Jamaica (Kingston)

What to do in Jamaica (Kingston)

Kingston.

The Bob Marley Museum

The reggae superstar's home in New Kingston is the city's most-visited attraction. Fans flock to see Marley's simple bedroom adorned with his star-shaped guitar by the bedside, the bullet holes that ripped through the rear wall of the house during an assassination attempt in 1976, and the tree outside beneath which the singer took it easy and played his guitar.

Island-Wide.

Birding Tours

Rich in feathered life, this is a wonderful place for birdsong you've never heard before; there are 25 species and 21 sub-species of birds found nowhere else on earth, and a total of 256 different species.

Blue Mountains

This is a land of soaring peaks and deep valleys with luxuriant vegetation. Quiet, remote mountain roads wind and dip, and signs are hard to come by, but that's no worry when you're guided by a local expert who takes you through its coffee plantations, rum factories, and misty forest trails. The more easily accessed, prime tourist section is the 193,000-acre John Crow Mountain National Park.

Eco-Hiking

This journey through the Rio Grande Valley is an award-winning trek offering varying choice of difficulty through the John Crow Mountains. The paths parallel rambling creeks and bamboo forests, scale the sides of mountains, meander through the fern-laden valley and lead to hidden waterfalls or tucked away caves. Guides educate you on the use and preparation of indigenous plants and herbs and point out paw-paw (papaya) that you can pick and snack on along the way.

Get Married!

In Jamaica, you can tie the knot within 24 hours of arrival with hardly any red tape at all, and without a blood test. You can say your "I Dos" at a marriage officer's home, office, or location of your choice. Some hotels will make all the arrangements for you and accommodate special requests. Your honeymoon begins on the spot!.

Ocho Rios.

Day Trip to Ocho Rios

Christopher Columbus called it "the fairest land my eyes have ever seen." Located in the center of the north coast about 1+ hours from Kingston, its deep-water harbor serves as a cruise port with a dramatic mountain backdrop. Pleasant beaches, several outstanding hotels, a varied nightlife, scuba diving, good shopping, and spas offer visitors the full-range of luxury resort activities. Nearby are the Dunn's River Falls, Jamaica's most famous attraction, where you climb stone steps as a cascading river pours down them!.

Black River Safaris

Journey into the wilds above Ocho Rios through a region admired for its lush vegetation, mountainous slopes, clear streams, and hidden pristine waterfalls. In this remote place you will cool off in secluded swimming holes that bring only hummingbirds and bougainvillea for companions. Afterward, explore the local history at the ruins of an 18th-century plantation destroyed in the slave rebellions. Ride out the day on an inner tube, floating down a calm and swift bubbling stream, then tie up on the shores for a jerk chicken picnic.

Dunn's River Falls

Hands down the all-time favorite natural attraction in Jamaica. A hand-holding chain of people supports each other up a climb of 600 feet through the same cascading water that Spanish explorers traversed centuries ago. The clear, cold mountain water races over the stone steps and onto the crowds of visitors splashing around at the bottom of the falls or cooling off in the pools that collect along the cascade's way.

Port Antonio.

Day Trip to Port Antonio

"The most exquisite port on earth," was American poetess Ella Wheeler Wilcox's description of Port Antonio. Located on the northeastern side of the island about 1+ hours from Kingston, this hideaway harbors lovely beaches, the Blue Lagoon, the Caves of Nonesuch, the Rio Grande raft ride, deep-sea fishing, and a historic town. It was once the banana capital of the world, where the song Day-O was created by banana boat workers to pass the time. This is a charming, "tourist-lite" town that retains a sense of nostalgic glamour from the days when silver screen stars took their romantic vacations here. Its picturesquely battered Victorian/Caribbean architecture is the subject of frequent photography.

Raft the Rio Grande

Rafting as a playtime activity originated here when planters constructed bamboo rafts both to transport bananas and to amuse their families. The rafts glide serenely down river on this two-hour diversion.

The Nonesuch Caves

Hidden among the Seven Hills of Athenry, 600 feet above town and with spectacular views, these caves were discovered in the 1930s and are fascinating to explore.