As Told by Ali

Jamaica, Jamaica 🎶 We made it to a new country and one which definitely left its mark on me. Let me just tell you this now, Jamaica isn’t a country you solely visit for a weekend, you will need more time. Initially, I was set on visiting for the Jamaica Food and Drink Festival in early March, however I fell ill and had to postpone. Nonetheless, we tried to make the best of our trip with the absence of a festival or specific event being the highlight. In this post I’ll be sharing everything we did, where we ate, stayed and any other information I think may be useful if you’re planning a trip to Jamaica.

GETTING TO JAMAICA

Thankfully, I had won a giveaway the previous year which included Round Trip flight tickets to Jamaica on Caribbean Airlines. This was a part of the Jamaica Tourism Board’s Season of Excitement promotion. The catch though? We still had to pay the applicable Government taxes, fees and charges; and in the Caribbean, especially Jamaica, it was pricey! (~ 750xcd per person) I can’t wait for the day inter-regional travel is affordable.

Another kicker, flights from Antigua to Kingston, Jamaica are only available certain days of the week. So we had to decide between going Thursday – Sunday or Sunday – Thursday or of course a full week. With that decision came other logistics of travel budgeting, so we decided on Thursday to Sunday.

The direct flight on Thursday leaves in the morning and it’s just about 2 hours to the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston. Between waiting for bags, going through immigration and customs and also standing in line to get a rental, we didn’t get out of the airport until after 4PM. Travel days are really just travel days.

GETTING AROUND JAMAICA

That rental car line we stood in for hours? A fail, but maybe a blessing in disguise. Majority of the rentals were booked up, and the line wasn’t going anywhere so we left and got a taxi to our accommodation. If you’re interested in using a rental while in Jamaica, it’d be better if you made a reservation before you arrived. We were bummed at the possibility of not being able to move around freely but we still made the best our of our trip.

The taxi ride from the airport to where were staying ran us about USD $70. There was a lot of traffic and imagine we had to beg the taxi driver to transport us. He didn’t mind declining the job just to avoid the traffic situation. Anyway, we got to the Airbnb safely, and through that journey we realized maybe it was a good thing we weren’t driving.

UBER

For the remainder of our trip after realizing UBER worked in the city, it was our best bet. The fares seemed reasonable and some of the drivers were hospitable. One driver tried to get us to pay him in cash, so be wary. Another made it feel like we were on a race track 😭. Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience and we used it to get around Kingston and also when we went to Ocho Rios. Drivers were more accessible in Kingston though.

KNUTSFORD EXPRESS

If you didn’t know, Jamaica is a BIG island. When I found out we could use a coach service to get to other parts of the island, I was ecstatic. The decision was then which part do we go to. Given the departure and travel times, we decided to go to Ocho Rios. The travel time was about 2 hours from their base in New Kingston to their stop in Drax Hall. The ride was a super comfortable, and it was nice seeing other parts of the island during the journey. It was about USD $38 roundtrip and there are various times available for you to choose from.

Check them out here.

WHERE WE STAYED

For the original trip, the plan was to stay at the ROK Hotel Kingston, however given the events that occurred, I wasn’t able to edit my travel days. They also weren’t very helpful so I decided to try AirBnb for the first time. There were a lot of options listed and with the help of google and TikTok I somewhat narrowed down the search to what persons listed as safe areas.

We stayed in a peaceful residential neighbourhood in St. Andrew, about 15–20 minutes from the heart of Kingston. The AirBnB was in a condominium complex, which we observed a lot of in the area. What stood out to me was definitely the location, the modern amenities shown and that it was in a guarded complex. It was easy to get an uber to and from the places we visited, and we even walked to a cafe on one of the days.

WHERE WE ATE

My nephew calls me a big back for a reason; so imagine my disappointment not being able to travel for a food and drink festival. Nonetheless, I came across a few places that I enjoyed while in Jamaica. I think for another visit I’d have to get some local insight into which restaurants/establishments to experience though.

Cafe Dolce

28-32 Barbican Rd, Kingston

Starting strong with a breakfast spot I came across on social media. Not only was it aesthetic but we thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast here. The coffee wasn’t the highlight, but it also wasn’t terrible; the food however, awesome. I had the Egg Sammy (USD 6), which was an egg, cheese, and bacon sandwich on a brioche bun. It also included some type of flavoured mayo which made everything even better. My partner had the Tuna Salad (USD 9), which was just as good and the presentation deserves some recognition.

For drinks, I tried a new drink I saw advertised on their Instagram, a Banana Bread Latte. I’m not even a huge banana person but the advertisement did catch me. It was alright. They do have a wide variety of drinks though, from lattes to lemonades and frozen drinks. I’d give them another visit!

Orchid Thai

Orchid Village Plaza, 20 Barbican Rd, Kingston

After what turned out to be a long travel day, we definitely needed to find some food. Orchid Thai was recommended by someone and it also came up a few times in my TikTok search. It was a Thursday night and we were surprised at how quiet the restaurant was. Outside of one other table, it was just us.

The menu was somewhat extensive and we weren’t quite sure what to order. Tiredness also set in at this point, so I ended up simply ordering some starters then a noodle dish for the main. For starters, I got the Money Bags Golden Sachets, which was basically a spring roll “bag” stuffed with chicken and veg. Unfortunately, despite a friend raving about them, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I also got the Fried Calamari which turned out to be our favourite thing of the night.

When restaurants have such extensive menus it’s hard to order, and they also didn’t have photos on their instagram page to guide the process. Unless you’re huge Thai food lover, I’m not sure I’d recommend this restaurant.

Devon House Bakery

Shop #10, 26, Hope Rd, Kingston 

Hands down, one of the best things I ate that weekend. I understand the hype. I’m still sad I never made my way over to Devon House Ice Cream though. I didn’t think mixing curry and milk at the same time would have been a good idea.

TACBAR

26 Hope Rd, Kingston,

If you know me, I love me some good tacos and I rarely find any back home. On one of our nights, we headed to TACBAR which is conveniently located in Devon House. From their social media page, they usually have a little vibes going on, but that may also be on select days since it was quiet when we went. Nonetheless, I was there for the food, which I already had an idea of what I wanted since I looked at the menu beforehand.

I went with one of their signature tacos – Cajun Salmon Taco and built another with Honey Chipotle Shrimp and Pineapple Salsa. My partner also had the shrimp and Beer Battered Fish. The shrimp taco was easily my fave for the evening.

Scotchies

On our way back to catch the bus from Ocho Rios to Kingston, I decided we couldn’t come all the way to Jamaica and not have any Jerk Chicken. Scotchies was nearby to the station and we had a few minutes to grab something. However, I don’t think I made the right choice on the location. The chicken was definitely not what I expected, there was no taste/seasoning to it. It was like chicken and sauce that I could have done without. The Sorrel Red Stripe I tried though, was pretty good.

Juici Patties

Why did I wait until my last day to have one of these?! Stopped by Juici Patties for a quick breakfast run before our last adventure in Jamaica. The plan was to try coco bread with a patty, but they had already ran out of coco bread and there was no time to wait. I ended up getting a cheese patty and my only regret is not having two of them. It was so good, nothing like the patties they sell back home. I also contemplated buying a box in the airport but the price just wasn’t appealing.

KFC

WHAT WE DID

Now in comparison to the food spots we visited (which at the time didn’t feel like much to me), we didn’t really do any activities. At the last minute I couldn’t quite figure out what would really be worth the hassle for an uber ride as we didn’t want to get stuck in any area. Nonetheless, here’s what we got up to and a few places I’d have to return to experience.

Downtown Kingston Mural Art Walk

Corner of Water Lane and 107 Harbour St

As the creative that I am, I found it cool that Jamaica had this area designated to wall murals. Reminds me of Wynwood Walls in Miami. However, even outside of this street there was artwork all around the island; this definitely stood out to me.

You could book a tour for this activity or do it on your own. We simply walked through the street observing the different murals and what they represented. We would have also walked around the area and on the waterfront as well before ending at ROK Kingston for a drink.

Chase Waterfalls

Jamaica is known to have over 60 waterfalls, and I knew I at least needed to see one of them. Thus, when deciding to take a trip using the Knutsford Express, we selected Ocho Rios to visit the World Famous Dunn’s River Falls & Park. We also got lucky on our last day whereby a friend took us to a falls in Gordon Town.

World Famous Dunn’s River Falls & Park

Admission: US $25

From seeing photos and videos to seeing it in person was definitely surreal. This is definitely the largest and most beautiful waterfall I’ve personally seen in the Caribbean thus far.

We went on a Saturday and thankfully it wasn’t packed. The water was refreshing, but you really got to be careful as the pressure is pretty strong as the water flows down. You also have the option to hike from the bottom to the top of the falls with a guide, but we didn’t do that. They had several areas you can enter the falls from using stairs and you were free to explore on your own.

At first, I didn’t realize that this was an entire park, you had various activities you could do including zip lining which looked cool. There were vendors selling souvenirs and even a beach at the bottom of the falls (lots of steps to get to). Overall, it was a pretty cool experience and I’m happy I got to see it.

Gordon Town – Penfield Falls

Admission: Free

I’m not 100% sure of the name of this waterfall, from my memory and the location we went to, Google Maps lists it as Penfield River. However, this one was the total opposite to Dunn’s River Falls. It’s definitely not commercialized and smaller in nature. It was a bit of a walk to get to (10-15 minutes), but once there it’s the perfect spot to spend an afternoon just chilling by the water. At first touch it is cold, but once you’re in it, you’re good. Honestly, it was the perfect activity to wake up for and also the last stop before leaving Jamaica. Seeing the differences in the landscapes always gets me and knowing there’s so much more we haven’t discovered.

Activities/Places to Consider:

(Of course depending on which part of Jamaica you’re staying in)

• Konoko Falls
• Hellshire Beach
• Blue Mountains
• Seven Mile Beach, Negril
• Rick’s Cafe
• The Blue Hole
• Bob Marley Museum
• Appleton Estate
• Emancipation Park
• Mystic Mountain Adventure Park

Jamaica, I’ll be back! If you’re planning on visiting be sure to do your research and plan accordingly. Share any other adventures I should add to my bucket list, also if you’ve been before, did you enjoy?

Until next time,