Jamaica Is Expecting Its “Best Winter Ever” for Travel.
The hidden-away coves. The sparkling cliffs. Those lush “blue” mountains. The wonderfully authentic hotels. The sound of mento and reggae. If you know, you know. And while Jamaica seems to have experienced a slow second half last year, things seem to be looking up for 2025.
That means a very strong peak travel season, according to Jamaica’s tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett.
“This is going to be the best winter season on record,” Bartlett said this week.
Local tourism officials say the island has secured nearly 180,000 new air seats for the winter; that represents an increase from “every major gateway coming to Jamaica,” according to Bartlett.
That includes an extra 74,000 seats from the United States, another 78,000 seats from Canada and 1,000 more from within the Caribbean market, too.
“The last time I looked at your numbers, you are now trending over 50 per cent of the passengers who come through Norman Manley being tourists and visitors who come to stay at hotels across the island,” Bartlett said.
Several hoteliers told Caribbean Journal that the island had been having a far slower summer than in the beginning of 2024. That could mean some more attractive options for hotel stays this season.
The island has not yet revealed its total visitor numbers for 2024.
Are you planning a trip to Jamaica right now?
Flights are cheaper than they have been in recent years. For example, you can find flights from Miami to Montego Bay for as low as $244 roundtrip on Spirit, and $326 on American Airlines.
From New York, you can book airfare on JetBlue from JFK to Mobay for about $417, and flights from Newark to Montego Bay on United for about $486 roundtrip, according to Google Flights.
What about where to stay? Well, it depends on where you’re looking. If you’re going to fly to Montego Bay, your best bet is one of the hotels in the area, whether it’s the outstanding Eclipse at Half Moon, the luxe hotel-within-a-hotel at the timeless resort. Rooms from $550 per night — a fantastic rate for what is our favorite place to stay in Jamaica.
If you want to venture further out, try the lovely little Round Hill hotel in Hopewell, which has a small collection of rooms (designed by Ralph Lauren, who is a co-owner) and some particularly beautiful villas that we’ve loved during previous stays at the property (including the villa where John F. Kennedy stayed and wrote his inaugural address). Rooms from $1,204 per night.
Another option to consider is American Airlines’ new direct flights to Ian Fleming International Airport (named for the creator of James Bond), which just started flying every day of the week from Miami and considerably shorten the travel time to Ocho Rios (it’s almost two hours to drive from Sangster Airport to Ocho Rios if you fly to Montego Bay). And it’s helping to shine a light on one of the coolest places to visit in Jamaica, including Goldeneye, the Jamaican home of Fleming and the place where he wrote all of the Bond novels. (You can actually stay in his villa). Rooms from $731.
And yes, Jamaica is known for its all-inclusive resorts, right? Well, we very much liked the Preferred Club at the Secrets Wild Orchid on a recent trip to Jamaica, particularly the swim-out suites, which are capacious and sleekly designed. Rooms from $1,169.
