Things To Do in Montego Bay

The women carrying baskets of bananas to market are long gone, but the old wooden ‘gingerbread’ houses of Montego Bay’s old town hark back to its time as an 18th-century trading post. Wander around this area and you’ll see 200-year-old cannons, the remains of the old fort and the notorious Cage prison, a quaint brick building that once held runaway slaves.

Downtown, near Harbour Street, the teeming Crafts Market is the go-to place for Montegan mementos. The stalls here are stacked high with wood carvings, baskets, musical instruments and beaded jewellery – and it’s a top spot for haggling for one of the town’s trademark jipijapa straw hats. The market is open every day except Sunday.

If you’ve seen the film Cool Runnings you’ll know the story behind this bar – Jamaica’s ill-fated attempt to enter a bobsled team at the Albertville Winter Olympics. The bar specialises in pina coladas and jerk chicken pizzas. Before you leave, get a photo of yourself sitting in the actual bobsled used by the team.

There’s a small admission fee to Doctor’s Cave Beach – proceeds go to the 100-year-old bathing club – but that doesn’t discourage the crowds of sun-seekers at this spotlessly clean curl of white sand. Conveniently located next to Hip Strip, you can rent sunloungers and parasols, as well as snorkelling equipment, meaning you can get to grips with the coral reef. For lunch, try a saltfish pattie from L’Oven Best. And if you stick around until the end of the day, you can watch the sun sink slowly over the Caribbean Sea.

It’s not just the secret jerk marinade that makes the meat at the Pork Pit so irresistible, it’s also the pimento wood chips that give it that smoky flavour. To go with your chicken or pork, have some festival dumplings, or rice and beans. And if you’re not taking your food back to the beach, there’s seating in the garden.

You’re inundated with shopping options in Montego Bay, but it’s worth holding out until you’ve paid a visit to Old Fort Craft Park. It’s on Howard Cooke Boulevard, south of Hip Strip, and has around 200 stalls selling straw-work, woodcarvings, jewellery and wall hangings. And if you’ve really got cash to splash, visit the Gallery of West Indian Art, on Fairfield Road, a 5-minute drive from Hip Strip. It’s where up-and-coming artists from Cuba, Haiti and Jamaican sell their work.

Reggae superstars like Damien Marley, Sean Paul and Beenie Man share the stage with international artists like Kanye West, Nicky Minaj and Wyclef Jean at the world-famous Sumfest. The big shows are at Catherine Hall Entertainment on Howard Cooke Boulevard, and there are plenty of glitzy after-parties all over town.

For a crash course in Jamaican cuisine, seek out the local eateries on the main strip. Jerk chicken is the obvious choice, but the Jamaican cookbook also dishes up jerk pork, chicken stew and ackee and saltfish. They’re usually served with rice and peas, or festival – a kind of dumpling. And if you’re willing to travel for your food, jump in a taxi to White House, the area by the airport, where fresh fish overlooking the sea is on the cards.

Half-English pub, half-Jamaican jerk-pork pit – the Brewery combines the best of both worlds. Red Stripe – one of the island’s most famous exports – and reggae are what it’s about here, with live music on Wednesdays and weekends. The place boasts the best rum punch in town – and has a generous happy hour from 4pm to 6pm.

Like any good setting for a horror film, this place seems idyllic on first glance, with its verandas and gardens. But dig a little deeper and Rose Hall’s history ticks off ghosts, witches and even voodoo. Local legend has it the owner, Annie Palmer, was an unpleasant character who bumped off husbands and slaves until she was murdered, too. Apparently she still haunts the place now…

If you’re fond of a good ghost story, you’ll enjoy the night-time tour of Rose Hall, a spectacular Georgian mansion, a 20-minute drive east of Montego Bay. It once belonged to the owners of a large sugar plantation. According to the legend, the mistress of the house, a certain Annie Palmer, used her voodoo powers to dispose of her husbands. If that all sounds like mumbo-jumbo, you’re better off taking the daytime tour to admire Rose Hall in its full glory.

Snorkelling is big out here, and this beach’s clear, warm waters make for some of the best viewing in the Caribbean. Just 430 Jamaican dollars will get you a snorkelling kit for the day, allowing you to cosy up to the squid, skates and parrot fish in the bay’s coral reefs. Back on sand, you’ll find showers and refreshments – the frozen drinks are particularly welcome.

Gloucester Avenue has a good spread of places to go after nightfall, whether it’s an upmarket jazz bar or a pirate-themed nightspot that stays open round the clock. The most popular place along the strip is Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, an American chain which has big-name DJs at the weekend and a waterslide that ejects you into the sea. But there’s also Pier One with its dancehall nights and laid-back locals bars where Jamaicans play dominos over a round of Red Stripes.

At the restaurants on Gloucester Avenue, be sure to seek out jerk cuisine – meat rubbed or marinated in hot spices and grilled over charcoal, which is what Jamaican cooking is all about. You’ll find variations everywhere from high-end places to beach shacks, with fish, chicken and beef all getting the treatment.

This harbour-side restaurant provides a front-row seat for Montego Bay’s world-famous sunsets. And the seafood here doesn’t come fresher – at the al fresco tables you’re close enough to see the bonefish and octopus swimming in the water below. The fried coconut shrimp with mango and ginger is one to try, and for little mouths there are home-made burgers and fish sandwiches.

Gloucester Avenue is home to the town’s biggest collection of bars and clubs. The Cuban influence is huge here, and you’ll find that a lot of the Latin music clubs offer free dance lessons before the night gets going. But if you want to get your beach groove on, clubs on the sand crack out calypso and reggae ’til sunrise.