My SO and I are planning a trip to the Caribbean this summer and since neither of us have been, I thought I’d consult the fellow dopers out there. In performing a search for other Caribbean threads I did find some overall useful information but not so much about Jamaica specifically. The reason for Jamaica stems from a recommendation by a friend who said the beaches were beautiful and the prices were cheap…our top considerations for our trip. We were set on our destination until I spoke to my brother who advised the locals are not the friendliest to the tourists. Now we’re reanalyzing. What’s your take?
We spent a week there and had the time of our lives. We rented a beachfront villa that was out in the country, so I have no opinion of what the major cities are like. The people we ran into were very friendly and we plan on going back as soon as life will let us.
We did hear that there are some hassles if you stay in MoBay, Negril and the other major tourist destinations. I’ve talked to some people that went to the all-inclusives, and while they had an okay time, they didn’t feel they got a real Jamaican experience.
The beaches we saw were beautiful and the water was perfect. The prices really varied. We did a lot of our own shopping in the small town near our villa. Packaged goods could be rather pricey, but fresh fish, fruits & vegetables were cheap. The important thing was that Red Stripe was very cheap! We never ate out at any big restaurants, but the meal prices at the local bars and jerk shacks were very inexpensive. Again, this was not in a tourist area, so YMMV.
Feel free to e:mail me if you want more details, but I’m sure some other Dopers will be along with better info.
lost4life, thanks so much for your input. In terms of island location that was going to be my next question. I’ve begun my research and am thinking along the lines of Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, or Negril. Although they are the touristy spots it seems those are also the areas with the better deals on hotels. But the idea of a beach villa sounds relaxing. I’d love to hear your experiences with the villa, in terms of location, pricing, etc. Did you have a chance to visit any of the above mentioned locations?
We’ve been to both Ocho Rios and Negril. We liked Ocho Rios better because it seemed more exotic: cliffs and beach together instead of just flat beach like Negril.
I will reveal myself to be the complete “Ugly American” and admit I liked the all-inclusive experience because I tend to get edgy when I’m in unfamiliar territory. I worry about insulting people due to ignorance of local customs. That’s fine when I want to go immerse myself into something utterly new, but that wasn’t what this trup was about. I just wanted to warm place to be in December for that particular trip; it wasn’t a cultural exchange for me.
Someone else will have to chime in on the big cities. We only landed at MoBay and never spent any time there. The villa was between MoBay and Ocho Rios in a town called Duncans (the closest decent sized town was Falmouth). There’s a collection of privately owned villas that the owners rent out when not in use. We chose this route because we took our two kids and wanted a nice place we could hang out with our 2 year old. We rented a beach front cottage that had a large porch, hot tub, large bedrooms, and came staffed with a cook and a housekeeper. I think the weekly rate broke down to about $150-170 a night, which did include airport transfers, but you still had to buy your own food and such. There is relatively no nightlife in the area, save for a small bar and a couple of shack-type places (which we had a blast at). I think the place arranges shuttles to Falmouth and MoBay and also to some of the local tourist sites. The villas are surrounded by countryside, so there’s not a whole lot to walk to.
We did a whole lot of nothing and had the greatest time. There are places like this all over Jamaica, so ours is a very limited description of the possibilities.
I’m not sure if there’s a problem with me posting the website to where we stayed, but you can check it out here.
The guy who runs the website rentals also owns two of the villas.
I spent a month on a research dive over much of the island. Be forewarned that because of overfishing and sewage dumping there’s little to see with respect to marine life and the coral is dying.
We found the backcountry (cockpit) natives to be very friendly and had good experiences at Discovery Bay and Ocho Rios. I hear you want to stall the hell away from Kingston.
I was in Ocho Rios for a day, off a cruise ship. I had a good time, but the folks I was with all hated the “Let’s scam the tourists” attitude that the majority of the locals seemed to have. Of course, the high-pressure salesmen may only come out when there’s a ship in port, I wouldn’t know.
The town seemed pretty crapulous, but I highly recommend Dunn’s River falls. It was great, though packed with tourists. There was a swim-with-the-captive-dolphins experience within walking distance of the falls, as well, that wasn’t bad, if you like that sort of thing.
As far as other islands go, I can recommend against St. Eustatius (Statia) as it looked from the air like a junkyard. If you like diving and hiking in lush tropical wilderness, I’d recommend Saba, although they have zero beaches, just stony cliffs. If you want colonial-era historical sites, good beaches, diving, and fantastic food, Antigua is a good bet, I was there a month ago and loved it. Their version of “rainforest” is pathetic, though. Sint Maarten has good beaches, but I don’t think it’d be cheap, it had “playground for the rich” written all over it. And if you want to visit me, (what could be better?) then come to St. Kitts and I’ll be your personal tourguide. (Honestly, St. Kitts is okay, it has a little of everything, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best in any category)
Sorry I can’t give more information on Jamaica.
My wife and I like to rent a car and go see the country side. We’ve done that in the Canary Islands, Italy, France, Costa Rica, Mexico, Guernsey and will be doing it in Spain, next week. The one place we did not do it was in Jamaica. For many reasons it is too dangerous. We were in MoBay and it certainly was not any cheaper than other places. The people are friendly, but it seems to be because they think you have money. There are beautiful beaches and we ate at one of the nicest restaurants we’ve seen in our travels. Here’s probably the thing that tells the most. All those other places, I would love to go back to, but I have no desire to return to Jamaica. 
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I lived in Jamaica while in the Peace Corps for two years about ten years ago. Now I live in Trinidad, the southernmost Caribbean island. As part of my job, I travel to many of the islands around the Caribbean. Email me what you’re looking for and I am happy to advise. Jamaica is a mixed bag. I love it, though. The people are intense - in good and bad ways - and you have to know how to deal with them.