Jamaica

Introduction

Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, and its position makes it a crossroads of the borough. To the east lie Hollis, Queens Village, St. Albans, and Cambria Heights; to the south are South Jamaica, Rochdale Village, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Springfield Gardens; and to the southeast sit Laurelton and Rosedale.

The neighborhood's edges also take in Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park, and Aqueduct Racetrack to the west and southwest, Briarwood to the northwest, and Kew Gardens Hills, Jamaica Hills, and Jamaica Estates to the north. With the airport and the racetrack among its neighbors, Jamaica sits at the meeting point of several distinct parts of Queens.

Before you go

Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, so the British monarch remains the head of state, represented on the island by an appointed Governor-General. The country's motto, "Out of Many, One People", reflects a population that is majority of African descent, alongside sizeable White, Chinese, East Indian and Syrian/Lebanese communities and a mixed-race group that is the second largest. Christianity is the majority religion, the Rasta community has featured prominently in the island's history, and West African folk beliefs are practised by some and considered taboo by others. There are also Muslim, Hindu and Jewish communities.

Jamaicans mainly speak Jamaican Creole, or Patois, whose pronunciation and vocabulary differ significantly from English even though it is based on it. Most people also speak standard English, the official language, but often with a thick accent that visitors may find hard to follow. You will commonly hear "Waah gwaan?" or "What a gwaan?" as a greeting, while "Good morning" and "Good evening" are the more formal options. The climate is tropical, hot and humid, though higher inland regions are more temperate and some parts of the south coast are relatively dry rain-shadow areas; the island lies in the Atlantic hurricane belt and sometimes suffers significant storm damage. Travel advisories warn of rapists at resorts, and the murder rate is among the highest in the world, so in an emergency call 119 for the police or 110 for the fire brigade or ambulance, and consider contacting your government's embassy or consulate.

Getting there

Entry rules depend on your nationality. Citizens of Commonwealth countries other than Canada need a passport valid for at least six months, a return ticket and sufficient funds. Canadians can enter with a passport or a birth certificate plus an ID card. US citizens need a passport but no visa for stays of up to six months, and an expired passport is accepted if it expired less than a year ago. German citizens can stay 90 days visa-free, and similar terms probably apply elsewhere in the Schengen area. Japanese and Chinese citizens (including Macau residents) can stay 30 days without a visa, though for Chinese travellers this applies to tourism only. Visas are required for citizens of Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Pakistan, and most other nationalities also need one.

Most visitors arrive by air. Norman Manley International Airport serves Kingston, while Donald Sangster International Airport serves Montego Bay; both handle large numbers of international flights daily. Smaller airports at Negril and Ocho Rios, plus another in Kingston, take smaller private aircraft. You can also reach Jamaica by cruise from the United States and elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Getting around

Jamaica's transport system is built primarily around roadways, and as a visitor you'll find several options depending on your budget, comfort level and destination. From either Norman Manley International Airport (serving Kingston) or Donald Sangster International Airport (serving Montego Bay), you can arrange a rental car through established companies such as Island Car Rental, Hertz or Avis, hire a taxi, or book transport through your hotel. Renting a car gives you flexibility but demands care: Jamaica drives on the left, roads in and around major towns are generally congested, and rural roads are narrow and can be dangerous, especially in bad weather and around tight bends. Drivers tend not to slow for curves, so stay alert and courteous. Traffic lights are mainly found in major centres such as Kingston, Montego Bay, Falmouth, Mandeville, Spanish Town and Ocho Rios; smaller towns use roundabouts instead. Mountain routes can bring on motion sickness, so bring medication if you're susceptible, and do your research before renting and driving.

• Local buses: Don't be afraid to take Jamaican local buses — they're cheap and save you negotiating with tourist taxis. Be prepared to tip the luggage handlers who load your bags. The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) runs a network of more than 70 routes covering Kingston, Spanish Town and surrounding areas. Private coach services also operate, with Knutsford Express a popular option, and many resorts offer organised bus excursions bookable through guest services.
• Route taxis: These shared cars and minivans are the primary mode of transport for Jamaicans and far cheaper than tourist taxis. Licensed ones usually have taxi signs spray-painted on their front fenders, and red licence plates mark them as public transport (white plates are private vehicles, yellow indicates government). They run between town centres but will pick you up anywhere along the highway if you flag them down. They don't cover long distances in one go, so cross-island trips are made in stages via town hubs; tell people your destination and they'll point you to the right car. Expect to wait until the taxi fills up, expect it to be very full, and expect to pay an extra fare if you have luggage.
• Tourist taxis: More expensive than route taxis but offer fixed rates and English-speaking drivers.
• Boat: Not advised unless the service is operated by a hotel or tourism company; it's not a quick way around unless you want to tour the coastline, and fishermen offering the service may overcharge.
• Rail: Passenger rail is extremely limited — most of the network now serves bauxite haulage. The Clarendon Express, a tourist railway in Clarendon using heritage coaches and diesel-electric locomotives, is a scenic experience rather than practical transport.
• Charter flights: If money is no object, you can fly between the minor airports by small charter plane, but you need to book at least a day in advance.

Where to stay

Jamaica is well set up for hospitality, with staff and a well-kept environment wherever you stay. You can choose between larger hotels and small inns, both of which take in tourists and visitors.

Food & drink

Jamaican cooking blends Caribbean staples with local dishes, and while it has a reputation for heat, the everyday style leans toward variety rather than pure spice. Rice and peas cooked with coconut milk and meat patties — the same idea as empanadas elsewhere in the region — are common, and the national dish, ackee and saltfish, is the one thing you should make a point of trying: the ackee fruit resembles scrambled eggs but has a taste of its own, mixed here with dried codfish, onions and tomatoes. Freshly picked ackee beats the tinned kind, though it must only be harvested once the pods have opened naturally, since unripe ackee contains a potent toxin; locals know how to pick and prepare it safely. Also look for bammy, a flat cassava pancake with Arawak roots that is usually eaten at breakfast and tastes something like corn bread, and hard-dough bread, which is worth toasting. For meat, jerk chicken is the most popular of the jerk-flavoured dishes, with jerk pork and jerk conch also common — the seasoning is spread on the meat on the grill like barbecue sauce. Expect food cooked well done and therefore a bit drier than you may be used to. Curries such as curried chicken and curried goat are popular, and if you see curried fish on a menu, try it.

Fruit and vegetables are plentiful, especially between April and September when most local fruit is in season. The many mango varieties are a must in the summer months, and tree-ripened fruit bears no comparison to the green-picked fruit exported abroad. Try coconut water straight from the coconut — clear and refreshing, and not the same thing as coconut milk — along with pawpaws, star apples, guineps, pineapples, jackfruit, oranges, tangerines, ugli fruit and ortaniques. Local produce is inexpensive, while imported items such as American apples, strawberries, plums and especially grapes tend to cost more than at home. Chinese food, including chow mein and fried rice, is widely available from takeaway shops with a distinct Jamaican taste. If a fruit is unfamiliar, ask a local which parts can be eaten; roadside vendors can generally wash fruit for you on request if you plan to eat it right away. Ital food, the domain of practising Rastafarians, is vegetarian and made from ingredients as natural as possible, with no additives, preservatives or pesticides, and at its strictest no preserved food and no rock salt (sea salt is acceptable) — it rarely appears on printed menus in upmarket tourist restaurants, so you may need to ask around to find a place that serves it.

For drinks, international sodas are everywhere, but local options include Bigga Cola, Champagne cola, the grapefruit soda called Ting and ginger beer, as well as any soda by Desnoes & Geddes, typically labelled "D&G," with cola champagne and pineapple among the popular flavours; most soft drinks now come in plastic rather than glass. Among beers you can try the local lager Red Stripe or Dragon Stout, and Guinness is popular, with the export version having a kick. Jamaican rum, made from sugar cane, is normally drunk with cola or fruit juice — drink with caution, since rum of 50 to 60% alcohol is common and 75% is not unheard of, well above the limits typical elsewhere. Drinking laws follow the British model at 18 and over, though they are not enforced as strictly as in the US.

What to see and do

When to go

Three days in Jamaica

Day one: Start in Jamaica proper, the neighbourhood at the centre of it all, and get your bearings among the shops and side streets before heading out to the surrounding communities. Work your way through Hollis, Queens Village and St. Albans, then on to Cambria Heights, South Jamaica and Rochdale Village, each with its own rhythm along the way. If you have come in through John F. Kennedy International Airport, Springfield Gardens, Laurelton and Rosedale make an easy first stretch to wander.

Day two: Turn your attention to the southern and western edges of the area. The Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park stretch is worth a slow pass, and Aqueduct Racetrack gives the day a fixed point to build around. Carry on to Briarwood, then Kew Gardens Hills, Jamaica Hills and Jamaica Estates, where the streets grow quieter and leafier as you go.

Day three: Give the day over to the people and the food, because this is a place shaped by many hands. The mix runs from African, White, Chinese, East Indian, Syrian and Lebanese to Commonwealth, British, Governor, General and Out, with Christianity and Rasta both part of the fabric, and the motto One People captures it well. Eat your way through the neighbourhoods you have already walked, and let the cooking, not a checklist, set the pace.