Travel to Jamaica

Get travel ideas, inspiration and information:

  • Capital: Kingston (population 940,000 approx)
  • Currency: Jamaican Dollar (JMD)
  • Population: 2,760,000 (approx)
  • Languages: English + Jamaican Creole
  • International Dialing Code +1-876
  • Country Area: 10,990 km2
  • Cuisine: The local food on offer is extremely nutritious, locally grown and cooked according to age-old tradition. Jerk chicken, snapper, callaloo, avocados, ackee fruit, thyme, green onions and red chilies, for example, are available in abundance

 

Visa & Entry Requirements

To enter Jamaica you will need a valid passport, sometimes you might be required to show a return ticket and demonstrate you have sufficient funds in your bank account.

  • Citizens of the USA and Commonwealth Nations do not need a visa and you can stay for up to 6 months.
  • If you are from Canada you will need a passport or an ID card / birth certificate
  • Japanese citizens can stay for 30 days without a visa
  • German citizens can stay for 90 days without a visa
  • If you are from Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or Sierra Leone and other worldwide countries you will need to apply for a visa in advance

 

How to Get to Jamaica

There are three airports in Jamaica which have incoming flights from international destinations:

  • Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston
  • Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay
  • Ian Fleming International Airport, Ocho Rios

 

Top Places to Visit in Jamaica

Places you will want to include in your itinerary include:

  • Negril
  • Treasure Beach
  • Portland
  • Ocho Rios
  • Montego Bay

 

Jamaica Gap Year

We have a selection of gap year programs in Jamaica which are open to all Nationalities, lots of students, graduates apply but there are spaces for everyone. Placements can be found at community care homes, orphanages, teaching, sports and also working on environmental projects.  Some gap year programs are located in Mandeville and Kingston and you will also get time to discover more of the island.  

There are things you might want to do in Jamaica, you could learn about the local famous natives like Bob Marley, watch a live football game or relax and see stunning beaches. We highly recommended going to see Jamaica’s Blue Mountains which contains the highest point in the country, at 2,256m.

Intrepid hikers can reach the summit via a trail and find a view of both the north and south sides of the island, as well as sometimes the island of Cuba, 210km away. While the higher slopes of the range are preserved as forest areas, lower down the mountains coffee is grown. Lucky visitors might even catch sight of a Homerus swallowtail – the second largest butterfly in the world.