
Montego Bay - Jamaica Tourist Capital
Montego Bay is the hip and happening tourist destination in Jamaica. It is a crowded and lively cosmopolitan resort city in which two worlds collide right before your eyes. Country folk from surrounding towns go about their daily lives among tourists from cruise ships and hotels. Locals hang out in bar fronts and sidewalks discussion of politics and domino games while tourists shop for expensive jewellery and souvenirs in in-bond shops and craft markets. But Montego Bay has everything you will want and need for an extraordinary Jamaica vacation.
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The name Montego Bay came from the Spanish name - Manteca Bahia which means Bay of Lard. It got this name because the numerous plants that made lard from the abundance of wild boars in the surrounding hills. The city was also once a shipping port for bananas and location for sugar cane factories. Today, Mobay, as we call it in Jamaica, is known as a premier tourist destination in the Caribbean.
Montego Bay is a city and as such it is not as scenic and picturesque as other Jamaican tourists destinations. But what it lack is natural beauty it makes up in being a complete resort town. Unlike Ocho Rios and Negril, daily life in Montego Bay has a certain pulse and sway to it. So if you are one of those people who wants a relaxing vacation but still like a little action, Mobay just might be the place for you.
Montego Bay stretches for 15 miles along the Northwestern coast of the island and can be divided into three distinct areas. You have the city center with its crowded streets, market, stores, and in-bond shops. You have the mile-and-a-half "Hip Strip" located on Gloucester Avenue which runs from down town, past the famous Doctor's Cave Beach, all the way out to the Dead End Bar. This is where most of the hotels, resorts, and restaurants are located. Then you have the outlying area where other villas and resorts are located.
In the outlying area on the East of town going towards Ocho Rios, you will find places like the Ritz-Carlton, Rose Hall Resort and Country club, and the infamous Rose Hall Great House. On the Westside, going towards Negril, you will find Round Hill Hotel and the Tryall Golf and Country Club.
Shopping
MoBay is a shopping paradise for tourists. There are a number of shopping plazas in an around the city. On Harbour Street, down town, you'll find the major craft market near Sam Sharpe Square. You can shop for souvenirs in St. James and Fantasy plazas located in the main resorts area close to Gloucester Avenue or down by the waterfront at the Montego Bay and Bay West Plazas. East of town, in front of the Holiday Inn, you'll the Montego Bay largest shopping center - the Holiday vilage with a huge selection of souvenir, crafts, and in-bond shops. Close by here you will also find the luxurious Half Moon Shopping Village, which is part of the Half Moon Hotel.
Manufacture and Commerce
Of course, Montego Bay was a city long before it was a tourist hot spot, so the city is not all play. On the West side of the harbour sits the Montego Bay Freeport. This is where you'll find the factories that manufacture sportswear and T-shirts for export. It is also where you'll find Digiport International, a hi-tech telecommunication center that host call centers to some United States companies.
Attractions and activities
There are many things to see and do around Montego Bay. There are water parks and amusement centers such as Aquasol Theme Park and Coral Cliff Gaming Lounge that offers hours of entertainment for both children and adults. There are also many tours that will give you a chance to see Jamaica, outside of the tourist and hotel corridor. Go tour Barnett Estate - one of the first sugar plantation in Jamaica or go visit the infamous and legendary Rose Hall Great House where the spirit of Annie Palmer, the wicked Witch of Rose Hall who killed her three husband, still believed to live.
With 15 miles of shore line, you should not be surprised that there are plenty of fun you can have on the beach and in the water. First there is the famous Doctor's Cave Beach with its sparkling crystal blue water and white sand beach. There are also Walter Fletcher and Cornwall Beaches in town, close to the Gloucester Avenue and Tropical and Rose Hall beaches further to the East of town.
Mobay has a coral reef running parallel to the coast just a few hundred yards off shore. This makes Montego Bay the perfect place to snorkel and dive. Even if you don't swim, you can still see the spectacular reefs and coral with an undersea tour. The "Coral See" is a boat with an underwater viewing compartment that is six feet below the water. It gives you a panoramic view of the reefs in air-conditioned comfort.
If you love golf, there are plenty of course here to challenge the best of golfers. On the West of town is the PGA tour Tryall Golf and Country Club. There are also the Half Moon, White Witch, Ironshore, and Cinnamon Hill golf courses, most of which have you play with a view of the ocean and the challenge of a stiff sea breeze.
Accommodations
Montego Bay have hotels and resort of every kind. From the luxurious such as Ritz-Carlton and the new condo hotel - Palmyra Resort and Spa to your small hotels and villas like Wexford Court Hotel and Round Hill Villas. Of course there are also your all-inclusive resorts such Superclubs Breezes and Sandals. Most of the resorts and hotel are clustered along Gloucester avenue along what is known as the "Hip Strip". The newer hotel such as the Ritz-Carlton are mostly located on the outskirt of town on the East end.
Restaurants & Night life
Being the tourist capital of Jamaica, Montego Bay has many restaurants that serve local as well as international cuisine with a Jamaican flare. When the sun sets here, the action doesn't stop; it actually picks up. The "Hip Strip" along Gloucester Avenue come alive with discos and live shows in many clubs and resorts. Being Jamaica's second city, you can always catch top notch local entertainers in town - especially on weekends. If you can't find somewhere to hangout or party, is because you are not looking.
Montego Bay Top Ten Attractions
As Jamaica tourist's capital, Montego Bay has a lot of attractions for you to enjoy. See my top ten list of the ones you should definitely see.
Montego Bay golf courses
There are more championship golf courses in Montego Bay than in most other Caribbean islands, and many are in a tee shot from each other. Find out where these courses are located and which ones best suit your game.