This trip marks my 7th visit to the beautiful island of Jamaica. As I will tell anyone, it is the prettiest island in the Caribbean with the best food bar none! Now in saying that, you have to understand that it has a few distractions and other issues that the causal visitor may not ignore, but for me, it meets my basic requirements of: Beauty (greenery, mountains, people, beach, etc)Warm (I don't do cold!), Inexpensive (wherever the dollar is strong, you can find me). Now that Spirit airlines has began flying there (my flight was $9 plus tax ($50 each way) it now makes it possible to visit more often. You must understand that when we travel, there is not much use for the inclusive resorts but our travel tends to be the see what you get when you get there travel. We try to find travel deals and normally are successful at $100 a/day for room, food and fun. We laugh at Rachael Ray's $40 a/day for just food! If I had that budget, We could feed a family of five! Now let's talk about Kingston, Jamaica. It was just I remembered, warm, rainy and as always...busy! During my visit we were beseeched with 4 days of consecutive rain that caused havoc for the drains, people and commerce. All the rain caused the notorious potholes to return causing street travel a challenge for all. The recent election of the new Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) government has galvanized the population with optimistic HOPE! If the JLP lives up to it's words, look forward to a rejuvenated Jamaica. Like any capital city, Kingston is crowded and demands awareness but when precautions are in place, you will find great clubs, restaurants (too many to list), art and food (did I say food)? Yes, I ate my way through Kingston and every other city that we ventured through. If you look carefully along my travel route, you will see the ruminants of my Jerk Chicken & Pork, Oxtail, Patties, Pepper Shrimp, Ackee & Saltfish, Bammy, Coconut Water, Ting, D & G sodas all over the place.
Port Antonio- I was married here 7 years ago and our return was for sentimental reasons. It is a special place even for Jamaicans. A number of folks stated clearly, that it is their favorite place in all of Jamaica! It is cooler, prettier and quieter than most of the larger cities. I enjoyed the new marina (Errol Flynn, the beaches,(Frenchman's Cove, Winnifred beach, Boston Beach. We stayed at Mockingbird Hill Hotel based on a Sky auction bid what I won for $29 a/night. If you are well to do, it is a nice place to stay, but because of its isolation (up a very steep mountain) I don't recommend it for the causal traveler. Additionally, the location makes you a prisoner of their restaurant if you are hungry. While they deliver a nice menu, it is expensive $$$$. We visited the home of Jerk Pork (Boston) and for $15 US) bought 2 lbs of various meats and breadfruit. TRY IT! The market in Port Antonio is also worthwhile to visit. You will find very low priced souvenirs and you can even eat Chinese food downtown for $2.50.
Negril- My travels around Jamaica have always been limited to the transportation or lack there of in getting around easily from point to point. I can tell you now that there is a highway (in some parts), and it makes getting around more feasible. Since I don't drive in Jamaica (right had driving on the left side NO WAY) I leave it to the professionals. We drove from Kingston to Negril along the beautiful southern Highway 2000. In less that 4 hours we were there! The changing altitudes and ocean views make it quite an enjoyable trip. Negril is a one road town made for the all-inclusive traveler. In fact, I'd call it All-inclusive heaven for that type of traveler. There are numerous resorts, like Sandals, couples, SuperClubs, RUI to name a few. But if you are the adventurous, you can find many others with less amenities, but at a cheaper price and with more possibilities. We stayed at Coco La Palm for only $60 a/night. Across the street, we ate all the "real" Jamaican foods and off resort restaurants for half the prices of the stated resort prices. If you don't drink, you will save a fortune because the all-inclusive are counting you drinking your life away.
Well that is all for now. If you want more information, contact me and I will give you additional details.
HLH
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