Kingston is the first experience of Jamaica for most visitors, and is a noisy, bustling introduction to the island’s history, culture and laid-back lifestyle. It’s surprisingly large and home to historic sites, pretty Emancipation Park, Coronation Market and Kingston Craft Market. Its museums, especially the Bob Marley Museum, are must-sees, as is the city’s Port Royal, famous as a haven for Caribbean pirates in the 17th century.

The small town of Bath hides a little-known Jamaican secret, a sulphur-rich natural healing spring. Discovered over 300 years ago by a runaway slave, the waters are credited with restorative and therapeutic powers. The soaring cliffs at Lovers’ Leap are another of Jamaica’s sites of stunning natural beauty, plunging over 300m into the ocean near Southfield town.

Font Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in St Elizabeth is a haven for birdlife, loggerhead and hawksbill turtles, crocodiles and many of the island’s protected and indigenous species. Set in the forests backing several lovely beaches, the reserve is a peaceful place, with visitors not allowed to enter unless accompanied by a local guide. The charming, historic town of Black River is a short drive away.

Bamboo river rafting is a favourite sport on the Rio Grande and Martha Brae rivers, and pretty Port Maria holds Firefly, the home of the late Noel Coward, set out as it was when the great playwright and composer was visited by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, in 1965. For adventure-lovers, quad biking in the jungles of the foothills or zip-lining through the treetops is easily arranged.

Jamaica’s colonial, slave-owning and pirate history has left landmarks and historic attractions all over the island. For anyone who enjoyed the movie series Pirates of the Caribbean, a visit to the Port Royal is the real thing, as the port was the unofficial hub of buccaneers such as Sir Henry Morgan and the infamous Blackbeard. Kingston grew rich on their plunder, and Fort Charles, Saint Peter’s Church, ruined Fort Rocky and a museum tell the history of those lawless days.

The buzzing tourist town of Ocho Rios is home to the breathtaking Green Grotto Caves and is close to one of Jamaica’s most stunning natural landmarks, the Dunns River Falls. A combination of rapids and waterfalls, it’s a watery 187m climb from the base of the falls to its head, with the less adventurous able to follow a jungle path to the top.

Port Antonio’s main landmarks are the Blue Lagoon, famous for its depth and glorious colour, and the historic DeMontevin Lodge and Folly Mansion. The most famous village on the island is Nine Miles, the birthplace and site of the childhood home of Jamaica’s most-loved son, the legendary reggae star Bob Marley. Visitors are shown around by Rastafarian guides and Marley’s mausoleum and meditation rock are included in the tour.

The Bob Marley Museum in Kingston is set in the star’s home and recording studio, and recounts the life of this amazing man, his music and his charitable foundation aimed at helping those in need worldwide. Spanish Town and stunning colonial Devon House in Kingston tell of the city’s days as a Georgian city, and the National Gallery shows Jamaican art over the centuries.

Entertainment and nightlife in Jamaica is centred on the main tourist towns in and around Montego Bay, and is at its liveliest in the dance clubs. The Hip Strip is where the noisiest and hottest clubs are found, with many set in hotels. Clubs open late and close with the first rays of the morning sun.

A speciality of Jamaica nightlife is the free, outdoor sound-system party, held wherever there’s a reliable electrical outlet giving enough decibel levels. In Kingston, Wednesday parties rave in uptown Burlington Avenue from just after midnight, taken over in the early hours by the party at the Spanish Town Road/Beeston Street intersection and ending at dawn. Monday midnight sees the same phenomenon at Savannah Plaza.

Montego Bay has a good number of friendly, buzzing bars, although the hotels fail badly in the nightlife stakes. Beach bars are ever-popular, although for a quieter evening, you’ll need to find a place away from the ever-present outdoor sound-systems. Sports bars with karaoke nights are popular and plentiful, as are a plethora of dance clubs, and rum and reggae bars are an iconic Jamaican experience.

Ocho Rios is good for riotous nightlife as well, but it has alternatives in the form of small, local bars where you can enjoy a rum punch and meet the locals. Nightlife at the all-inclusive resorts is on a quieter scale, but presents bonuses such as open-air hot tubs and cocktail bars where you can actually hear the conversation. St Elizabeth is well-known for its beach bars, some of which, including the Pelican Bar, are set on stilts in the shallow waters.

Jamaican food is a tasty mix of classic Caribbean dishes and local cuisine, with an unfair reputation for being too spicy. In reality, few dishes are hotter than the summer weather, but most are versatile in their flavours. Rice and peas cooked in coconut milk is a staple, as are meat or vegetable-filled patties, and the national dish is ackee and saltfish, a must-try. Ackee is a local fruit with a unique flavour and saltfish is dried and salted cod, which is tastier than it sounds.  

Jamaica’s jerk-flavoured foods are famous, with jerk chicken the most loved, and jerk conch and jerk pork also found. Jerk seasoning is a mix of spices spread on the meat or seafood before it’s barbecued, and curries are found everywhere, with curried goat the classic and curried fish uncommon but well worth searching for. Mangoes here come in many varieties, all delicious, and health-giving coconut juice is a favorite drink. 

In Kingston, Montego Bay and the rest of the tourist areas, there’s a great selection of eateries serving Jamaican cuisine. Seafood, grills, Chinese, Indian, Italian and Spanish food, along with jerk eateries and even an occasional vegetarian bistro are present. Montego Bay has the best choice, although Kingston boasts fine dining at the Four Seasons Hotel and several other luxury resorts. For a taste of the real Jamaica, follow the usual rules and look out for places where the locals eat.