Jamaica
 Jamaica | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Language: | English, Jamaican Patois |
| Capital: | Kingston |
| Population: | 2,800,000 |
| Currency: | Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
| Hitchability: | <rating country='jm' /> |
| Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots | |
| <map lat="18.25" lng="-77.5" zoom="7" view="0" float="right" /> | |
| Check out hitchhiking spots on Hitchmap | |
Jamaica is an island nation in the Caribbean located in a chain of islands called the Greater Antilles.
Personal Experiences
visited in late december 2024 for 5 days. got the bus (number 98- took 1.5 hours of waiting before it turned up...need lots of patience) from Kingston airport to downtown for 100 jamaican dollars. then another (number 30) in the dark to HWT TC, near to my hostel, after getting some street food and a walk around downtown square. next day i walked to bob Marley museum, then to Trench Town. then i got the 22 bus (waiting ages for the big yellow cheap bus) to the highway (east of central village). i stuck my thumb up 100 meters before the toll under the bridge (started to rain pretty heavy for 10 minutes) and got a ride after 30 mins, and drove me to linstead. waited around 30 mins with 3 stopping, 2 going to Kingston and one going to Ocho Rios. i asked for a ride with two girls that were going to Ocho but they said no, i asked why did you stop then and they drove off sheepishly. it started to rain hard soon after so went and sat at toll under the roof and asked a few more and most going to kingston. one guy went past, music blaring, in his suped up car, saying "fook is your problem white boy". stopped raining soon after, so went back to original hitching spot and finally got a lift within a few minutes to Moneague. i got some food here, looked around and then went to main road and had dinner. it got dark soon after and i was outside a quiet church, so went and had a look found a perfect sheltered spot to camp...good call it rained heavy that night. next day i walked for about 20 mins down the road, towards Ocho (A3 road) when finally a guy stopped and picked me up. we drove through beautiful fern gully to west Ocho, where i got out. quickly visited the ship port area, where the tourist ship docks, as looked nice to go and see a jamaican beach, but the area was guarded and looked as though you had to pay for admission so carried on walking. i visited toilet on way back to road, where within a minute the cleaner lady shouted i had to leave (just asked her if it was ok for me to go in 🙄), then a guy shouted "are you on the cruise ship", i said "no, I'm on the toilet having a poo and only been here for a minute, is there a problem?" then the lady shouted again a minute later, saying people are waiting. i got out a couple minutes later with nobody queuing up (urinal was still accessible when i was on the toilet). walked past lady, who let out a heavy sigh, and said nothing. after that i headed west to Montego Bay and got there in 2 more rides. in jamaica i got picked up by 4 different men and one lady who did a u-turn, to come and get me, just outside Ocho. i was going to hitch onwards to Negril, but found a good camping spot just south west of Montego in some Mangrove Bushes and had a hostel booked in montego the next night, so didnt bother.
Do not hitch near police stops near ship ports (Ocho Rios) as when i did they started asking me questions, and for documents, and called an immigration officer for further questioning. the immigration officer wanted flight proof, accomodation proof and asked how much money i have. all said it was too dangerous/impossible to hitchhike and i must get a bus/taxi. i explained i had no problems so far, and hitchhiking had worked so far for me. i walked off 500meters around the corner, where within 10 mins the lady picked me up. quite a few people who asked me where i was going said be careful, jamaica is very dangerous. all lifts were in cars. did not get any food/drink off anyone, money or invitations to their houses. most people i came across seemed polite and friendly. average waiting time 30 mins. hitchhernick
Nomadwiki & Trashwiki
Check Trashwiki for dumpsters...and share your wisdom :)
Greater Antilles: Cuba • Hispaniola (Dominican Republic • Haiti) • Jamaica • Puerto Rico
Lesser Antilles: Saint Kitts and Nevis • Antigua and Barbuda • Saint Lucia • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines • Barbados • Grenada • Saint Barthelemy • Saint Martin • Dominica • Martinique • Guadeloupe
Leeward Islands: Anguilla • Saint Eustatius • Saba • Sint Maarten • Saint Barthélemy • United States Virgin Islands
Windward Islands: Saint Lucia • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines • Grenada • Barbados
Caribbean Sea Islands: Aruba • Curaçao • Bonaire • Montserrat • Cayman Islands • Turks and Caicos Islands • British Virgin Islands
Other Caribbean Countries: The Bahamas • Trinidad and Tobago • Belize • Guyana • Suriname • French Guiana • Honduras • Panama
