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Old 09-03-2009, 09:41 AM
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Travelling To Jamaica

hELLO EVERYBODY,
I AM FRESH NEW TO THIS SITE AND LOVE IT SO FAR.
MY NAME IS BETTY AND I WILL BE TRAVELLING TO JAMAICA FOR THE FIRST TIME SOON. I READ TONS OF MATERIAL ABOUT THE ISLAND BUT IT ALL SEEMED SO STERILE TO ME THAT I DECIDED TO REGISTER AND HOPE I COULD GET SOME HUMAN OPINION AND INFORMATION ON JAMAICA.
I AM TRAVELLING TO KINGSTON AND SPANISH TOWN AND WAS QUITE SURPRISED THAT ALL THE TRAVELLING AGENCIES AND GUIDES WERE CONSIDERING NEGRIL AND OCHOS RIOS AS THE BEST PLACES TO GO TO, IN TERMS OF BEACHES AND FUN. BUT I LOVE BIG CITIES AND DEFINETELY WANT TO SEE KINGSTON, SO WANTED TO ASK IF THERE IS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR BATHING IN KINGSTON AND I WOULD BE HAPPY IF SOMEBODY COULD RECCOMEND ALSO NICE BARS AND PLACES.I READ A LOT ABOUT A CUB CALLED QUAD,BUT VERY DIFFERENT OPINIONS, SEEMS LIKE EITHER YOU LOVE IT OR YOU HATE IT.....
I COME FROM A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PART OF THE WORLD, BEEN TO BRAZIL BEFORE AND I WAS QUITE SURPISED HOW THE REALITY IN BRASIL WAS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT LONELY PANET WAS SAYING. ESPECIALLY TOPICS LIKE CRIMINALITY. BRAZIL WAS DESCRIBED AS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACES IN THE WORLD AND AFTER MY VISIT THERE I HAVE TO SAY I HAVE NOT FELT ONCE IN DANGER AND AM NOT GOING TO EVEN MENTION THE HOSPITALITY AND KINDNESS OF LOCALS, THEY ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD
IS THE BRAZILIAN AND JAMAICAN WAY OF LIFE SOMEHOW SIMILAR? I KNOW IT MAY SOUND STUPID,AS IF I AM PUTTING EVERYBODY IN THE SAME BASKET, BUT I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE JAMAICAN WAY....
THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND WISHING ALL A GRACIOUS DAY
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Old 09-03-2009, 01:42 PM
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Re: Travelling To Jamaica

BettyCzech welcome to the forum. Enjoy ur time here in jamaica while ur here on visit.
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Old 09-03-2009, 01:58 PM
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Re: Travelling To Jamaica

interesting requests.. i'll try to help a little, my time is limited, hopefully others will chime in...

first kingston and spanish town.. while the later is near a suburb of the former, they are quite different... spanish town is much more residential and not all parts are good... i do hope you know someone there and have someone showing you around... it's not IMO somewhere a single female should head aimlessly... some communities are reputed to be among the most violent on the island... there are many schemes/areas that are perfectly fine and see no issues... a newcommer would not easily be able to determine where to go... there also is very little (no) commercial tourism what-so-ever... there's an old bridge and some interesting history in the small central town area... but not much else unless you're into a bit more obscure history/arts ect (there's a small taino museum nearby for example)

Kingston has many different colours... there are the more touristy things to do in and around the new kingston area... i highly recommend heading up into the hills to newcastle and those areas... phenomenally beautiful up in the blue mountains... other things to see... marley museum, devon house, emancipation park, port royal (esp if going to limes cay (below)), rockford mineral spa, hope zoo/gardens... there's some decent shopping/dining in new kingston and nearby Halfway tree... and more... but there are bad areas too... again having someone who knows the city accompany you is pretty good idea....

lets see...beaches... in kingston - hellshire and limes cay are the two beachy hot spots...

one (hellshire) is a bit west of the city proper, nearby the portmore area, and very much a hang out into the evening hours, low key vibe...

the other (lime cay) is a bit more isolated and requires a water transfer out a small "island" offshore from port royal...

both are hotspots on weekends/holidays, will be very unpopulated on weekdays

Quad is a very north american style club... it has a great following and always gets a pretty good crowd, but if you've been to an "urban" club in NY, DC, Miami ect, you will not feel like it's all that different... there's a newer place Plush: Pure (or is it Pure: Plush lol) anyways, same area... so if one isn't happening you can always jump next door... personally i prefer the outdoor parties more... there's usually something keeping most weekends (some are bigger/better than others), you'll hear/see plenty of advertisements for different things... some are in good areas, some are not, you'd need someone with knowledge of the city/scene to tell you which ones are "good"... i'm a fan of the more upscale ones (hienkein parties are always nice, rhythm and booze, twisted spirtz, french connection, ect ect ect, depending on the time of year you go things may be busier)

as for comparing brazil and jamaica, well i've never been to brazil, but i think like anywhere it depends on where you go... it's a big country and I'm sure it has it's bad parts which you or may not have experienced... I know some parts of brazil are very visitor-friendly and not considered unsafe at all for the average person with reasonable intellegence .. the same goes jamaica.. with some common sense and even more helpful, someone familiar with the areas you are going, you can explore safely...

as for hospitality of the locals and such... from my experience this is best found in two places, first being the touristy areas your agent has pushed on you (negril, mobay ocho rios) typically at a price/agenda (they want tips or some sort of benefit out of it, obviously not all, but the closer you are to tourism, the more this is a rule and not an exception)... then you find it in the smaller rural communities where people look out for one another... they treat visitors as guests... (again, some may want something but it becomes more an exception and less a rule)... in kingston you'll find that like in any big city, most are just going about their lives and trying to make it thru the day... you'll be harder pressed to find the bend over backwards hospitality... it exists, but is harder to find...

so if you're looking for that, do try to make it into the more off the beaten path type places if you can... i.e. St Thomas i have found to have some of the nicest people on the island... it's about as far removed from both tourism and the city bustle as you can get

okay.. that was a ramble, hope it helped some
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Old 09-03-2009, 02:13 PM
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Re: Travelling To Jamaica

btw... kingston is a harbour city... which basically means the waters around it aren't the cleanest... while the few beaches may be popular, you'll find that (for many other reasons too), many aren't swimming...
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Old 09-03-2009, 02:47 PM
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Re: Travelling To Jamaica

I agree with what chelby has said.

I have never been to Brazil so I don't know if we are similiar to Brazilians.
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Old 09-04-2009, 06:45 AM
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Re: Travelling To Jamaica

Hello all,

thank you very much for your help, your reply, Chelby, was just perfect.
Oh, I am not travelling with any agency at all, am going on my own and have no friends in Jamaica since I learnt that it is the best way how to get to know the country.....
I was travelling all around brazil for 6 months by myself and have visited very remoted and rural parts , too, as it is the thing that interests me the most, I do not like all the touristy places where you meet Europeans and North Americans only and live in a bubble.
I may consider myself lucky as I really had no problems, maybe because I speak Portuguese, maybe because I am just lucky.I went to Africa the same way and luckily nothing happened.I just believe that if you give off the right kind of energy, then you get it back.Maybe it is naive but i strongly believe in it.I was advised many times not to travel by my own as a blond white lady but I think with a bit of respect things can be quite cool.
Thank you also very much for the clubbing tips. I do not want to visit a club that is like clubs in N.Y., I would like to get to parties with locals and for locals, so will try some of the hints you gave. Even though I heard that Usain Bolt goes to Quad and seeing him would not be bad at all, Asafa may join, too.
I chose Spanish Town as it is close to Kingston and I will not have time to move around too much. And I ruled out Negril and Ochos Rios as it reminded me too much of the places here in Europe, all the facilities and I really want to get as close to locals as possible.
I must say I heard only the best things about jamaicans, except for the crime.
Thank you very much again, wish you a nice SUNNY day, it is cold here, I am envious.......
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Old 09-07-2009, 04:17 PM
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Re: Travelling To Jamaica

Well its been 9 years since i personally beeen back but my brother was there recently & he loved quad there is the usall dances sessions dependend's what you are into as with anywhere moving around kingston & spanish town you have to be a bit carefull of the place's you vist but welcome to the site i'm sure other user's here will give you more up to date info
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Old 09-08-2009, 05:39 AM
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Re: Travelling To Jamaica

well, yesterday i decided to prolong my stay in Jamaica from 2 weeks to 3 which means i will have enough time to check all of them.when googling, quad is really among the most cited places to go so i think i will just go and make an opinion myself...thanks a lot
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