Destinations / Jamaica

Best known for Bob Marley and dreadlocks, Jamaica is much more than just reggae and rastas, mon! Lush mountains, breathtaking waterfalls, sophisticated golf resorts and stunning sand strands mean that there is a vacation for every taste and style. Approximately the size of Connecticut, Jamaica is blessed with natural amenities. Its mountains reach more than 7,000 feet and its soil will grow almost anything.

Although Kingston is the capital and the largest city, it doesn't attract the same volume of visitors that Montego Bay, Ocho Rios or Negril do. Ocho Rios is also now a bustling cruise port. Recently, more visitors are learning what the real Jamaica is all about as they leave their resorts and explore the diversity of Jamaica's people, landscape and culture.

LOCATION :

Jamaica lies in the center of the Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,550 miles/2,480 km from New York City, and 400 miles/640 km south of Miami. Its closest neighbors are Cuba, to the north, and the Cayman Islands, about 100 miles/160 km northeast.

LANGUAGE :

English and patois

CURRENCY :

Jamaican Dollar

TIPPING :

Most hotels and restaurants will include a 10% to 15% service charge on your bill. A 10% to 20% tip is considered normal.

ELECTRICITY :

110 volts/50 cycles is standard.

WEBSITE :

www.visitjamaica.com

CAPITAL :

Kingston

TOURIST INFORMATION :

1-800-JAMAICA

POLITICAL STATUS :

Constitutional parliamentary democracy

AREA SIZE :

4,411-sq.-miles. Jamaica is 146 miles/234 km long from east to west, and 51 miles/82 km across at its widest point.

TAXES :

US $24 departure tax. In most cases will be included in the cost of your airline ticket. If not, it is payable on check-in. Only cash, either US or Jamaica dollars, is accepted as payment. A 15% government General Consumption Tax is applied to most goods and some services in Jamaica, including car hire, restaurants, entertainment and retail sales. Although this tax is included in the prices listed in most shops, note that in restaurants GCT is generally added to the bill. A Government Room Occupancy Tax of 6.25% is added to hotel and villa accommodation rates.

AREA CODE :

876

TIME :

Eastern Standard Time and does not observe Daylight Savings Time.

DOCUMENTS :

Beginning January 23, 2007, visitors who travel to the Caribbean will be required to have a valid passport in order to gain re-entry to the U.S.

POPULATION :

2.7 million

AVERAGE WATER TEMPERATURE :

78 degrees F

AVERAGE VISIBILITY :

70 feet

TYPES OF DIVING :

Shore, Boat, Wreck

BEST TIME TO DIVE :

Late July to October is the hurricane season. June, July and August are the rainiest months.

WHAT TO WEAR :

From a 1.5 to a 3mm full suit. A lighter skin in the warmer month will be sufficient.

DIVES NOT TO MISS :

Negril
Orange Bay is home to two plane wrecks. An intentionally sunk Cessna (100ft), which is covered in coral and attracts many fish, and a shallower wreck in 60feet of water.

Throne Room is a cave in 60 feet of water with coral and yellow sponge covered walls. You may also see snappers, eels, turtles and a variety of fish. There are also occasional nurse sharks in the cave. There is also a shallow reef, Awee Moway, at the south end.

Montego Bay
The Arena is a theater shaped reef with corals walls and tunnels that lead to caverns. There is an ancient anchor that sits at the top of the reef.

Canyons I and II are tunnel/cave dives with a fish feeding station and lots of orange sponges.

Black Coral Alley is a narrow alley covered with black coral trees where divers can see tubeworms sea worms and the occasional octopus.

The Point is a thrilling drift dive with 2 knot currents past a wallCarpeted in red sponges and black coral. There¿s also a chance to encounter hammerhead sharks.

Basket Reef is a popular site with all sizes of basket sponges that is often visited by turtles and dolphins.

Runaway Bay
The Canyon is a deep cut in the reef forming two vertical walls covered in plate, sheet cactus and wire coral. You¿ll see gray snappers, Spanish grunts, bogas, moray eels and Creole wrasse. Eagle rays are also often seen flying along the walls.

Shipwreck Reef is good for diving or snorkeling and at 15 feet there is an old freighter that has become home to schools of fish, barracuda, turtles and morays.