Some Alternative Tourist Sites Beckon in Jamaica

A few years ago it was easy to see that this island nation’s famous blend of beautiful scenery, luxury hotels, lilting singsong calypso and steel band drummers’ beats, exotic fruits, herbs, spices and paradisiacal climate were only part of the story of the tropical culture.

I wondered what was under the starched linens and tea with crumpets of top-dollar Jamaican tours.

“Jamaican people in their homes show off a different culture, mon,” roared Peter Bentley, president of Jamaica’s Alternative Tourism, Camping & Adventure Travel Assn. (JATCHA). By phone he confirmed reservations a few days before my long-awaited trip to Jamaica’s more out-of-the-way locales.

Beautiful and Exotic

“And these spots are even more beautiful and exotic than the tourist attractions,” he said.

With the cooperation of the Ministry of Tourism and the Jamaica Tourist Board, JATCHA helps with planning and reservations for a network of family and government-owned properties throughout the island. It specializes in inexpensive ways to travel by veering away from mass tourism destinations in favor of more personalized ones.

Bentley went on to explain the lure of “alternative tourism.” “The main attraction is that of being a tourist in every correct sense of the word. You tour and learn new things, but nothing is staged or specifically arranged to happen in a certain way.

A Window to Life

“It is a window to life in Jamaica. It is not the sheltered existence of an ultra-sophisticated hotel with its equally sophisticated entertainment and life style. Whether you’re looking for mountains, beaches, river valleys or waterfalls, Jamaica’s lush geography can accommodate you. The chance to explore foods, reggae, native arts and life styles is unparalleled.

“Alternative tourists cook their own meals of inexpensive foods or eat out at small restaurants rather than at more costly Americanized ones.

“They don’t miss their steaks and canned green beans, but prefer fresh fish they catch or buy from fishermen, mangoes, avocados and breadfruit they can pick from trees free.

“Now, mon, be certain to bring a flashlight, a sleeping bag and insect repellent.”

Culturally Authentic

Bentley’s organization lists 97 properties throughout Jamaica, from beach sites to a 7,402-foot mountaintop cabin, and according to him, “Almost all are in settings of exceptional beauty.”

For $15 Bentley will provide maps and brochures detailing member properties and help plan your trip, transportation, activities.

They range from Spartan thatch-roofed cabins or a sandy beach tent site for $3 a night, to comparatively luxurious digs, some with hot water for $60-$75 per four-person room per night. Among the culturally authentic and bargain-priced lodgings, restaurants and attractions found through JATCHA connections were these:

Blue Mountain Area

Maya campground, Jack’s Hill, 20 minutes from Kingston, rooms, beds, floor, hammock or tent spaces on a hillside overlooking city lights. Lots of animals, people, fantastic botany. Good cook: Margaret; $3 to $10 a night. Access point for all Blue Mountain tours.

Hollywell, a sort of Jamaican national park, government-run, cabins, tent spaces, $3 a night. Beautiful mountain vistas.

Clydesdale, another beautiful setting, government preserve, tall trees, a water wheel, transparent mountain pools. Four-person cabin is $15 a night, dorm beds and tent spaces $3.

Whitfield Hill, an old coffee plantation with a main lodge house and outbuildings at 4,200 feet. Rooms, dorms, tent space $2 to $5 a night. Great air, water. No electricity. No AC/DC hum.

Portland Gap, midway between Whitfield Hall and Blue Mountain Peak. Beautiful secluded vistas. Landscaped by the Peace Corps. $3 a night. Delicious cold water.

Blue Mountain Peak, at 7,402 feet the highest point on the island. Views of the north and south coasts. Cabin, tent space $3 a night. Hike or ride a mule (U.S.$12 includes a guide) to the peak.

Section, where Dennis grows, roasts and sells Blue Mountain coffee, one of the best coffees in the world. Tent spaces are $5 a night.

Mr. Wolf’s on the Brooks River, for coffee, bananas, talk.

Pine Grove Coffee Farm and Guest House, relatively fancy (hot water), two- to four-person rooms are $65 to $75 a night. Great pumpkin soup in the kitchen, fine view of Kingston’s city lights.

Kingston, Montego Bay

In the Kingston area, Minnie’s Ethiopian Herbal, vegetarian salt-free foods. Veggies, fish, fruits in a thatch-roof hut on Hope Road. Meals: $4 for some of the freshest and best food on the island.

In the Montego Bay area, Damali Beach Village, bar, restaurant, tent camping, skinny-dips, sand flies! On bus route, $5 per person a night; lowest in-town rates.

Jeff’s Glassbottom Boat Rides. He knows the waters. Incredible colorful coral, good for scuba or cameras. At Damali Beach. Rates vary.

Places in Negril

In Negril, Abingdon Great House, old and eccentric grand pink veranda mansion 10 miles east of Negril, with a 1776 windmill, 500 acres, private beach. Rooms, apartments, $20 per person a night. Peacocks.

Country, Italian food and solar hot water. $60 per three-person cottage.

Arthur’s Golden Sunset, beach, bar, restaurant, live reggae, $25 per two-person rooms with shared kitchens. Good conch soup, $1.50 a bowl.

Perseverance, across the street from the beach. Original 1960s culture hangout. $10 per-person rooms. Camping, $5 per person.

Tigress Cottages, $7.50 to $12.50 per person, across from beach.

Alfred’s, bamboo beach cottages, $25 for two persons.

Roots Bamboo, beach, cabins and camping, $5 to $10 per person.

Albert’s, $3 a night tent spaces, lowest price on the beach.

The Wharf Club, conch chowder, a meal for 75 cents.

DeBuss, restaurant in a double-decker bus. The best “jerk” chicken; pork tastes like beef. Camping $5 per person, on the beach.

Drumville Cove, on Negril’s black coral cliffs. Private swimming and lobstering coves. Two- to four-person cabins $55 to $90 a night.

Ethiopian Herbal, Minnie’s Negril branch in the crafts market.

Reservations Required

Reservations are necessary for all alternative tourism properties. Verify brochures ahead of time to make plans for tent rentals, kitchen facilities, restaurant and bar service, toilets (private, shared or step behind a bush), sports equipment and facilities, tours, rental cars, motorbikes, bicycles, minibus transport or train schedules.

For more information on about 900 beds and 1,200 campsites available at $1 to $25 a night, contact JATCHA, Arthur’s Golden Sunset, Negril Beach, Negril, Jamaica, West Indies, (809) 957-4241.

The Jamaica Tourist Board offers free information on alternative tourism, at 3440 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1207, Los Angeles 90010, or arrangements may be made through travel agents. Air Jamaica, Eastern, Pan Am, American and Air Florida serve Jamaica.