Jamaica / Special Interests

As a large island with a huge variety of activities and a strong history and culture, Jamaica has plenty to offer travellers with special interests. Please click on the highlighted sections below for more detailed descriptions of the topic.

One of the most impressive things about Jamaica when you first arrive is the sheer beauty of the landscape. It is extremely varied and extraordinarily fertile, which makes it great for anyone interested in flowers and gardens.  Many hotel gardens are fun to wander around, but there are also some excellent botanical gardens to visit. The birdwatching in Jamaica is as diverse as its terrain, which has specialist eco-systems and mountains rising to over 7000 feet. There are well over 250 species to be found, 28 of which are endemic. And the diverse landscape also makes it interesting for walkers. Hiking is growing in popularity now, in the Blue Mountains and the extraordinary Cockpit Country. And while the Caribbean is barely known for its fauna, Jamaica has more native animals than most islands, including tree frogs, iguanas, butterflies such as the giant swallowtail, bats (21 species), the hutia (a guinea pig like creature), manatees, crocodiles and sea turtles. Offshore, while Jamaica is similarly not renowned for its scuba divin, it certainly has its interest. The diving is concentrated along the north shore, where a wall runs a mile or so to the north of the island (the south coast is sandier and shallower in many places).

In general the sports in Jamaica are pretty good. All the hotels have watersports equipment (usually windsurfers, small sailing boats and kayaks etc) and on land you can expect tennis courts and the occasional squash court. Outside the hotels there are good facilities for horse riding and cycling. The golf in Jamaica is also very good, particularly around Montego Bay, where there are six courses within easy driving distance. And of course there are some fine spectator sports, including the cricket. Although the island is not known for its sailing, there are days sails and sunset cruises and there are lots of inland excursions to the rivers.  

If it is the inactivity of a spa that you feel like more, then Jamaica has plenty on offer, and the island also has plenty of opportunity if you are interested in holistic activities such as yoga with many health practitioners inside and outside the hotels.

But it is in its culture that the island distinguishes itself most, particularly in its music.  Jamaica is famous for its reggae of course, and other styles such as dancehall, which you will hear at the various concerts and festivals. Strangely the backing music for carnival, which came late to Jamaica, is not reggae, but soca, or soul calypso, from Trinidad and the Eastern Caribbean. Carnival is a lively event held in Kingston around Easter.

Unlike most islands in the area, Jamaica has a fair bit to reveal in the way of history and places of architectural significance. You might also want to investigate Jamaican food and cooking. The most famous word associated with it is ‘Jerk’, which is best experienced in Boston Bay, but there is plenty else on offer, including Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, which is probably the most famous coffee in the world.

While most people travel to Jamaica as a couple, the island is lively enough to cater well to single travellers in certain hotels (some offer company, others a getaway where you will be well looked after alone) and of course in the many bars and clubs. You may want to travel with your children on the other hand. There are many hotels that have programmes for them as well as limitless activities in which they can become involved. And finally, it could be that you do not have any children, yet. In such a beautiful island there are plenty of wonderful locations in which to hold a wedding.

For more detailed information and recommendations for individual areas of interest please select a Special Interest category below or from the menu bar.