Discover Jamaica – Best Things to Do

Jamaica, a true gem of the Caribbean, is home to a distinctive blend of Carib, Creole, African, colonial, and Latino cultures.

Beautiful villas with an English flair coexist alongside rustic beach cottages that give out smoky barbecue odors.

Huge all-inclusive resorts can be found beneath imposing 2,000-meter-high mountains.

There are bustling samba bars and old plantations.

There is Bob Marley’s famous home, a museum devoted to his artwork, and spontaneous reggae performances on the beaches.

The Greater Antilles’ jungle-covered terrain also offers visitors the chance to hike, see dolphins and reef sharks, explore deep caves, sip beers while out at sea, learn about the history of the Spanish wars, and mix with the friendly locals! You’ll undoubtedly find enjoyment.

#1 Bathe under the Dunn’s River Falls

Just outside of upscale Ocho Rios and its picture-perfect James Bond beaches, tucked away amongst lush, lush jungles, the Dunn’s River Falls claw their way through the hills in a succession of spectacular stepped cataracts.

One of the island’s unquestionable must-see attractions, the waterfall draws tour groups and tour operators eager to scale the 180-meter-long travertine slabs that make up the waterfall itself and wade among the gushing waters.

The journey can be challenging because tourists must hold onto the sticking out rocks, leap up the wet steps, and wade through the swimming holes.

The lovely glade where Dunn’s River Falls are located in the Jamaican jungle is where the British colonial soldiers once battled the Spanish for control of the entire island.

#2 Bob Marley Museum

The Bob Marley Museum’s exhibition spaces are housed in the legendary reggae singer’s former home (the same place where he came dangerously close to being killed in 1976), and they have been flawlessly restored and kept up to look exactly as they did when the Wailers and Marley himself lived here in the 1970s.

Visitors may roam around the famed musician’s private bedroom and gardens, view a lifelike hologram of him at the now-iconic One Love Peace Concert, and tour the personal recording studio utilized in the creation of the top-charting Tuff Gong CDs.

#3 Seven Mile Beach

Seven Mile Beach is frequently recognized as one of the best on the island, if not the entire globe! It stretches out for seven long miles along the idyllic west coast of Jamaica. Of course, it has the azure blue waves and beautiful alabaster-white sands you’d anticipate from a well-known tropical beach, but there’s also more.

Consider the Negril Town clifftop bars, which give incredibly beautiful views of the Jamaican sunset across the water and cap the rocks there with palm umbrellas.

A combination of rum punches and mojitos, reggaeton and samba, as well as surprising hedonism and nightlife, spills out of hotel bars after dark and onto the dunes.

#4 Pay homage to the reggae master at Nine Mile

Without at least a passing nod of homage to the great master himself: Bob Marley, no visit to the birthplace of reggae beats could ever be considered complete.

Marley is without a doubt the most well-known person to have ever come out of this tropical region of the Caribbean. He was born and raised in the small community of Nine Mile in central Jamaica, tucked away between hills covered in jungle and the beaches of Rio Bueno.

The musician’s mausoleum is now housed in the modest little neighborhood of homes, which also contains his former residence (where he lived until he was 13). The Rock Pillow, where he received inspiration, and the grave where he and his guitar were interred after passing away in 1981 are all revealed on regular tours led by devoted Rastafarians.

#5 The sands of James Bond Beach

This tiny beach just outside of Ocho Rios has been faithfully referred to as James Bond Beach since since a young Sean Connery first met his bikini-clad Ursula Andress on the sands of Oracabessa Bay way back in 1962.

It certainly has the appearance; it is surrounded by swaying palm trees and clumps of lush mangroves, and it is lit up by the sun’s rays as they reflect off the azure beach.

Visitors frequently arrive to take part in spontaneous reggae performances or performances by well-known DJs, many of whom spin records in the Moonraker Bar, which rises above the sands. The small inlet has also grown in popularity as a venue for music concerts.

#6 Hike the Blue Mountains

Who said visiting Jamaica’s beaches and indulging in jerk chicken is all there is to it? It’s difficult to resist being drawn to the trekking trails and walking routes when the Blue Mountains, which rise to heights more than 2,200 meters above sea level on the eastern tip of the island.

The tallest mountain in the nation, the massive Blue Mountain Peak, is open to adventurous visitors.

On the clearest days, vistas down to Kingston on the south coast and Hope Bay and Annotto in the north are revealed from this lofty summit, which offers expansive panoramas over the tropical canopies of the forest all around.

Others choose to spend the night in quaint mountain homestays, look for colorful hummingbirds in the sky, or simply take in the highlands’ signature scent of freshly waxed palm and eucalyptus boughs.

#7 Swim with the dolphin pods at Dolphin Cove

Prepare to cross this off your bucket list because a trip to Dolphin Cove gives you the chance to swim and interact with some of the most intelligent marine mammals on the planet.

The site is conveniently situated along the north shore, close to both Ocho Rios and the Dunn’s River Falls.

Visitors come to spend the day swimming with stingrays, Carib sharks, dolphin pods, and other marine life while learning all there is to know about the fascinating variety of sharks and dolphins that call the Caribbean home.

The location is surrounded by pristine white beaches and thick tropical jungles, which add to the atmosphere. There are also frequent displays of aquatic life.

#8 Go rafting on the Rio Grande

One of the major adventure tourism sites in this area is the Rio Grande’s waterways, which wind through the lush rainforests and rising foothills of the Blue Mountains just west of Port Antonio.

Visitors come to take a break from the north shore’s sun-drenched beaches and try their hand at maneuvering rafts made of bamboo through the meanders.

They pass through banana plantations, rocky gorges, sheer-cut stone cliffs that plunge sharply into the river, and unending green mountainous undulations on their journey.

#9 Get spooked by the White Witch of Rose Hall

Don’t be deceived by Rose Hall’s charming facades; it’s a historic plantation hidden in the hills west of Montego Bay, surrounded by lush gardens and a blossoming jungle.

Why? They are indeed thought to be the most haunted location on the island, in addition to being steeped in a terrible history of slavery and the colonial dominance of European nations! Yes, tourists can stop by to look for the rumored ghost of Annie Palmer, a Haitian-British settler who is accused of killing multiple husbands inside the house.

Her apparition is rumored to still roam the refurbished chambers of the enormous home, and candlelight night excursions even take guests to the dungeons, which have been hospitably transformed into a Jamaican pub in the eerie depths of the structure!