Caribbean
City overview
Jamaica is the Caribbean's third-largest island and its most culturally exuberant, a place of reggae, jerk cooking, waterfalls that spill straight into the sea and a mountain range that grows some of the world's most sought-after coffee. Visitors spread across Montego Bay and Rose Hall in the north-west, Negril's Seven Mile Beach, Ocho Rios on the north coast, the quiet east around Port Antonio and the wide-open south coast. Jews have lived on the island since the 1500s, and Jewish life today centres on Chabad of Jamaica in Montego Bay, which runs the island's only synagogue services, its only kosher restaurant and its Shabbos hospitality. Hurricane Melissa struck in October 2025 and the great majority of the island's hotels and attractions have since reopened.
Jamaica
Rabbi
Rabbi Yaakov Y. and Mushkee Raskin
Phone
+1 876-452-3223Website
https://jewishjamaica.comPrograms: Shabbos and holiday services, Friday night Shabbos meals, kosher restaurant and takeout, catering and delivery to hotels and villas, koshering service, Hebrew school, Torah classes, women's programs, weddings and bar mitzvahs, and assistance with visits to the island's Jewish cemeteries.
Getting Around
Public transit
JUTC runs the yellow buses across the Kingston metropolitan area, with hubs at Half-Way Tree and the Downtown Transport Hub; the adult Smartercard fare is J$100.
Licensed route taxis run fixed routes across the island and carry a red plate with a black-and-white chequered band. Privately run coaster minibuses connect most towns from designated depots.
Rideshare
Uber and inDrive both operate in Jamaica, but ride-hailing has been formally banned and left unregulated since June 2024, and drivers risk having their vehicles seized, so neither can be relied on the way it would be elsewhere.
Car rental
Traffic drives on the left and most cars are right-hand drive.
Hertz, Sixt, Avis, Budget and the Jamaican operator Island Car Rentals all have branches. North American licences are valid for three months per visit and UK licences for twelve; the Tourist Board sets the minimum rental age at 25. Roads are often poorly signed and potholed, and heavy rain can make them impassable.
Sangster International Airport (MBJ) in Montego Bay is the island's busiest and the natural arrival point for Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios; the authorised taxi desk sits just outside the customs exit. Norman Manley International Airport (KIN) serves the capital, sitting 19 kilometres from downtown Kingston on the Palisadoes spit, and is the gateway for the Blue Mountains and the south-east. Ian Fleming International Airport (OCJ) at Boscobel in St Mary is the island's newest port of entry, roughly 15 kilometres from Ocho Rios, with customs and immigration open 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. All three are operating normally.
Good to know
December through March brings the driest and coolest weather, while hurricane season runs from June through November and peaks between mid-August and mid-October.
Carry cash. Cards are widely accepted but often attract a surcharge, and machines that take foreign cards can be temperamental. Licensed cambios and banks operate in every resort area and rates move daily, so it pays to compare before converting. Knutsford Express is the cheapest reliable way to move between resort towns and is far less stressful than driving. If you do drive, budget for tolls and finish your journeys before dark. On the kosher side, plan ahead: supermarkets stock basic kosher-certified packaged goods such as bagels, cereals and canned items, but there are no Cholov Yisroel or Pas Yisroel products anywhere on the island, and the only kosher kitchen is in Montego Bay, which delivers to hotels and villas on advance order. Since Hurricane Melissa a minority of properties are still closed, so confirm your specific hotel is open when you book.
Jamaica's resort areas are well policed and largely separate from the inner-city districts where violent crime is concentrated. The realistic risk to a visitor is opportunistic robbery rather than anything worse. Use licensed taxis, which carry a red number plate and a windscreen sticker, or the blue Tourist Board sticker. Avoid driving at night outside resort areas, where roads are poorly lit and unevenly maintained. Withdraw cash in daylight and in busy places. Lottery scams are the island's most persistent fraud, so treat any unsolicited prize claim as bogus. Private hospitals expect payment up front and ambulance cover is thin, which makes comprehensive travel insurance worth having. Some western communities are still restoring power and piped water after Hurricane Melissa. Police: 119. Fire and Ambulance: 110. Also connects to police, fire and ambulance: 112. Crime Stop (anonymous tips): 311. CISOCA (sexual offences): +1 876-926-4079.
Local time
4:06 AM
+4 hrs from NYC
Plug
Type A/B
110V (50Hz)
Currency
Jamaican Dollar
Pick a place on the map or search an address or hotel to see what is kosher around it.