Jamaica. Would you recommend, and is it safe to wander outside the hotel grounds?

[NoiseNoise]

Hi there
Planning to go to somewhere special for my 50th next year, and was looking at Jamaica as one of our options.

I don't know much about the island apart from the brochures, so if anybody has any advice regarding safety outside the hotel, and any all - inclusive hotel recommendations, we'd be very grateful.
MTIA

On the cliffs in Negril, The Caves, Rockhouse, TensingPen.
Not AI but all lovely.
We felt safe going out & about.

I have been a lot of places all over the world. Jamaica was one of my least favorite. It's expensive and the service is bad and the food was no where near the quality of Jamaican food you can get in NW London (ironically ingredients are not fresh in Jamaica). I went 14 years ago...maybe it's improved by now? For the same price you can go to Italy or Spain or Portugal or Greece or venture further and go to Mexico or Los Angeles or Las Vegas.....depending on what you want in your vacation.

We stayed at Roundhill. It was nice but whenever we went into town dh was constantly offered drugs and prostitutes which he found threatening and unpleasant.

The locals seemed a bit resentful of our presence and there was a lot of barbed wire and armed security guards. I wouldn't go back.

Thanks for all your input.

We have a few places we want to go, so might give it a miss nos, especially with the last comment, nothing worse than getting mithered.

From the Foreign Office website on Jamaica:-

"The motive for most attacks on tourists is robbery. There are mobile police patrols, but you should take steps to protect yourself and your belongings. Be vigilant at all times, even if you’re staying with friends and family. Don’t walk alone in isolated areas or on deserted beaches, even during the day. Take particular care when withdrawing money from ATMs. Don’t carry large amounts of cash or wear eye-catching jewellery. Try to vary which restaurants you use. Using the same place too often might make you a target for thieves. Avoid using buses at night.

Most hotels and resorts are well guarded, but robberies can occur. Follow hotel security procedures. Use hotel safe, lock windows and doors and report suspicious activity. If you are in residential accommodation, make sure proper door locks and window grilles are fitted and consider employing a guard and fitting a house alarm. Gated and guarded compounds are normally the safest type of accommodation".

Atilla, just checked back on here, thanks, definitely made our minds up not to go.

I'd give Jamaica a miss tbh. Have you considered St Lucia?

It's a shame the comments have been so negative. I have travelled quite a lot and it's my favourite place to be, so much so that for a few years I used to feel that I missed it every anniversary of our time out there.

We stayed in Falmouth all inclusive for three and a half weeks but went out and about a lot and covered the whole island. Did touristy things like got my hair braided by the locals, went to ricks cafe which is a lovely place right on the cliff tops and was once voted one of the top ten bars in the world.

We climbed Dunns river falls, visited banana plantations, visited bob MArleys house in Kingston and had jerk chicken cooked by the Rasta's. Travelled into the blue mountains and visited the coffee company. I can't wait to go back one day.

It is a beautiful island. Yes, it has it's downfalls and you do have to be careful- for example, I wouldn't walk around kingston as a tourist etc . But I did feel that it had a very unique vibe, it was a special place, and the locals we encountered were lovely.

Maybe we got lucky! but we had a great time. Compared to somewhere like Barbados which is lovely but very touristy, I do think that if you do take the time to explore you do see a very different and really get to know the good bits of Jamaica.

Not sure I will convince anyone, but wanted to highlight the positives!

Phew! Glad also there's a positive post instead of all the negative ones.

I'm off to Jamaica for my 12th or 13th time - lost count lol - next week. I absolutely love it! Have made lots of friends there who I hang out with every time.

The island is stunning, mountains, lush vegetation, waterfalls and great beaches. The locals are lovely. I've met a load more kind and friendly people than occasional grumps. Yes, you do get hussled (high unemployment and no social security) but a friendly no thanks and walk on will suffice.

I've been all over the north coast up to Port Antonio, it's beautiful there with the Errol Flynn marina a nice relaxed place to hang out.
You can go to Firefly, where Noel Coward lived and is buried, the Queen mum even visited it. Nearby around Oracabessa is where Ian Fleming lived and wrote the James Bond books. James Bond was actually an ornithologist who wrote a book about birds of the Caribbean.
Talking of which you've got Rocklands Bird Sanctuary outside Montego Bay (Mobay) where you can feed hummingbirds, it's amazing.
In Mobay you can also go horse-riding in the sea!

If you go to Negril - of Rick's Cafe fame, go before sunset to see the cliff divers, check youtube - there is a 7 mile beach. It's great, just people watching, reading and lying on a beach bed drinking cocktails - bliss. Live reggae on the beach at night. I saw Bunny Wailer there, he was amazing.
Sunsets are stunning there. Negril is called the Capital of Casual

It's lovely going south from Negril along the coast down in Westmoreland, Peter Tosh Mausoleum - I met his mum! RIP to both - and there's a lovely place to stay down there Sandals Whitehouse European Village (pricy) and on the south coast you've got laid-back Treasure Beach with a trip to the "best little bar in the Caribbean" Floyd's Pelican Bar, out in the ocean on a sandbank.
Also round there inland you've got Appleton Rum Estate who do tours and YS Falls for a dip.

I've never had a problem in Jamaica, know people who've been in Kingston and even into Trench Town and didn't hear of anything untoward.

I know someone who's amounts of visits to Jamaica are in the high seventies! She does live in USA tho so a lot closer. I also know Americans who are living there.

I hope you don't get put off by the negative posts on here. You may well miss out on an amazing time.

Oh, and I've stayed AI - I stay in a variety of places - but never in a gated community.

we went independently a few years ago. we were SO bored of the constant hassle. ceasless, unrelenting hassle everywhere we went. we have travelled widely and can handle ourselves but we really didn't like Jamaica and wouldn't go back

We (Mrs Grumpy and I) have just come back, well 13th December, from Negril. We had a great time, stayed at Couples Negril and would highly recommend it as an all-inclusive resort. No hassle from vendors on the beach, we went on a number of trips but didn't venture out on anything that wasn't an organised trip.

I echo the view that you 'must' visit Rick's Cafe, we had a great time and the sunset was fantastic.

I love Jamaica. It's a very different culture and there are some places to be avoided, like all countries, including the UK, but I generally felt safe out of the resorts. We got married there, at Couples Negril and can't recommend the hotel highly enough. The service is outstanding and staff can't do enough to help you. It's by far the best food I've had at any all inclusive resort. I also stayed at what is now Couples Tower Isle when it was Couples Ochos rios and loved it there too.