Four Free Days in Jamaica
Your Jamaica Itinerary at a Glance
- Day 1 Day 1: Kingston green
- Day 2 Day 2: Into the Blue Mountains
- Day 3 Day 3: South coast, slowly
- Day 4 Day 4: Portland and Ital
What to Do in Jamaica
Hope Royal Botanical Gardens
Jamaica's largest public botanical garden, founded 1873, free by law under the Public Green Regulation Act rather than by anyone's goodwill.
Emancipation Park
A landscaped city park with a jogging circuit and the Redemption Song sculpture, in the middle of New Kingston.
Holywell Recreation Area, Blue and John Crow Mountains
Five marked cloud forest trails inside the UNESCO site.
Blue Mountain Peak trail and JCDT guided hikes
If you want the 2,256 metre summit, book the park trust guides rather than a private operator.
Treasure Beach public bays
Six miles of undeveloped south coast across four bays.
Bluefields Beach Park
A public beach park in Westmoreland, free to enter, busy with Jamaican families at the weekend.
Winnifred Beach
Community run and genuinely public, kept that way by a long campaign against enclosure.
Where to Eat in Jamaica
Rasta Ade Refreshments
Fully plant based Ital on Seven Mile Beach at Negril, with a head chef who farms.
Your Day by Day Jamaica Itinerary
Day 1: Kingston green
The capital has more free green space than anyone expects, and you can walk between it.
Hope Royal Botanical Gardens
Jamaica's largest public botanical garden, founded 1873, free by law under the Public Green Regulation Act rather than by anyone's goodwill. Open six to six. Skip the zoo inside the estate, which is a separate paid operation holding captive animals.
Emancipation Park
A landscaped city park with a jogging circuit and the Redemption Song sculpture, in the middle of New Kingston.
Day 2: Into the Blue Mountains
The one day worth paying for, and the money goes to park management.
Holywell Recreation Area, Blue and John Crow Mountains
Five marked cloud forest trails inside the UNESCO site. US$10 for non residents, which funds the rangers. The site is inscribed partly for Windward Maroon culture, so you are walking through a living history as well as a forest.
Blue Mountain Peak trail and JCDT guided hikes
If you want the 2,256 metre summit, book the park trust guides rather than a private operator.
Day 3: South coast, slowly
Cross to St Elizabeth and drop the pace.
Treasure Beach public bays
Six miles of undeveloped south coast across four bays. No all inclusive resorts anywhere in the district, and Frenchman's Bay is a working fishing beach with pedestrian only access.
Bluefields Beach Park
A public beach park in Westmoreland, free to enter, busy with Jamaican families at the weekend.
Day 4: Portland and Ital
Finish on the north east coast with the best food on the island.
Winnifred Beach
Community run and genuinely public, kept that way by a long campaign against enclosure. A small voluntary donation goes to upkeep.
Rasta Ade Refreshments
Fully plant based Ital on Seven Mile Beach at Negril, with a head chef who farms. Cash only, and the food often sells out by mid afternoon.