Mo Bay, as it’s nicknamed, is the most popular tourist spot in Jamaica. Despite its reputation for crime, tourists flock here for its beautiful beaches, top-rate golf courses, and bustling town near the main airport. The ‘hip strip,’ along Gloucester Avenue, is constantly abuzz with restaurants, nightclubs and shops, and it’s a huge port for American cruise ships. It may be noisy and untidy in some places, but Montego Bay is also lively and colourful. The town is divided into three sections: the hotel area, the city itself, and then the outlying beach and hillside areas.

Who goes there?
Americans, Canadians and Brits in search of an English-speaking, Caribbean party town find Montego Bay to be ‘irie!’ (‘great!’). It’s also popular with golf enthusiasts and reggae music fans, since it is the homeland of reggae legend Bob Marley. World-renowned performers visit for Reggae Sunfest, held in the summer, and the Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival, held each January.

Where in the world?
Montego Bay is on the northwest coast of the island of Jamaica, the Caribbean’s third largest island, located in the western Caribbean just south of Cuba. It’s less than 5km (3 miles) from the Montego Bay Airport. The flat coastal area along Montego Bay has lush mountain areas to the south.

Beach
Low mountains and the sparkling clear aqua sea make Doctor’s Cave Beach the nicest place to relax in the sand with a cold drink or check out open-air restaurants and stores. The water is calmer at Walter Fletcher Beach, where there are watersports ranging from water trampolines to jet-skis. Scuba divers seek out the wall in Airport Reef, in the Montego Bay Marine Park, known for its coral caves, tunnels and steep canyons.

Beyond the beach
Montego Bay has several championship-level golf courses, including Ironshore SuperClubs (Breezes), Tryall (North Coast Highway, Sandy Bay) called ‘one of the meanest golf courses in the world,’ and the White Witch (Ritz-Carlton). The island’s sole casino, Coral Cliff, is located on the hip strip. Ever hour, in the Half Moon Shopping Village (Half Moon Resort, North Coast Highway, 11km/7 miles east of Montego Bay), a video documentary on reggae pioneer Bob Marley is shown. For a little spook, visit Rose Hall (North Coast Highway), the plantation that was once home to the voodoo-using murderess Annie Palmer.

Family fun
Anyone age eight and up can swim with bottlenose dolphins at Dolphins Cove, or let the animals pull them along for a ride. More carnival-styled fun is at Aquasol Theme Park, at Walter Fletcher Beach, and for a little culture lesson, the Jamaican Tourist Board has a free program called ‘Meet the People,’ in which you can spend a day with a Jamaican family, school or gardener. Arrangements must be made in advance.

Retail therapy
Market Street is full of, yes, markets, where you haggle the price of everything from wood carvings to T-shirts. Jamaican rum and High Mountain coffee are popular souvenirs, and can be purchased at most stores. The most upscale shopping is in Half Moon Village, just east of the Half Moon resort.

A night on the town
Most of the lively clubs are within the major resort hotels, most of which offer dinner and disco packages to non-guests. Hurricanes Disco (Breezes Montego Bay Resort) and Walter’s (39 Gloucester Avenue) are among the non-resort favourites.

Eating out
Local specialities, jerk-flavoured meats and Red Stripe beer, are on almost every menu, with the no-frills Port Pit (27 Gloucester Avenue), among the favourites. Local fish dishes, like bammie (a toasted flat wafer eaten with fish), ackee and saltfish are served at Marguerite’s (Gloucester Avenue). For a taste of home, Royal Stocks English Pub & Steakhouse, in Half Moon’s Shopping Village (North Coast Highway, 11km/7 miles east of Montego Bay), is a dark-panelled pub serving shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash and fish and chips. A good ol’ American cheeseburger is available at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville (Gloucester Avenue) or at The Brewery on Miranda Ridge (Shop 4, Gloucester Avenue).

Getting around
Jamaican roads are filled with potholes and unmarked streets, which often get washed out during rain storms. Public transportation (minibuses, buses and route taxis) are only recommended for the courageous tourist. That’s why guided tours and licensed taxis are the recommended way to get around. Walking is not recommended because of potential crime.

Exploring further afield
Just west of Montego Bay is Lucea, a coastal town with a 17th-century fort. Just east of there is Falmouth, a town filled with old churches and interesting architecture. At night, take a boat ride through its Luminous Lagoon and see glow-in-the-dark fish. If you’re a fan of Jamaica’s jerk spice, you can tour the King Pepper factory that produces much of the jerk seasonings.

Splashing out
Massages at KiYara Spa at the Jamaica Inn (Main Street, Ocho Rios, St Ann) are in thatched-roof huts with views of the sea. Guests of The Ritz Carlton Golf & Spa Resort (Ritz-Carlton Road, Rose Hall, St James), can call upon their own bath butler, who will let them choose from a ‘bath menu’ and then draw their bath in a beautiful marble tub. Arrangements can also be made for romantic nights, like a violinist on a private moonlit catamaran ride.

Flying in
Sangster International Airport (MBJ)