Advantages: Sun, Sea and ........
Disadvantages: Drugs(though this may be an up side to some of you!) tee hee!

...For my 18th birthday I was presented a fantastic surprise from my wonderful boyfriend, inside my card was a picture of a beach and two tickets to Jamaica leaving four days later!!! We flew from Manchester to Montego Bay in Jamaica which took around 9 1/2 hours. The first thing you notice is the heat, it is like stepping into an oven, the second is how laid back everyone is. Mo' Bay as it is called by the locals is the capital of Jamaican tourism. From there we drove for 2 1/2 hours to Negril where we were to stay. During the drive, we realised what a poor country Jamaica was, we were shocked to go through the "parish's" and see shacks which were peoples homes, and beggars in the street. The Jamaica you see on the television is a far cry from the real Jamaica. NEGRIL Negril is on the North-West coast of Jamaica and has seven miles... Read review

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Advantages: Lots of leg room and good luggage allowance
Disadvantages: overbooking is apparently common

...there early enough to guarantee our seats (although it did mean that an upgrade was out of the question) although had we agreed to give up our seats and fly via Chicago arriving in Jamaica the following day we would have received £400 per person plus overnight accommodation - not bad, but not on our honeymoon! The lady at check-in worked really hard to get us two seats together. The computer had originally put us across the aisle from one another as these were the nearest seats to each other but after a bit of jiggling with single passenger bookings they got us together. I just hope that the single passengers had not pre-booked specific seats…. Then the wait…….. We flew from London Heathrow to Montego Bay in an A340 aircraft. The leg room in economy was fantastic. Lots of room even for the very tall! It was more like... Read review

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Advantages: Weather, freshness of air, food.
Disadvantages: Insects, Can be too hot at night

...Im 22 now and i have been to Jamaica 12 times and i havent got bored of the place. I dont stay in a hotel or resort which i would like to do 1 day, i stay with family; which is a cheaper alternative if your lucky enough to have family that would let you stay. Weather: Always at least warm, hot to many, if it rains it rains hard. The freshness of the air is unbelievable, i would suck it into a big tank and condition my house air with it. Insects: now you will need repellent and lots of it, these insects (mosquitos mainly) are very persistant, so make sure you buy long lasting repellent and cover every part of you body not just the parts that are showing Food: The difference in food is that jamaica are famous for their jerk seasoning, which is used on pork, chicken and sometimes goat. You wont find fish and chip shops around... Read review

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Advantages: Oustanding scenery, tropical weather, white sand beaches
Disadvantages: Safety, harassment.

.... ~~~Plantations~~~ Jamaica is a fruit, coffee and cocoa bean growing paradise (there are other things which Jamaica is famous for growing which I won't be mentioning!). I visited the Croydon Estate on a trip from Montego Bay. I live in London, and to be honest didn't have a clue how a pineapple grew, how we get chocolate or coffee, amongst other things. The tour of the plantation was really informative and we also got to taste many varieties of fresh pineapple - like eating paradise. In the discussion about cocoa beans we were given a cocoa bean which still had a fluffy outer layer although the kernel had been removed. We were told to put the bean in our mouth and taste the white fluffy layer - the fluffy layer is used to make cocoa butter used in making white chocolate. I'm a great oaf and I managed to swallow the whole bean and I choked away... Read review

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Advantages: Interesting excursions
Disadvantages: Hassle from drug pushers if you stay in the main resorts

...tall and close together. The coffee grown there has a chocolatey taste as the cacao beans are grown alongside the coffee beans and the whole area just smells of coffee and chocolate. There is a magnificent rope bridge which swings over a very deep gulley and although I tried to cross it I couldn't get more than half way because I was afraid, much to the amusement of the local children who were trying to encourage me. One of the highlights of my trip to Jamaica was meeting the actor Jon Pertwee who happened to be there on holiday at the time. For those of you not familiar with him he played 'Worzel Gummidge' and the best ever 'Dr Who'. When I spoke to other holidaymakers who were staying in either Ocho Rios or Montego Bay they complained about the amount of hassle they were getting every time they left their hotels. However, we had... Read review

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Advantages: Climate and very friendly people
Disadvantages: Can be hassled and internal travel is difficult unless you fly

...Jamaica, one of the most alluring of the Caribbean islands, lives as a tourist brochure cliché of tropical scenery and shimmering beaches. Its sunsets provide the backdrop for many a romantic picture and the reported laid back nature of the locals with a ready smile and quick wit portray a happy-go-lucky island. Jamaica is everyone's island in the sun. Unlike its neighbours who cater mainly for the rich and famous Jamaica really is somewhere for everyone. From the private villa with its guarded private beach to the non-stop party resorts where the beach is a party and the water rum Jamaica really caters for all-comers. Go to be pampered at a spa or be adventurous in the mountains, find a B&B by the road or an all-inclusive, the choice is there for the taking. The contrasts are not only to be found in the types of traveller... Read review

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Advantages: Free drinks, comfortable seats
Disadvantages: Service, organization, safety

...We flew Air Jamaica mid November last year, and returned in December. We also had an additional unexpected short trip with them, so you could say we've flown with them 3 times. After an uneventful 2 hour trip from Stockholm to Heathrow, we had several hours to kill before stepping abord the 350 seater A340 Airbus to take us to Montego Bay. Check-in opened four hours before the departure time, to allow for the often time consuming baggage handling - Jamaicans have a habit of travelling anything but light. After a 20 minute wait or so, we were checked in. We were quite taken aback when it came to boarding, and everything seemed on time. We were greeted by cabin crew, pointed in the direction of our seats, and not long after, in the air. The plane and staff were tidy, and we were given free headphones, pillows, blankets, socks... Read review

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Advantages: Weather, beach and the food!
Disadvantages: Airport, roads and COST!

...Having been back 4 days from our 2 week hol in Jamaica, I thought I MUST write this before I forget what was what! Pre-holiday details: We normally like to do all-inclusive hols as I prefer to vegetate and be waited on hand and foot whilst on holiday!! (work hard, play hard???) So having already been to other Caribbean locations, we decided this year to do Jamaica. We initially had considered Cuba, but it was more expensive! We saw the resort in a brochure and decided on the hotel. Having checked out the amenities in every brochure and online, we decided to book the 4* plus hotel 'Wyndham Rose Hall Resort & Country Club', with Airtours (via Co-op travel for a discount). I won't go into detail regarding the hotel as this review is more concerned with the resort as a whole. Jamaica is one of the larger islands in the Caribbean... Read review

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Advantages: Easy access
Disadvantages: Diving only average

...Whilst staying at Sandals Montego Bay ,three years ago, I did 12 dives with the Sandals Diveteam. They offered two dives a day as part of the all-inclusive package.The kit was all Cressi-Sub and well maintained. The morning dives were to a max of 30m, and most of the other divers (90% Americans) were PADI OW only. This mean't the Divemasters led everyone like children and the dives rarely exceeded 30 mins. The afternoons were worse as the "try divers" joined in, which mean't the diving was like a pool session. The outer reef was quite good diving, with a reasonable amount of life, but the inner was devoid of fish. The coral was pretty impressive though. This isn't the most impressive diving I've done and I wouldn't go to Montego Bay specifically to dive, although Sandals itself is excellent. If I was going there anyway I'd definitely... Read review

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Advantages: Amazing Beaches
Disadvantages: The long Flight

...restaurants where it was waiter service however prior reservations were required. A burger bar was open from 11am till 1am for snacks and drinks were available from the numerous bars 10am till 2am. This basically meant you could eat and drink round the clock. The hotel also included water sports such as kayaks, pedalos, a glass bottom boat, snorkelling trips and scuba diving lessons. There was also daily entertainment throughout the day and evening. Jamaica itself was an amazing experience. We visited downtown Montego Bay where everything is so hectic and colourful. They even have a pizza Hut, Burger King, Mc Donald’s and Woolworth’s the last thing I would expect to see! We also took part in 2 organised day trips, the first being walking up Dunns Waterfalls then swimming with dolphins, this was an amazing day it was totally worth... Read review

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