Jamaica Tourist Information websites

 

"..And just down there is the Pelican Bar!" Usain Bolt offers tips to tourists to Jamaica



 

I’ve been weaselling about the Internet today on my permanent crusade to deliver great information on Jamaica and the Caribbean islands for two clients of mine who provide luxury villa rentals services in Jamaica and all the delightful Caribbean Islands. http://www.luxuryarrivals.com are the people with the luxury villas in Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Croix, Jamaica and almost everywhere else in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. http://www.villassurmer.com specialise in delightful luxury villas and cottages in beautiful Negril on the western tip of Jamaica, Villas Sur Mer provide the backdrop to the most beautiful and romantic wedding receptions.

Anyway, I always like to find information that I think can help my friends when they come to the Caribbean, places to go, where to stay, what to eat and other such things that are both interesting and helpful to Caribbean tourists. I found a cracking website for Jamaica tourism and by some quirk of fate it is called http://tourismja.com/ Ministry of Tourism and it really is a website that has it all.

 

There are many places listed for you to visit and each is itemised with things to see and do, it’s easy to navigate, up to date and most definitely informative and interesting. So, my interesting site of the week is http://tourismja.com/ and I hope you enjoy it.

Keep up to date with both Luxury Arrivals and Villas Sur Mer for great Jamaica villas and Caribbean vacation rentals.
 

Jamaica Vacation Villas links:
http://www.villassurmer.com  Negril Villas Jamaica
http://www.luxuryarrivals.com  Jamaica Villas

Jamaica and The CIA



 

Jamaica Villas from the CIA?

 

I have always advocated being prepared whenever you intend to travel anywhere as prior knowledge sets you off on the front foot and saves you plenty of time if you know what is where. It’s the same if you are going to stay in a Jamaica villa with a company like Luxury Arrivals, they have hundreds of villas in Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean islands so, sooner or later, you are bound to bump into each other.

Where is the best place to go for information on Jamaica? I’ll tell you, you visit the CIA. Yes, the CIA, Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America, they have a website for every country on earth and those sites contain all the information you will ever need on any given location. There is however a drawback.

Whilst it is interesting from a cultural, historical or political perspective the CIA are absolutely clueless when it comes down to knowing where the best place is to eat Jerk Chicken, where to get the best seafood lunch or where to go for a romantic evening and watch the sun set over the Caribbean Sea. No, the CIA won’t be able to help you out there I’m afraid.

Don’t worry though, if you follow this Blog then I’m sure we can help you choose the best places to eat, drink and make merry and to start with we are happy to tell you that a great website to visit to choose your luxury Jamaica or Caribbean villa for a vacation is Luxury Arrivals. Luxury Arrivals have all of the top Jamaica villas listed on their website at http://www.luxuryarrivals.com so go check it out and grab yourself a piece of Jamaica happiness.

By the way, that CIA website? https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/jm.html

Jamaica Vacation Villas links:
http://www.luxuryarrivals.com /Jamaica Villas

Jamaica Villas at Negril - 492 things to do in Jamaica

Negril Lighthouse

 

 

Things to do in Jamaica:

I thought I knew pretty much what there was to do on a Jamaica vacation with Villas Sur Mer but as it transpires, I don’t know half of it, this came as a bit of a surprise. I was flipping through the Internet, as one does, for informative websites from which visitors to Villas Sur Mer at Negril could glean information from to save them time once they got here and I came across a wonderful link which screamed out “492 things to do in Jamaica!”

Now, 492 things is a lot of things to do and I was interested to where my miserable list of 100 Jamaica attractions had fallen short but I need not have bothered as this site knocked my Jamaica list into a cocked hat. The website is part of the Trip Advisor sites, a sort of Wikipedia for travellers worldwide.

There are the usual suspects listed, such as Ocho Rios, Dunne’s River falls, Runaway Bay, Kingston, Port Antonio etc but here and there are buried little treasures that are well worth digging for, such as The Pelican Bar ( A bar built on stilts in the middle of the Caribbean Sea) Bob Marley Museum, Glass Bottom Boat tours, Reef Dives and lots more.

Take a look at this website and flick through the thousands of photographs and see what you can spot to visit when you book with villas Sur Mer at Negril in Jamaica.

492 Things to do in Jamaica

Jamaica Vacation Villas links:
http://www.villassurmer.com/ Negril Villas Jamaica

Jamaica Villas - Seaside Villa at Negril in Jamaica

The Seaside villa at Villas Sur Mer in Negril Jamaica

OK, so we have all been on vacations to this place, that place and all over the place, some have been to Jamaica and the Caribbean and some haven’t and no matter whether you have been on a Jamaica villa holiday or not you will always be on the lookout for that elusive “something special” something that will have you wanting to return to at least one more time. Well, you’re in luck.

Villas Sur Mer at Negril in Jamaica has a luxurious seaside villa that is both charming and special, with fantastic views of the Caribbean Sea and Negril. This seaside villa is the ideal family vacation property and also fantastic for hosting a wedding reception or other special occasion as it has 6 deluxe bedrooms and bathrooms as well as every modern luxury you would want, from modern TV’s to the Internet.

The Seaside Villa at Negril has a beautiful swimming pool, Queen size beds,  flat screen TV with over 300 channels,  IPod, Internet, hot tub and...I know, why don’t you take a look for yourself on the Villas Sur Mer website. You’ll be very glad that you did.  

Villas Sur Mer Seaside Villa,Negril, Jamaica.

 
Jamaica Vacation Villas links: 
http://www.villassurmer.com/  Negril Villas Jamaica 
http://www.luxuryarrivals.com/  Jamaica Villas

Jamaica Villas - Online Newspapers and Blogs for Jamaica

I find it always helps, no matter what country you visit, to get to know what is happening before you set sail on your annual vacation, for many reasons, after all, you don’t want to visit a country that in the throes of some great upheaval, do you? I know you’re thinking that this sounds unlikely or farfetched but it is not and I can point to my own experiences in the late 1970’s when I took a vacation to the west coast of Africa, to Ghana to be precise.

There I was, enjoying the beautiful sunshine in this delightful tropical paradise, I was up jungle in a place called Kumasi and living the high life whilst doing my best to avoid the rather large and fierce looking insects when we were informed, in a sort of “by-the-way” manner that there had been a military coup but there was nothing to be worried about. Nothing to be worried about? Military coup! It wasn’t what I expected when I got off the plane the week before.

No matter, it all turned out well and I got back home with nothing more than some insect bites and strange looking souvenirs.

So, now, I don’t leave blighty unless I am absolutely sure there is no chance of a military coup, a volcano erupting, flood or pestilence and I have found that the best way to do this is to read the local online newspapers and Blogs as they have all the local information at a glance.

Jamaica is blessed in this sense as it has my favourite online periodical, the august Jamaica Gleaner. This is a delightful online newspaper for the tropical paradise of Jamaica that is informative as well as entertaining and there is not too much political nonsense to bore you.

The Jamaica Gleaner is also a great source of information as far as entertainment is concerned with up to date lists of forthcoming concerts, exhibitions, theatre cultural and historical events, sights and activities, in fact, if it isn’t in the Jamaica Gleaner, it isn’t happening and that goes for military coups and volcanic eruptions.

So, when you come for your Caribbean vacation to the Sur MerVillas at Negril, you will already be familiar with what’s going to be happening and if you do get stuck for options, there is always the ever helpful Villas Sur Mer staff that will be happy to help in any way they can.

Welcome to Jamaica, Welcome to Villas Sur Mer and enjoy reading the Jamaica Gleaner.

 

Jamaica Vacation Villas links: 

http://www.villassurmer.com/ Negril Villas Jamaica 

http://www.luxuryarrivals.com/ Jamaica Villas

Jamaica Villas - The Pelican Bar in Westmoreland

 

The Pelican Bar complete with Honeymoon suite

 

 

Mac and Doris waiting for a cab?

 

 

"Of course, the kitchen has been modernised..."

 

 

"Theres a draught coming from somewhere?"



We have all traveled the world in some form or another and we have witnessed everything from the ridiculous to the sublime, or at least we often think we have.  I personally have found myself in such squalid places as a public toilet in Kenya way back in the early 80’s where you needed a strong stomach to go within 50 yards of the place and just a few blocks further on, the Sunflower Disco where local businessmen turned up in dinner jackets and suites and tourists such as myself had shorts and flip-flops on watching naked Limbo dancers wriggle under a flaming bar just a few inches from the floor. A sight that has lived long in the memory, I can tell you.

No doubt you have your own wonderful and weird experiences to relate and I would be glad to hear from you if you can beat my Limbo dancers but there is one such place that defies logic and that one place is a pile of sticks, planks, palm leaves and nails that passes for the most important tourist attraction in the whole of the Caribbean islands. The Pelican Bar!

The Pelican Bar is a ramshackle hovel that sits on wooden stilts about a mile offshore on a sandbank and was the brainchild of a local fisherman by the name of Floyd Forbes who thought this platform in the middle of the Caribbean Sea might be the ideal place for himself and other fishermen friends to hang out after a hard day’s work.  It developed from that to becoming the biggest local attraction on the south side of the island of Jamaica and in no time the tourists were flocking to this complete wreck of a bar that sits out in Parottee Bay just down from Port Charles in the parish of Westmoreland.

The original Pelican Bar was washed away in a hurricane some years back and such was the impact on the local economy that local businesspeople clubbed together to enable Forbes to rebuild the Pelican bar and produce the finest concoction of planks, nails, poles and driftwood anywhere in the Caribbean.

To get to the Pelican Bar from Negril (For those staying at Villas Sur Mer) you drive down the coast on the A2 until you get to just past Crawford and then it’s through Black River and then you are there. In all it takes you about 1 hour 30 minutes by car and is roughly 83Km but worth every inch of the journey.

If you are staying with Villas Sur Mer or Luxury Arrivals Jamaica Villas then I’m sure the staff will be delighted to point you in the right direction.  So, if you do go for a Jamaica villa vacation in Negril with Sur Mer or along the coast with Luxury Arrivals and you do visit the delightful Pelican Bar, just remember who told you about it and send me your photos and comments and I will add them to this blog for other weary travelers to enjoy.

Jamaica Vacation Villlas links:
http://www.villassurmer.com/  Negril Villas Jamaica
http://www.luxuryarrivals.com/  Jamaica Villas

Jamaica Villas

 

Fancy a Jamaica villa? Check these Jamaica villas out then.

 

If you are ever perplexed when trying to choose a Jamaica Villa then I has some great news for you. www.luxuryarrivals.com has a great portfolio of villas in Jamaica and they have them set out so you can flick through easily to find the Jamaica villa of your dreams. There are plenty of beautiful and exotic locations, from Montego Bay, Negril, Port Elizabeth, Spanish Town, Kingston, Discovery Bay, Runaway bay and many more places all available for your vacation or wedding ceremony.

Take a look at the www.luxuryarrivals.com website as there are not just Jamaica Villas available but villas all over the Caribbean Islands, you can just browse through and make your choice, and, if your still not sure then you could always get in touch online, direct to the staff and they will be delighted to help you.

Jamaica Vacation Villlas links:

http://www.villassurmer.com/  Negril Villas Jamaica
http://www.luxuryarrivals.com/  Jamaica Villas

Jamaica Villas

 

 

Relax, that's what it's all about.

Jamaica villas are always a great way to spend a holiday in the Caribbean, for a start you are in control of your own itinerary, you can come and go as you please without being tied to meal timings or arranged events.

Villas Sur Mer at Negril has some fantastic Jamaica Villas and Cottages in the beautifully exotic cliffs overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Check out the updated website for a luxury vacation Jamaica villa or a romantic cottage, you can have your wedding reception and honeymoon here or simply party on a great tropical vacation. www.villassurmer.com

 Jamaica Vacation Villlas links:

http://www.villassurmer.com/  Negril Villas Jamaica
http://www.luxuryarrivals.com/  Jamaica Villas

Jamaica Villas - Scuba Diving vacations in Jamaica Villas

EPIC Scuba Diving in Negril from Leon Grant on Vimeo.

 

 

Quite often I’m asked “what exactly does one do on a Jamaica vacation when one rents a villa at Sur Mer in Negril” and my answer as always is “One does exactly as one please!” maybe not as eloquently as that but you catch my drift.

Jamaica is a marvelous place for everything outdoors, from lazing in the shade on a sun kissed beach, to sitting in a beach bar and watch the waves pound the beach, whizz around on a speedboat or ski jet or take the more sedate Glass Bottom Boat tour, you catch fly through the forest on a Zip Line, visit the Bob Marley museum, go an nature rambles and visit historical sites..There are endless activities and renting your own Jamaica villa you decide your own itinerary.

 

One thing though really is a must and that is to go snorkel or scuba diving. The Caribbean Sea is home to the most exotic and beautiful sea life as well as brilliant and exciting wrecks of all shape and sizes and scuba diving off Negril is highly recommended. To give you an idea of what to expect, I found this fantastic scuba diving video for you to check out.

 

Check out the Villas Sur Mer Tourist Attractions website page for scuba diving and other great activities.

 Jamaica Vacation Villlas links:

http://www.villassurmer.com/  Negril Villas Jamaica

http://www.luxuryarrivals.com/  Jamaica Villas

Jamaica Villas Blue Waters Ocho Rios

 

Looks Cool. Blue Waters Villa

When you are considering a vacation to Jamaica there is one property that really deserves your attention and that is Villa Blue Waters close to Ocho Rios (Eight Rivers) on the north coast of the island of Jamaica, close to great tourist attractions such as Dunne’s River Falls, James Bond Beach, Discovery Bay and many more beautiful and exotic places.

Charming Blue Waters is like a tiny jewel set in the exclusive, gated community of Old Fort Bay just outside of Ocho Rios. The villa is just a few minutes’ walk from one of the prettiest beaches on the island. Blue Waters offers four air-conditioned bedrooms and 4 baths. The interiors are comfortably and tastefully furnished with a mixture of island rattan. Outside, there is a large furnished patio overlooking the lush grounds and expansive private swimming pool.

Take a closer look at Blue Waters from the main Luxury Arrivals website. Villa Blue Waters, Jamaica. 

Jamaica Vacation Villlas links:

http://www.villassurmer.com/ Negril Villas Jamaica
http://www.luxuryarrivals.com/ Jamaica Villas