Jamaica: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Jamaica feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 118 written places.
Soon come is a promise without a timetable; music and patois carry everything.
✓ Considered polite
- Slow to island time - soon come means it will happen, eventually
- Eat jerk from smoke-drum roadside stands - Boston Bay is the pilgrimage
- Take licensed route taxis with red plates for local hops
- Greet - Wah gwaan and a smile are the passport
✗ Better avoided
- Wander unlit areas of cities at night - take local advice seriously
- Photograph people without asking
- Expect resort prices to match street prices - two economies coexist
- Bring or buy ganja casually - decriminalised small amounts exist but rules still apply
Worth knowing
- US dollars accepted widely; Jamaican dollars get better small prices
- Tipping 10-15% where no service charge
- Route taxis and knutsford buses beat renting for most visitors
- Blue Mountain coffee at source costs a fraction of export prices
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.