random people entering the room.  If you have larger items like laptops that will not fit in the safe, put them in your suitcase and lock it when you leave your room.

3.  Leave some of your valuables at home!  There is no need to bring all of your fine china, diamonds, coin collections and electronics when you go on vacation, the less you take, is the less you risk.

4.  Take is easy on flashing fancy jewellery and money in public!  If some shady character is looking for an easy target you will stand out if you are flashing 3 carat diamond ear rings and Mr T gold chains around your neck.

5.  Don’t place all of you money in one pocket.     I generally like to carry about $20,000 Jamaican dollars when I am heading out for a day but I’ll split it up between 4 pockets.  I’ll keep $10,000 in $1000 bills in one pocket, $5,000 in another pocket in $1000 bills, and between the other two pockets I’ll carry some $500 & $100 bills.  If someone is able to get in one of my upper two pockets they will only end up getting maybe $50 USD.  With that said, I have never been robbed in Jamaica and while I know dozens of people that travel there at least once a year I have never heard of one of them getting robbed either.

6.  Use real taxi cabs!  In Jamaica they will have red license plates, and while all sorts of people will offer you a ride just make sure they have a red license plate so you know they are legal.  Another tip is to ask others for recommendations, it seems like everyone has a list of who they have used and liked in the past.

7.  Know where you are staying, where you are going and how you will get back!  As silly as it might sound people venture to Jamaica and have a few too many cocktails and wind up in the middle of the night not remembering where they are or where the heck their hotel is.  While it’s fun to venture off on a long walk in the hills or to a party a few miles out of town, just take along with you the name, address and phone number of your hotel, along with the telephone numbers of a couple taxis.  In order to call a taxi you should know where you are as well so write it down before you over indulge on that sweet tasting rum or ganja.

8.  Be respectful to others and their culture! Don’t try to get up in people’s face if they are doing something that you are not used to where you come from.  If someone is pestering you to buy their goods or hitting you up for some money just be polite (no thank you) and walk away.

9.  Make friends with a few locals and ask them where the safe places are and where you should keep away from.  A few towns have some areas that are not safe for tourists and generally people will be more than happy to point these out to you.  When you think about your town or a town around where you live back home, you might have some areas that you would not send tourists to after dark.

10.  Have safe sex!  Many tourists areas have “sex workers” and like anywhere else in the world they might have STD’s, protect yourself if you seek their company.

Best Exchange Rates in Jamaica

Let’s start with one of the worse exchange rates and that is right at the airport. The Cambio at the airport is known for being convenient but stay clear of it if you are looking for a good rate. Generally people like to use banks to exchange their money but I’ve found that the banks in Jamaica don’t always offer the best exchange rates.

Question: So where can I get the best exchange rates in Jamaica?
Answer: The best exchange rates in Jamaica are found at any of the cambios that are located away from the airports! On my past two trips I found excellent exchange rates just a few miles east of the Montego Bay airport.

TIPS FOR BUYING JAMAICAN MONEY
1. Places that exchange your money for Jamaican money make money on the exchange rate. If you are exchanging a large sum of money call around to a few of the cambios and banks to inquire about their current exchange rates before you waste your vacation time driving from place to place. You will never get the same rate that the exchange rate tools give you but by shopping around you will get as close as possible!
2. Take your passport when you exchange money at the cambios. While I have no clue why they require a passport, every time I’ve exchanged money they asked me for mine.
3. Be sure to get plenty of $100 Jamaican dollars since some of the smaller shops prefer smaller bills over the $1000 bills. At the very least stock up on a bunch of the $500 bills.
4. For safety reasons be aware of your surroundings when you carry a bunch of money to and from an exchange place.
5. ASK OTHERS for their favorite places where they exchange foreign currency in Jamaica.  Most of the members over at the forum can provide you with a list of places where they have exchanged their money in Jamaica.

If you have more questions about exchanging money in Jamaica or would like to ask other questions about traveling to Jamaica, please join our Jamaica Travel Forum
See you on the forum ☺

Jamaican Travel and Culture

My Jamaican Adventure

My name is Ashley and I wanted to share my first experience of Jamaica and its culture with you.  My first trip to the beautiful island of  Jamaica was back in July 2008 when I went to Reggae Sumfest.  I had no idea how much of a life changing experience it would be for me.

As I looked out of the window as the aeroplane descended into Montego Bay, I was in awe at the beauty of the island and how different the landscape was compared to what I am used to in Canada.

When I stepped out of the airport and the heat wrapped itself around me like a warm blanket, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  It was so relaxing and welcoming.  I felt at home and at peace, and could not wait to see what the island had to offer. During the journey from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios, my eyes were darting all over the place trying to take in all the amazing new sights around me.  I admired the lush greenness of the Jamaican landscape, the stunning blue sea, the crazy drivers, the people by the side of the road selling Jamaican foods like fried fish, jerk chicken and ackee, as well as Jamaican fruits such as sour-sop and mangoes.  I stuck my head out of the window and inhaled all these unfamiliar smells.

Jamaican People
My first impression of the Jamaican people was just how friendly there are.  They are bold, confident and are not afraid to laugh.  It was such a pleasant refreshing change from the coldness that is often experienced in Canada.  When people honk their horn, it is to say “Hello” and not a version of the middle finger.  When you say hello, you actually get a hello back. People really know how to live and enjoy life in Jamaica, and for me it was a huge perspective changer.   A lot of people are poor, and life was simple yet they appeared to exist quite happily without the need for the all the material trappings that we take for granted.

Jamaican Attractions
There are many attractions in Jamaica, and I found so many fun things to do from visiting the Green Grotto Caves and climbing up Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios, to swimming in the gorgeous blue sea and relaxing on the soft almost powder like golden sand.  I saw the most amazing sight at Firewater, which is located at a Rasta community in the hills of St Ann.  It is a healing spring that has real fire on it and you can see some photographs of it here.  It really was the most amazing thing I have ever seen!

I sampled many of the gorgeous cocktails and local Jamaican drinks, such as the Jamaican Rum Punch, Jamaica Kiss and the infamous Red Strip Beer.  During my vacation in Jamaica I visited some of the local nightclubs and hotspots in Ocho Rios such as Amnesia, Ocean’s and Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville.  There is so much to do and see, and there is never a dull moment in Jamaica.  For more information on what I did and to see photographs, check out my trip report on the forum.

Jamaican Culture
Dance and music are a huge part of the Jamaican culture, and on my first night out I was blown away by the talent.  Everybody can dance, and after a witnessing a night of Karaoke at Ocean’s which is held every Tuesday night, a lot of them are amazing singers too.  Between art, music and dance, the raw talent in Jamaica is incredible.

Night time in Jamaica is the most silent noisiness you will ever hear. On my first night on the island, I sat on the balcony outside the guesthouse, enchanted by the smell of weed and jerk chicken, and the sound of the crickets and reggae music echoing around me.

It filled me with a sense of peace and serenity that I had never felt before. Jamaica possesses a special magic that leaves visitors enchanted, and you can’t help but leave a small part of you behind when you return home.   Jamaica can be a place of healing for someone who just needs to get away, or it can be an experience full of physical activities and parties for someone who just wants to have fun and let their hair down.  Jamaica has a bit of everything and little bits of magic in every corner.

Since my fist visit to Jamaica in 2008, I have been back four times, and every time I return, it never ceases to leave me in awe.  It is the most beautiful, enchanting, fun and amazing place I have ever had the privilege to visit, and I can’t wait to go back again in September 2009.  Check back for my trip report that will be on the forum along with lots more amazing photographs of Jamaica.