
Map of Jamaica
Below is a map of Jamaica. This map should not be used for travelling or direction, but as a source of reference and information only. Although Jamaica is the third largest Caribbean island, it is relatively small. The distance from Negril point in West to Morant Point in the East is only 146 miles (240km) and it is only 51 miles (85km) at it widest point. Jamiaca has only two cities - Kingston, the capital and Montego Bay, but it has many major town such as Ocho Rios, Negril, Port Antonio, Spanish Town, and Mandeville - to name a few.
The map shows only the main roads in the island. These are the routes that you will most likely travel. Since 2000, a new highway system is being built that has less corners and turns and is replacing the orginal but smaller and narrower roads. As you can see from the map, the road on the North coast runs along the the sea, although occasionally they are a little bit inland. The map also omits many details such as rivers and only show major cities and towns.
Most tourists enter Jamaica through Montego Bay airport. To get to Kingston from Montego Bay, you have two options. As the map shows, you can travel West to Negril and East along the South coast of the Island. The roads on this route is very new and travel should be quick. Alternatively, you can travel East along the coast to Ocho Rios, then travel across the Island over the mountains to Kingston. The roads from Ocho Rios to Spanish Town are narrower, more winding, and hilly and, therefore, much slower.
If you fly into Kingston and want to get to Port Antonio, you also have two routes. Using the map as a reference, you can travel across the Island, just skirting the foothills of the Blue Mountain, to Anotto Bay. From Anotto Bay you can then travel East to Port Antonio. The other route as show on the map is to travel East from Kingston along the South coast, then wrapping around the Island near Morant point, then travel northwest then west to Port Antonio.
Brief Geography of Jamaica
Although you cannot see from the map, the Blue Mountain range dominates the Eastern third of Jamaica, which is the source of many of the island's rivers and streams. This cross section of the Island from Kingston to its Eastern tip is ruggedly beautiful with thick, lush undergrowth and secluded coves.
Port Antonio, shown on the map, is the heart of this region is breathtakingly beautiful and was the home of Errol Flynn and Ian Fleming. This part of the Island is not well travelled or explored and people generally live along the coasts.
The mid section of Jamaica, while still mountainous and hilly, is much more accessible than the Eastern end. Just as much people live on the coast as in the mountains - which are often only accessible by small unpaved roads.
The Western third of Jamaica is interesting for two reasons. Its north coast from Ocho Rios to Negril is where most of the Island's hotels and resorts are located and where millions of tourists visit each year.
On the other hand, the Cockpit Country (shown on map) in the center of this area is one of the most inhospitable place on the island. It is a dry, rugged, and inaccessible terrain, populated with many sinkholes, caverns and caves. These sinkholes and caverns have eaten alive many people unfamiliar with this dangerous and deadly terrain.