Its no joke. #1 overall best destination, #4 for friendliness of the people and #1 beer, Red Stripe. :-)

What nonsense.

Madam: What I find nonsensical is your attitude. Have a nice day. Yah mon!

What job in the Jamaican tourist industry do you have?

None. One final note: Never argue with a fool. Someone watching might not be able to tell the difference. :S-.

Anyone who thinks Jamaica is rated #1 clearly isn't well traveled.Consider the source of any alleged rankings.

Ummm, maybe it's me, but the original poster posted this over a year ago. I'm going to go out on a limb and say she probably has made a decision already....

Cool runnings mon. Evry ting be irie don't ya know. Sounds like ya need some reggae, a red stripe and some Appletons mon. Den all be fine. :S-

Hey Mon:Beings that I don't drink or do drugs maybe that's why Jamaica has little attraction for me.

Sounds like you need to start. :D :D

I used to ,That was the problem.Always high and always broke.Things needed to change.

Thanks for your candor.

Holly did go to Jamaica and loved it , she toured all around the island . This original post helped me in my decision , I went and loved it !! Jamaica was rated very highly in a spring issue of Caribbean Travel And Life , a reputable travel magazine . And no , I do not believe you have to be a huge drinker nor smoker of any sort to enjoy Jamaicas many other great qualities . Although , Larry I must confess this summer we have enjoyed our Appletons in a few Pinas !!! Jamaica might not be for everyone ; thats ok , let the ones who do like it do just that !!! Respect Mon ! Faith .

Right on Faith! There is something about Jamaica that seems to polarize people. If you have been there and don't like it, fine. What bugs me is that some who have never been don't like it because of some things they have read and heard and act like experts based on that alone while closing off to the many who have been and love it. Lets face it this readers poll shows there is plenty to like. If you haven't been there and STILL hate it, well mon dats a bad ting. It all be irie ya know. :S-

I agree with BECCA (posted on 8/12). We took a day trip to Jamaica on a cruise ship, climbed Dunns River Falls, and shopped afterward. There were bars of soap all over the falls, and we understood that the locals and guides just took off their clothes off and bathed when people weren't around. I didn't believe the stories, until later that day, we had dinner at an open "jerk restaurant" located directly next to a canal, also lined with bars of soap. While we were eating our dinner, a couple of Jamaicans just stripped off their clothes across the canal (in plain sight), jumped into the canal, and began washing themselves. Also, whenever you visit any store, they offer you shots of rum in disposable shot glasses to "lower your sales resistance". I did notice a store owner drinking directly from a bottle--didn't go in that one!!
For a honeymoon, I would recommend avoiding Jamaica! St. John was beautiful, as was Aruba, Barbados, and Grand Cayman. Best wishes!!

Jamaica is neither a red state nor a blue state, but as Chris Blackwell once said ' a country about which there are no facts'.

barbaraj - what a bunch of hog wash!!!

here is Holly's trip reporthttp://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=5&tid=34439211&start= 0&dirtyBit=1

Ok - that didnt work. For more got to Back from all over Jamaica.

I've started writing a trip report on jamaicans.com so i'll post it here as well. Please feel free to skim over things (or skip it all together)as it might get a little long.


We left Toronto on Jan 2nd an hour late (5:30) and landed in Montego Bay around 9pm. It took us a little while to pass through customs but soon we were outside in the warm air and Errol (Carolyn's husband) was waiting for us. We got him to stop for some Red Stripe on the way to Negril and tried to sit back and enjoy the ride (which was difficult because we weren?t used to the driving yet and it was pitch black). We finally arrived at the Blue Cave Castle feeling a bit out of sorts. Luckily Pirate was there and took us under his wings. He asked if we were hungry and we both nodded. We walked across the street and ordered some jerk chicken?yum! Already we?re feeling better. Pirate asks us if we want something to drink and we nod. He takes us to Pee Wees where we happily spend a couple of hours drinking red stripes and playing dominoes with the bartenders. Finally ready for bed.

The next morning everything looks different?so much beauty we are amazed. The sun is shinning as we sip coffee and listen to the waves crash against the side of the cliffs. The grounds at blue cave are so nice and we are laughing at ourselves for ever feeling worried. Today we are being moved to the penthouse, where we will stay for the next 4 nights. In the meantime we do a bit of snorkelling and decide to venture out for breakfast. Outside the gates we are swarmed like mosquitoes: ?I?m Peachy, the taxi driver, where do you want to go??, ?want some ganga?, ?help me start my day our right? etc, etc. All of a sudden a man grabs my arm and begins walking with us. He asks where we?re going and we tell him ?Jus Natural?. He insists that we go to ?Mi Fathers Place? and takes us there. We?re feeling a little overwhelmed so we let him lead us there. After we?re seated he disappears and we order breakfast (our first akee and salt fish). Soon he comes back and sits down with us until finally he is looking a bit angry. It dawns on me that he wants a tip, which seems strange considering people offer advice all the time in Canada and expect nothing in return. We give him $2 US and he is very upset with this amount. He tells us that it is not enough money to buy anything and that he deserves more for finding this place. Considering that we didn?t really want to eat here and were just being polite, I was a bit put off by his ungratefulness. Finally he gives up and leaves. Breakfast was good and we head back to Blue Cave.

Back at blue cave we are moved into the penthouse. Wowee! We have 2 floors and a huge room to ourselves. After unpacking we decide to check out the famous 7-mile beach. We have a taxi drop us off at the HiLo to exchange some money (so far everything has been priced in $JA) We walk up and down the beach happy to be here and pleasantly surprised that very few people are bothering us (just a few people asking us to buy ganga). We walk through Wistling Birda and really like the property?very jungle-like. We want to eat a candlelight dinner at Kuyuba but are so hungry that we decide to eat right away (about 4:30, lol). We order strawberry and mango daiquiris and curried conch?and then more daiquiris. Everything tastes great and we are really enjoying ourselves. Finally, back to Blue Cave where we relax until later and then decide to buy more red stripes at the small convenience store across the road and another late night snack of jerk chicken. All in all, a great first day.




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Author: _holly_25_
Date: 01/19/2004, 12:33 pm
Message:
Slept in a bit the next morning (8 or so, lol); the breeze off the ocean is phenomenal and we decide there is no better place to wake up. After our morning coffee we do some more snorkelling and this time we see jelly-fish (unfortunately one stings me and we have to cut our time short). We don?t do much today which suits us just fine. We walk to the hi-lo and stop on the way there and back for patties?they are so good and so cheap! We have a nap and walk to Jus Natural for dinner, which we loved. It?s a garden/jungle setting and the food and service is great!

The next day (our last day in Negril) we?re up early again and decide to spend the day on the beach. After our coffee we catch a taxi to ?Selina?s? for some delicious banana pancakes and fruit smoothies before beginning our long walk. This time we walk a lot farther and eventually come to a spot that is pretty much deserted. We put our bags on the sand and play in the ocean for a while. Some point along the way we enter the all-inclusive zone and a guard asks us where we?re going. It?s ok for us to keep walking so we walk all the way to Hedonism 2. It felt different once we entered the AI?s-- quieter and not quite as fun. We missed the action back on the other side of the beach?the music, the little fruit stands and lively restaurants. On the way back we stop for a massage (2 for $20!?though the woman was definitely not a massage therapist). We swam in the same deserted stretch on the way back and stopped at a little hut for pina-colodas (can?t remember the name) and it begins to rain for a while. After the sky clears we taxi it back to our beloved patty stand on the cliffs and walk back to the castle where we snorkel again for the last time?this time we see 4 stingrays! We also bought a carving of the sun and moon that we had been eyeing for the last few days from a very nice man named Elvis just outside of Blue Cave. We walk to a jerk stand (the one with the bats) for dinner and check out Ixtabi on the way, which looks nice. After dinner (our worst one yet, lol) we walk to Rockhouse for drinks (it looked really nice here too). We gave some coins to a man trying to sell a carving and he is really upset by the small donation (like the man we met the first day). Another man approaches us selling shells and we only had enough money for a taxi back to blue cave at this point, so we tell him no and give him $50J. The man REFUSES the money, because he is insulted by the amount. I am shocked that someone would do this, isn?t this a 3rd word country? Too bad this happens on our last night, but it makes it easier for us to move on tomorrow.

Hmmm..... sounds like a refreshing idea to bathe in a crisp , fresh river . Think I have done that , and usually while people were not around , well ... maybe 1 !! Anyway , I digress , perhaps they do not have running water , perhaps it was convenient , perhaps its not a huge issue to bathe in a river in Jamaica ... And they were clean !! A novel idea to bathe in a river , not unheard of in a third world country . Faith .