Date of publication 05/07/2017
One Week Trip Get the Most of Your Seven Days in Jamaica
Discovering its beaches, its cultural spots, its gastronomy and its contagious lifestyle
The fourth largest island in the Caribbean, Jamaica has long beckoned those in search of sun and sublime beaches with its laid-back attitude. But what the island has really mastered is offering travelers the opportunity to be as relaxed or adventurous as they like. Follow our lead for one week in Jamaica, discovering the best places around the island that will have you sampling exotic fruits, dipping into a bioluminescent lagoon and eating flopping-fresh seafood with your toes in the sand. Perhaps more than any other Caribbean destination, this island is full of surprises. Discover the best itinerary for 7 days in Jamaica.
DAY 1
Get your bearings in Montego Bay. For your first stop of your 7 days in Jamaica, you’re visiting the island’s second largest city (after Kingston) that feels more like a resort capital than anything else. All-inclusive hotels line the beaches of Montego Bay are here. And the Hip Strip, with its inexpensive (and largely tacky) souvenir shops and Margaritaville restaurant, is where most tourists first land. If you fancy a swim in the area, the best beach is Doctor's Cave, where you’ll find great beach clubs and a nice ocean front bar.
And for something very different indeed, get acquainted with the island’s magnificent bird life at Rocklands Bird Feeding Sanctuary, a great little spot 25 minutes from town, in the hills near the town of Anchovy, where you can hold a tiny bottle of sugar water in your hand to attract emerald breasted long-tailed hummingbirds.
DAY 2
Start your day with a swim in the sapphire waters of Montego Bay’s beaches, then head out to visit Rose Hall Great House, which you can reach by taxi in about 30 minutes. The immaculately restored Georgian mansion dates to 1770 and is among the most beautiful examples of a great house in all the West Indies. It once operated as a thriving sugar plantation, and you can learn more about the history and see the restored interior during tours of the house and its gorgeous grounds.
For a fun way to learn about Jamaica’s diverse food culture, head back to Montego Bay proper to join Jamaican Alrick Allen, aka Your Jamaican Tour Guide, on of his customized tasting tours of the area. He’ll take you along to local fish markets by the sea to see that day’s fresh catch hauled in. All the fish are, of course, caught with the traditional sustainable fisning methods. Then you’ll stop by local fruit stands to try things like naseberry (it tastes like pear pie spiked with cinnamon) and mango or perhaps hit an Ital (Rastafarian) restaurant before heading to a lunch spot only the locals know. Head back to your hotel to relax and refresh with a shower before dressing up a bit for an unforgettable meal at the historic Sugar Mill restaurant on the former Rose Hall Sugar Plantation property. On the menu are a top-notch selection of Jamaican and Caribbean rums and fine seafood and Wagyu beef.
DAY 3
Rise early to make the 1.5 hour drive west to Negril, Jamaica’s self proclaimed Capital of Casual. The once bohemian beaches here are now home to many of the island’s top hotels. There are a full seven miles of golden sands to explore along the aptly named Seven Mile Beach. Things aren’t as wild as in the days of yesteryear on Negril’s West End at Rick’s Cafe, known for its cliff jumping antics that meet their apogee at the exact moment of the night’s syrupy sunset. But it’s still fun to join the crowds for the spectacle and a cold Red Stripe beer - not to mention a jump from a lower perch, if you’re so inclined.
DAY 4
For your fourth day of your week in Jamaica, head to Falmouth, a pretty little Georgian town that’s home to the country’s newest cruise port (it opened in 2011 and can accommodate the biggest cruise ships in the world right at the docks). On the way there, make time for a meal of authentic jerk at Scotchie’s, a famous little roadside place where you can see the meats grilled up the old school Jamaican way - over coals of wood from the all spice tree to impart the tastiest flavors.
Once in Falmouth, link up with Falmouth Heritage Walks for two-hour walking tours around town that take in the well-preserved colonial district and Water Square, the site of a stone reservoir built in 1798 that is said to have brought running water to Jamaica before New York City even had it. After doing the town, head up into the hills to Good Hope Great House, where a slew of soft adventure activities awaits on the grounds of the 18th century sugar plantation. Or opt for something more laid back with high tea on the estate’s spectacular grounds. Finally, if you have any energy left, plan an amazing after-dark excursion at Glistening Waters, where you can take a short boat ride about ten minutes from shore to a bioluminescent lagoon that glows an amazing shade of green in the night (bring your bathing suit so can plunge in for a swim).
DAY 5
After such a busy pace, devote a day to making the most of Jamaica’s beautiful north coast beaches and nature with time spent relaxing on the sands of Montego Bay or Ocho Rios and visiting the island’s famous waterfalls. Call ahead to ask when the best time to visit is, to avoid the bulk of the cruise ship crowds, and plan to spend a few hours in the refreshing water falls at Dunn’s River Falls near Ocho Rios.
The freshwater falls descend some 600 feet in swiftly moving cascades and pools until flowing directly out into the ocean, offering the best of both worlds for a refreshing dip. For another option for spending a great day on the water, book a sailing excursion on the 40-foot Jeanneau sailing yacht, Lark. You can opt for half or full-day sailing trips that depart from the marina in Montego Bay and stop for snorkeling at Fish Pond Reef and lunch onboard.
DAY 6
To really get away from the tourist masses during your 7 days in Jamaica, plan to spend some time on the pretty curve of land in the island’s remote northeast corner, where steep mountains plunge to the sea in Port Antonio in the parish of Portland. The agriculture-rich area is Jamaica’s breadbasket, and banana trees, orchids and palm trees bloom everywhere. You can go on a rafting trip on bamboo rafts along the stunning Rio Grande River, then follow it up with a delicious crayfish feast at Soldier Camp, a hard-to-find restaurant that’s worth the effort for the authentic dishes served up. For a dream beach, plan to while away some hours at Frenchman’s Cove, where a spring-fed river flows into the sapphire sea, or join the surf crowd at Boston Beach, just a bit farther east.
Continuing along the coastal road from there, you’ll soon come to Boston Bay, Jamaica’s most famous spot for sampling the island’s famed jerk meats. It can be a bit overwhelming as vendors shout out their offers to newly arrived tourists, jockeying for business, but whoever you end up sitting down with you won’t go wrong with an order of spicy jerked chicken or ribs and a cold Red Stripe to wash it all down. Finish a perfect Port Antonio day with live mento music (made-in-Jamaican music that pre-dates reggae) performed by native sons, the Jolly Boys. The band puts on a rousing performance every Friday night at Bushbar, a sweet little alfresco spot high in the hills.
DAY 7
Take a break from the sun and beaches of the coast on your last stop of your 7 days in Jamaica with the chance to explore one of the Caribbean’s highest mountain ranges on the east coast of the island, the Blue Mountains, which top out at 7,402 feet. The verdant hills here make up the longest mountain chain on the island and are where the country’s eponymous and treasured Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is grown. Just driving through the mountains is a joy, with incredible views at every bend in the road. And you’ll see signs for small coffee plantations offering visits, coffee for sale and tours. A beautiful working coffee plantations to visit is Lime Tree Farm, where ten acres of coffee beans are cultivated at a refreshing altitude of 3,452 feet.
Or opt to tour the most prolific source of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee at Mavis Bank Coffee Factory, where the beans from over 6,000 local farmers are processed. And when it’s time to toast the end of a fabulous Jamaican vacation with something other than coffee (rum, perhaps?) alongside all those beautiful Blue Mountain Views.
There are so many wonderful things to see in 7 days in Jamaica! Enjoy life by booking one our 5-star hotels in Jamaica and make your holidays even better.
TERRY WARD I 4/06/2017
Photography by Cordon Press
