Jamaica holidays

Emerging from Jamaican slums in the thirties, Rastafarianism has become a big part of the Jamaican identity. Bob Marley, born in Nine Mile in the parish of Saint Ann, is one of the most famous Rastafarians of all time and helped create the link between Rastafarianism and reggae music. Following Haile Selassie as their messiah, along with the teachings of Marcus Garvey, the Rastafari sport dreadlocks and don't cut their hair as part of their practice. They're also known for practising vegetarianism, promoting peace and smoking ganja as part of their spiritual practice. You can visit the Rastafari Indigenous Village in Montego Bay, as well as the house in Nine Mile where Marley grew up.

There's also a heavy African influence on Jamaican culture, due to the descendants of enslaved Africans being the majority of the population. For example, the folk stories of Anansi the trickster spider that are well known throughout Jamaica have a Ghanaian (Akan) origin.  

One of the biggest events on the Jamaican calendar is the festival celebrating Jamaica’s independence from Great Britain on August the 6th. Traditionally including street parades, dancing, art exhibitions and competitions.

The nation’s main carnival is Bacchanal, which has been around for about 20 years, lasting six weeks from January and ending with a big road march around Easter.

Fusing jazz, Caribbean mento, calypso and R&B, the Ska scene has had a massive influence on Jamaican music. It was led by the likes of Ernie Ranglin and Don Drummond of The Skatalites and came about in the fifties and sixties after Jamaica had gained its independence. This rhythmic, upbeat dance music, featuring the guitar, drums, trumpet, sax and trombone is what reggae stems from.

Fronted by the likes of Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley, reggae uses a slower, more relaxed beat (apparently created on a day when it was too hot to play Ska) that’s so widely associated with Jamaica and still played at beach jams today.

February is Reggae Month in Jamaica, with recent years seeing concerts, lectures and celebrations of the legendary music. Reggae branched off into Dancehall music in the seventies, which has been carried into the 21st century by globally renowned Jamaican musicians like Sean Peal, Gyptian and Sean Kingston.

Talk of Jamaican cuisine quickly turns to jerk, a smoked spicy chicken traditionally served with rice and peas (a bit like kidney beans). Curry goat is another Jamaican institution, where melt-in-your-mouth meat with warm spicy sauce is dished up with rice and vegetables. If you like seafood, look out for Ackee and saltfish which is the national dish – a fruity, spicy dish made with ackee fruit and cod. Patty’s are very popular, filled with fish, beef, chicken and vegetables.

Some of the cornerstones of Jamaican cooking include thyme, pimento (allspice), scallions (spring onion), coconut milk/cream and scotch bonnet (chilli). You'll usually have one or more of these in any Jamaican dish. Scotch bonnets are a particularly hot and flavoursome chilli that is very popular in the Caribbean as well as west Africa. here you can see one of the many ways Jamaican and African cuisine are intrinsically linked.

Locally grown bananas, coconuts and citrus fruits feature a lot in Jamaican desserts, like banana cake, banana ice cream, grater cake (coconut and sugar sweets), coconut rock buns and coconut drops.

Blue Mountain Coffee, grown in the island’s highest mountain range, has garnered a worldwide reputation for its light, floral flavour. It’s one of the rarest coffees in the world, due to a much smaller yield than the big coffee nations and 80% of produce being shipped to Japan – so the opportunity to try or buy some is definitely worth taking.

One thing you won’t struggle to find in Jamaica is a bar, all well-stocked with rum and beer. Appleton rum from Cockpit Country is one of the oldest rums in the world, dating back to at least 1749 and Wray & Nephew is another local brand sold all over the world. Red Stripe lager has been brewed here since 1928 and is served in every Jamaican bar we’ve been to. Stout’s also a local’s favourite, so you’re likely to see a lot of Guinness as well as local brews (like Dragon Stout). Punch is hugely popular – with varieties including pineapple punch, Guinness punch, planter’s punch. If you like cocktails, ask your barman to make a Dirty Banana (Tia Maria, rum, rum cream, milk, syrup and banana) and when it comes to shots, the ‘Bob Marley’ layers crème de menthe, banana schnapps and grenadine to represent the Jamaican flag.

Soft drinks worth trying include Ting, a fizzy grapefruit soda (sometimes mixed with rum to make a Ting n Sting). The ginger beer here is made with cane sugar, and coconut water and carrot juice are other staples.

Brought here by the British, cricket’s a big part of local life with regular parish tournaments, T-20s and curry goat series put on all over the island as well as international matches at Sabina Park in Kingston.

Football is a close contender for the nation’s favourite sport, with the Reggae Boyz competing in the Caribbean Cup and regular friendlies hosted at the Independence Park and National Stadium. The National Stadium also acts as the home to Jamaican athletics which has become huge in recent years after Usain Bolt’s constantly record-breaking sprints.

The craft markets are the way to experience the Jamaican shopping experience, and you’ll find them in all the big tourist areas – there’s the Ocho Rios craft Park, Montego Bay’s market on Harbour Street and another by the south end of Seven Mile Beach in Negril.

Stalls sell wooden trinkets, jewellery, straw hats, food and no end of Bob Marley t-shirts, ornaments, flags… You name it. The vibe is loud, colourful and Jamaican through and through. Our best advice: have a thorough look around before splashing out on anything, be prepared to use a polite but firm ‘no thank you’ when necessary, and if you haven’t haggled before, roll up your sleeves and let the locals show you how to barter.

Ocho Rios is the best spot for an all-round shopping experience, home to the Ocean village centre with its stores and restaurants and the Taj Mahal mall near the cruise port (this is where you’ll find the really pushy traders, but if you’re prepared to hold your own it can be good fun). Montego Bay has the Hip Strip, with its duty-free shops and market stalls and there’s also the Time Square mall over in Negril selling more of the same.