Jamaica Advice
 

JAMAICA ADVICE
Hi folks: I'm thinking of a visit to Jamaica, likely over the summer. Any advice on things to do, places to see and to stay, general attitudes to gay tourists? Places in mind are Montego Bay (MBJ), Kingston (KIN), Ocho Rios (OCJ) and Negril. Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

AVOID Kingston at all costs (if you value your life). Had to go on business .. three hotels (for business and all right next to each other) and 3 blocks to the office. Was told NOT to walk to another hotel after dark and told NOT to walk alone to the office - they would send a car.

NOT a vacation place.

Mobay, Ochi etc are touristy. As far a GLBT friendly .. do not know. Many are couples resorts all inclusive and not available. Summer time will be very hot and NOT a tourist season.

You will also need to be aware of the hurricane season .. and the destuction of last fall.. not everything is rebuilt .. yes the major places are up and running but the smaller places may take longer.

Best option would be to find someone who knows someone .. that can provide you with location by location details. I just wanted to tell you that you aint safe in Kingston!

In Mo Bay the tourists are constantly hassled.
Kingston is just plain dangerous.
The whole island is very non gay friendly.

Although there are many gay jamaicans all over the world and in Jamaica of course, it would be unwise to see Jamiaca as a place to "pick up a local" so to speak. Many Jamaicans are extremely homophobic and you would be much wiser to choose another wonderful caribbean island to enjoy.

I am sure that Jamaica is a beautiful country , but why choose such a homophobic island for a holiday?

I once won a contest on a local radio station that sent me on a 5 day trip to Jamaica. There's not a single thing that was positive that I can tell you about my experience.

Choose another location.

Thanks for the info so far, guys.

SFO 1K, buddhaman, dbyyz: do you think you guys could elaborate a bit on your experiences? That would help me to know what the potential problem situations might be and help me decide whether a trip is worth the hassle. Thanks.

Everywhere I went I was hassled - and not for being gay. Just approached for money, by children and adults. My hotel did not have hot water for 3 days and no one said a thing about it, despite many complaints. (It's been too long since I went to be able to tell you the name of the hotel.) I was approached after I deplaned and before I entered the terminal to see if I wanted to buy marijuana. I got sick on the food - and the booze was at least 150 proof; it was like rubbing alcohol. UGH.

As someone who has been to 92 or 93 countries (by Century Club count) there are few places I would not like to return to. Jamaica is one of them. I was there 4 Sundays running as the cruise ship I was the doc on was based there. I could count on being approached by someone wanting to sell me drugs, girls, boys, alcohol etc. Any foreigner is assumed to be extremely wealthy and obviously it is your duty to support whomever comes up to you. It is not a safe country for gay folk either. ( A listen to Beenie Mans lyrics or any of several other musicians will confirm that). That said it is a beautiful country with magnificent scenery. If you go take more care than normal and avoid PDAs.

To give you an idea of the level of homophobia in Jamaica, the UK will accept gay Jamaicans as asylum seekers purely on the basis of their sexuality, due to the well documented harrassment and hate crimes that many gays are subjected to there. Kind of ruins that stereotypical image of Jamaica as a happy go lucky place where people just hang out on the beach getting stoned and listening to Bob Marley!

Actually, Jamaica has the highest murder rate of gays of any island country.

I lived and worked in Jamaica for 6 months several years ago, and my job took me all over the island many times. All I can say is that everything posted above conforms to my experiences in those cities.

I referred to Kingston (where I lived) as 'a tropical Camden NJ but with none of the charm' -- it is a dirty, overgrown, overpopulated city with many shanty towns and areas of horrible violence. Really no reason to go there as a tourist. A pity, though, because 'back in the day' when most of the British Caribbean islands were still colonies, Kingston was the largest and most cosmopolitan city, not unlike pre-revolutionary Havana. If you look hard enough, you can see several beautiful British colonial buildings downtown that have sadly fallen into disrepair.

MoBay used to the primary vacation spot but has become a metropolis itself (about 200,000 - 300,000 population) and lost whatever idyllic charm it once had.
And Ocho Rios is fast becoming the same way -- overpopulated and surrounded by dirt poor locals who eke out a living selling souvenirs (most, but not all, is junk) or by panhandling. I constantly was accosted by panhandlers -- they guessed since I was white I must be a tourist. I barked out a few patois words I learned and that stopped them in their tracks.
:D

Having said that, I did find a few pleasant towns: Port Antonio (on the northeastern-most coast) and Port Maria (north coast, about half-way between Ocho and Port Antonio). They are much smaller than the other towns, more laid back, less touristy, and with less hassling (although still a little) by panhandlers.

As far as 'things to do', there is enough to keep you busy if you are so inclined. But Jamaica as a whole is more of a place to hit the beach, work on a tan, and eat some seafood. Some attractions near Port Antonio:
Firefly -- last home of Noel Coward, with a fantastic view of the coast and Caribbean
The home of Ian Fleming -- author and creator of James Bond
Rio Grande River -- white water rafting near Port Antonio
Somerset Falls
Long Bay (on NE coast, there is also a Long Bay in the SW) -- the quintessential Caribbean beach
Blue Lagoon -- another beautiful beach, where the Brooke Shield film of the same name was filmed
Blue Mountains are inland from Port Antonio. I am not sure how easy it is to get there from the north; I only drove their from the south (from Kingston)

So, I guess if you are set on Jamaica, there are less unpleasant places to go (boy, that is a left-handed compliment!).

Regarding the gay thing -- yes, the island is very homophobic and I would be very careful about PDAs, etc. I was there on business, so I generally was not on the look-out, but I heard stories of harassment and worse.

BTW, although Blue Mountain coffee is supposed to be the best coffee in the world (certainly the rarest, as it can only be grown on a few thousand acres in the mtns), don't expect great coffee while you are there. Why ?? -- First, they export most of the Blue Mountain for cash, and second, the places that do serve it boil the he11 out it. Even great coffee beans taste awful when not brewed well.

Hope that helps!

Jamaica Observer: "[REGGAE artiste] Buju Banton charged with assault"
 

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...H_ASSAULT_.asp

:mad:

That is a sad story about Jamaica. I don't think it is or will be on my list of Caribbean countries to visit. I still prefer Havana,Cuba. ;)

Avoid Jamacia... Period.

I went to MoBay for three nights on the way to St Lucia. Wish I had spent all of the time in St. Lucia instead. My partner and I were constantly bombarded with judgmental stares by the hotel staff. A trip off the resort to a local convenient store resulted in one of the locals asking if we were gay in a bizarre manner. A story from the hotel limo driver confirmed that it was not gay friendly at all. He told us that it was common for locals to throw bottles and rocks at other locals who are suspected to be gay. While we did not stay at Sandle, they do not allow gay couples - very jamaican i guess. With the owner of that resort having a stake in Air Jamaica, that was my last flight on that airline.

As a Gay Jamaican....
 

I would not recommend my place of birth to anyone who is Gay or Lesbian. If were forced from the US from any reason, I would plead asylum to any country that would take me. The level of violence and acceptance of such behavior is apalling. If you are gay or even non-agressive heterosexual male, avoid jamaica at all costs.

Here is a hopeful article on the possibility of change in Jamaica and other Caribbean places with widespread homophobia:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,1651419.story

On a side note, I also found this interesting (but sad, obviously):

Pretty clear data point supporting the notion of a correlation between homophobia and HIV infection rates.

Where there is more homophobia, there is more HIV because nobody wants to tell anybody else that they are gay, not even their own doctors. There is more promiscuity because long-term loving male-male relationships are discouraged, and relationships only last as long as ejection.

Where gays are accepted, they can be reached, tested and treated because there is little to no shame admitting that you are gay. Steady, long-term dating relationships are encouraged.

More bad news for Jamaica:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/po/20051203/...slaininjamaica

It is sad that a place that beautiful can be so intolerant. Since there seems to be many experienced Jamaican travelers here, I was wondering if I could get some quick advice on car rentals. I'd like to see Dunns River Falls and anything interesting in the northern resort areas but do not know if the tour/taxi route would beat the car rental/self-serve route, especially on a limited budget.

sadly, Jamaica is the most homophobic country in the caribbean. The orthodox rastafarian faith condemns homosexuality and gay bashing is widespread. I rather recommend Cuba, it is hassle free and american visitors will be surprised to see a much higher quality of life than in capitalist jamaica where beggars and drug pushers are in every corner of Kingston. You need to see the gay cuban movie (made in cuba)'Strawberries and Chocolate"(fresa y chocolate) before traveling to Cuba, it is as essential as the bookstore map.
Puerto Rico is also a hot spot (expensive though) with plenty of clubs and bars and San Juan by far the gayest place under the caribbean sun.

Jamaica can be enjoyable if one goes off the beaten path.

Pt Maria, Boston Bay and Mandeville are a few of the towns that I fondly remember. My ex-partner and I also had our motorcycle breakdown somewhere inland. The locals all came to our aid, kindly offered us food and water and quickly had us on our way!

But I agree, if you're looking for a gay-friendly destination where you can be openly affectionate, Jamaica isn't the place to go.

My best friend is Jamacian They are CRAZY. If you go I would stay on the resort and leave it at that. Lovely island but crazy people. And Kingston really forget that place. My Jamacian friend won't even go there.

I was thinking of taking the family to MoBay to take advantage of UA's low fares and to use my bump vouchers. After reading the above reports, I think I will stick with St. Lucia that we went to last year and thoroughly enjoyed.

Hmm ok after i posted this it got me thinking. Is the homophobic attitude of the Carribean Islands any worse than rual Alabama, Missisippi, or Ohio? I don't think so. I just think a few isolated incidents get more attention because these island nations are so small. Let's even take a good look at Latin America. The whole Machismo thing. So many of latin friends would never say they are gay to any members of their family because of that stuff. I say if you want to go to Jamacia then go. My views about them being crazy. Well that's just them as a people be it gay, str8 or otherwise. I would just say be vigilant as you would anywhere else. I would gladly run off to Jamacia any day, but as I said earlier I would just stay on the resort.

Jamaica received an "F" in this Planetout article...

Gay Caribbean report card

http://www.planetout.com/travel/arti...ml?sernum=9600

Call me an old stick in the mud but why or why would you want to travel to a country that a vast majority of it's citizens would prefer to see you dead. I cannot fathom for any reason whatsoever why any person let alone someone who is gay or lesbian to visit such a sh*te hole. There are always exception to the rule but by and large I can whole-heartedly say that Jamaicans do not deserve you patronism or your money.

Are you aware that apart from major homophobic attitudes running rife throughout the male population in JA the government also sentences practising homosexuals to 8 years hard labour (might be 10 but of the top my head) if caught, that is if your not shot, burnt or beaten senseless till your last breath from the 'Batty-hating' wank*rs who inhabit such a violent place.

Why would you want to go to a country that would prefer you were not alive? I just don't understand anyone considering going. Nuff said!

If any of you FT'rs ever saw the PUMA sportswear documentary in the UK you will no doubt understand why things are so very wrong there. Boycott the place and please have some dignity in your actions. We have fought long and hard to get where we are now and we are still a long way off from being accepted as the norm. Ironic that the vrious Black rights movements have fought for exactly the same reasons 'discrimination' but still don't equate the double standards. If you wanna go to an amazing Carribean Island then Grenada which lies 60 miles off the cost of Venezuala is stunning. There's bull.... in all the Carribean Islands but not with such a prominent overtone that JA has. The only thing I have ever loiked about Jamaica is Jerk bloody chicken.

Sorry, just got my goat - I'm calm(er) now.

HA HA. Hmmm fly over and let's go to see the good old boys in rual Alabama, Georgia or Mississippi and watch them think the same thing about me because of the color of my skin. I think it's sad that everyone wants to condemn a whole island for the actions of a few. Yeah I still think they are crazy. But I don't think every Jamacian is a homophobe and want everygay person dead.

Well my point exactly, comparing Jamaica with the areas in the US you mention is a very valid point and while I would imagine, after not frequenting these places for a good while now, that things have somewhat improved in the States for black, mixed race and people of whatever colour, creed or race I would question whether the same 'tolerance' or acceptance has spread to include homosexuals as much in the same time period. You only have to see how many countries still class the positive promotion of homosexuality let alone same sex acts as illegal to see there is still a long way to go. I am not aware (and please correct me if I am wrong) where it is illegal for people of a different skin tone or race to be so blatantly and visible discriminated against (bar long term feuds between two countries) and classed as illegal citizens and in turn imprisoned.

I think you grossly underestimate the situation when you state 'the actions of a few'. Homophobia is rife in Jamaica, I know. It is something so impregated in mainly male society as immoral that while I wouldn't go so far to say (as I did before) that everyone wants to lynch you there, I would very safely say that whether or not they want you dead they would rather you didn't exist period.

Furthermore, when you have a government in power like Jamaica's one, that does recognise homosexulaity as illegal and imprisons you for it if caught or in certain circumstances just 'suspected' then you are hardly gonna equate that with a liberally minded populous.

Avoid at all costs mi thinks or visit at your own risk and foolishness.
Only my opinion and I'm not writing this (very late at night) for the fun of it, but if you do a little research on the subject you will see that I am able to back up my opinions substantially.

Personally I don't care where Tom, Dick or Harry comes from (no innuendo meant). I take people as individuals but in the case of Jamaica, I would be very reluctant to set foot in the place and I would bet my stamp collection that they woudl not want me there either. So I hope you can appreciate any generalisations I have towards the country and it's people.

Actually I'm friends with quite a few Jamacians. I would even go as far to say that my bestfriend's family has accepted me as part of their extended family with my family being in Ohio and not having any family down here. I'm invited to all of their families functions and accepted with nothing but love. Yes their crazy but just normal everyday people. And all of them were born there and grew up there. So you can't say they have been Americanized all of that. So I really don't think you can say all or generalize the situation. It's sad that someone who is consider a minority would make statements like this about whole groups of peoeple.

Can I ask if you've been to Jamaica? It's very different knowing Jamaican people like you or I do and actually being in the environment. I stand by my generalisation in this instance. There are a hell of a lot of Jamaican men who are homophobic and are very happy to vocalise it, including public platforms where 'less aware' people would be influenced. It incites hatred and it is wrong. This includes the music industry. I have discussed this very topic with many Jamaicans who are either freinds of mine or people I work with they aware of my views only because I am aware of some of there's. I wouldn't normally be so adamant but experiencing some of the things I have while I've been there (several times) does put an authentic slant on things.

I would also reiterate that it is blatantly wrong for a country to 'generalise' against one demographic, like the Jamican government does and has upheld for many years. Do you not believe this has some influence the people living under that law of the land?