I’m planning my honeymoon for this October, and I’ve seen some good deals offered for resorts in Jamaica. I’ve never been there, so I’d be interested in general feedback from anyone who has, especially in recent years. But in particular, I’d like to know whether it’s a safe place to visit. Especially since I know Americans are pretty unpopular in a lot of places right now.
I last went in 1995, so my info might be dated…
I didn’t have any problems…I went to Montego Bay, Negril, Ocho Rios and the Blue Mountains. I have heard that you might get robbed if you go down the wrong street in the wrong neighborhood, etc., jsut like here in the US.
What you’ll more likely encounter is some very persistent and creative people trying to sell you things like dope, hair braiding, guide services, etc.
Kingston is pretty scary, though. I wouldn’t want to hang out there.
I’ve been there several times, most recently Nov 2004. Each time I’ve stayed at Hedo2 in Negril.
It’s perfectly safe, especially if you’re going to be staying in a resort. They are pretty self contained and any trips you’ll make out will most likely be with a group, or to tourist destinations and shopping.
By perfectly safe, I mean as safe as any big city if you act prudently. If you go out by yourselves, buy ganja on the street and decide to go bar hopping & get bombed…not a good idea anywhere.
You’ll need to be pretty polite and firm about refusing constant offers to sell you anything from braiding to Bob Marley memorabilia to weed. Unless you want to buy such things, but be careful. It’s a very poor country and tourists are a cash crop.
The resort I’ve gone to several times appreciates guests bringing things like childrens’ clothes, shoes, etc to leave for the staff and their families. Another nice thing is to have an instant camera. I had a lot of fun taking photos in the local “art” market and giving them to the kids. 
It’s like Chris Rock said. There’s “Tourist Jamaica” and “Stabbin’ Jamaica.” Be sure you spend your time in the right parts.
Once we got off the ship (this was in 2003), we were in a “safe place.” Resort areas – places that make a lot of money by cooperating with foreign entities especially – protect themselves well. The port at Ocho Rios is surrounded by a stout wooden fence, and there are armed and armoured guards at the entrances to protect tourists in case the locals get some bad ideas. Even the beach had fences at each end that extended down to the waterline to prevent the local urchins from wandering over and spoiling someone’s honeymoon.
Even in the “safe areas,” though, there can be somewhat of a shakedown going on. Like bonobo_jones said, you’ll need to be polite but firm when refusing offers to have your hair braided, picture taken, or name carved into a local wooden trinket. If you think for a moment that everyone’s not “in on it,” take a look around and reassess your situation; some of the time, even the “official” staff are desperate enough to assist with such diversions.
For example, at Dunn’s River Falls, a popular tourist stop, the bus takes you in, you get off in a group, and then you climb the falls while following the guide. You’re expected to tip the driver and the guide, and there will probably be a few folks with waterproof cameras who want to take your picture so you can buy it from the after you’re done. This is all fine and well, and is just part of the experience.
What sucks is that as you make your exit, you will be herded towards a flea market of sorts where you will have to practice being polite but firm if you don’t want to get fleeced. The people doing the herding are often uniformed “security guards” who are there “for your protection.” Even inside the Margaritaville compound, we were approached by someone who was rather persistant about wanting to braid my wife’s hair.
As to buying weed, we were advised that the local police in Ocho Rios frequently ran sting operations that have resulted in more than one tourist being officially detained for attempting to purchase marijuana from an undercover officer; this resulted in detention and a stiff fine for the offender. This may have been just a story to scare the braver passengers on board the ship who crave that sort of thing, but more than one person seemed to be familiar with such incidents.
In addition, note that taxi drivers are licensed by the government there, and must display markings that indicate they are official. Accepting a ride from anyone else is chancy at best.
Now that plastic has supplanted aluminum as the container of choice for many items, Jamaica’s industrial economy has (with the exception of certain agricultural products) largely dried up. If you go to Ocho Rios, you will likely see the large bauxite processing and loading facilities sitting silently as testament. Your ship may even dock at one.
The primary source of income for many (a plurality, perhaps, but I doubt a true majority) Jamaican citizens is therefore tourism.
Earlier today my co-worker was ranting about how he would never go back to Jamaica. He went there on a cruise a few years ago. His experience matches many of those mentioned here; the resort areas are nice and the rest is downright scary. He was cautioned by tour guides that many of the ganja vendors have a deal with the cops at drug checkpoints. They sell it to you, then the cops take it off you and they split the money.
I hear there are many less hazardous vacation spots in the Caribbean.
Our friends honeymooned in Jamaica. The worst thing that happened to them was the guy got a bad case of athlete’s foot or something from having a feral cat urinate on the sandals he left outside their door. No kidding.
Allow me to go slightly off-topic…
My wife and I honeymooned last October on Grand Bahama at the Westin at Our Lucaya. It’s the off-season, nice & quiet (except for a corporate get-away that took over for a few days).
Just remember that October is smack dab in the middle of hurricane season. We were lucky last year (Katrina, Rita, et al did no significant damage to the Bahamas), but there was damage left over from the hurricane they had a few years ago, forget which that was. Due to this uncertain threat, we considered Hawaii, but everything turned out OK for us.
Regarding personal safety, Grand Bahama felt very safe. Most of the island’s income is tourism, so everyone loves Americans. No Kingstown-like city in the Bahamas, or at least on Grand. Nassau / Paradise Island might be different.
Anywhere you go there will be insistant salespeople hawking their wares. If you don’t want any, don’t be afraid to politely say no.
I agree with some of the other posts–stay out of Kingston at night… or be sure to go with a tour group.
My personal favourite is Georgetown, Grand Cayman. What could be more fun than swimming with a bunch of (I’m not kidding) friendly stingrays?