During our USA road trip this summer we hopped over to Jamaica for 4 days. We went with my friend, Sandi who is from Jamaica. She hadn’t been for 17 years so it was a monumental trip for us all.  For us Chius it was our first trip to the Caribbean and we loved it!

Where: Kingston, Strawberry Fields on the coast.

Who: with Andrew, T, my friend Sandi and her family

How: We flew into Kingston from Fort Lauderdale in Florida. We got around by car, kindly driven my Sandi’s wonderful brother-in-law, Lloyd.

Weather: Strictly speaking it was rainy and hurricane season, but we had no rain, in fact, there were bush fires on the hillsides. It was warm, sunny and breezy on the coast.

Sights: In Kingston we stopped by the Bob Marley museum which was interesting, though overpriced.  We went to the north coast and managed to find a couple of rare public beaches to swim at. We also drove through a couple of small towns to see a slice of local life. We swam in rock pools and stopped at road-side eateries for fresh soup.

Food: We ate extremely well. Lots of fresh seafood, local specialities such as aki and saltfish. Mangos were in season and there are several varieties that we tried. Local restaurants aren’t always much to look at, but the food is delicious. I had some of the best fried chicken and rice!

Notes:  We had a very privileged visit to Jamaica as we were shown around by locals. Most tourists often stay at all inclusive resorts so might be less inclined to see other parts of the island. This is in part encouraged by the resorts who want to keep the tourists spending money on their properties. Public transport is limited and taxis are expensive (though less so if you split the cost between several people).  That all said – I’d encourage people to get out of the hotels and see the countryside. It’s beautiful and the people are friendly and welcoming.