Related pages: Kingston Introduction; Kingston hotels

Blue Mountains
These lush mountains rise to the north of Kingston. Consider a guided tour to this very scenic region with a stop at a coffee plantation along the way. Don't rent a car and go to the Blue Mountains on your own; the roads wind and dip, hand-lettered signs blow away, and you could easily get lost.

Bob Marley Museum
56 Hope Rd.
876/927-9152
Admission: fee
Marley fans can't miss this shrine to the legendary reggae superstar. Housed in the musician's home, a visit here includes a tour and a movie about Marley's life.

Devon House
26 Hope Rd.
876/929-6602
Admission: fee
This restored great house is located in the heart of New Kingston, near the Terra Nova Hotel. The home was built in 1889 for 10,000 pounds by a Venezuelan gold fortune and the family lived in the home until the 1920s. Today the historic structure is filled with antiques and antique reproductions from the 1880s (done by Things Jamaican). Tours are given every 15 minutes as visitors arrive and include a look at the master bedroom, the sewing room with an illegal gambling room upstairs (the stairs are hidden in the ceiling), a sunny ballroom with Wedgewood style ceiling, original chandelier, and an English piano.

Hope Botanical Gardens and Zoo
Hope Road, next to the University of the West Indies Mona campus
876/927-1257
Admission: fee
This 50-acre getaway is the largest botanical garden in the West Indies. The small zoo features Caribbean wildlife.

Port Royal
Beyond the airport lies the fishing village of Port Royal, once one of the greatest cities in the Caribbean. Nicknamed "the wickedest city in Christendom," Port Royal was a hangout for, literally, the pirates of the Caribbean. All that rollicking fun came to a screeching halt on June 7, 1692, however, when a violent earthquake shook the region and pummeled Port Royal into the sea. Archaeologists have recovered artifacts from the scandalous community and today shoppers can buy reproductions of Port Royal pewter plates and cups from Things Jamaican.

Today plans are underway for big development in Port Royal, ones that will once again focus attention on the history of this area. Plans call for protection of the offshore cays, development of an historic interpretive master plan, construction of a cruise ship pier and arrival center, and especially the restoration of many historic buildings such as Fort Charles, the Old Naval Hospital, Victoria and Albert Battery, and more. For today, however, Port Royal is a quiet stop, just a small fishing village located past the airport. If you're here at lunch, don't miss Gloria's fish shack. Here you can sit on picnic tables under awning and enjoy fish: escoveitch, fried, or steamed.