Kingston Miniguide
Even though Kingston is not an equally famous vacation spot as some of the other cities in Jamaica, it is still an amazing city with it's own charm and I would say the place you really get to experience the Jamaican culture without crowds of tourists. We chose to start our journey around Jamaica here and do not regret it!
If you need somewhere to stay in Kingston, this is the hotel we spent our time at and I would highly recommend it.
1. Walk in the footsteps of Bob Marley
The house Bob Marley lived most of his grownup life has been kept intact as it was and turned in to a museum. Visiting this museum is a must when you are in Kingston, even if you are a hardcore fan or not. You will learn everything there is to know about the reggae stars accomplishments, way of life and what he stood for. You will also get to see the actual studio most of his songs were recorded in. You will be escorted around the house by a guide who loves and breathes reggae which makes the whole experience that much better.
2. Relax in Hope Botanical Gardens
You can easily spend a day strolling around the botanical gardens and not get sick of it. After spending some time in the hectic Kingston center it is a nice change to come out to the park for some relaxing. It is one of the biggest botanical gardens in the Caribbean and home to a lot of indigenous Jamaican plants, flowers and trees.
We took a taxi from the center up to the park and he offered to stay and wait for us. At first we thought this was a bit strange, but after strolling the park for a while we were super happy we had not declined him. There were really no ways of finding public transport or other taxis in the area because it is quite remote. So if you are going there, make sure you know how to get back.
3. Hang out with cute animals at the Zoo
Close to the botanical garden you will also find a little zoo called Hope Zoo. I am not usually a fan of zoos, but this one was quite nice. The animals roamed pretty freely around an looked well taken care of. Its not a big zoo and it mainly consists of birds and monkeys, but the area is very nice.
4. Take a walk in Emancipation Park
Emancipation Park is located in the heart of the city and is the perfect spot for a Sunday walk or to sit down and read a book, have some lunch or just people watch. At the entrance to the park you will find the monument called Redemption Song, featuring a naked man and women looking towards the sky. It represents Jamaicas history and rise from slavery. You are allowed to take pictures of the monument, but once inside the park there are guards making sure you dont take pictures inside the park.
5. Explore the city by foot
You cant really say you have seen a city if you haven't spent any time walking around and possibly getting a little lost. It's perfectly safe to walk around the city and at no point did we feel unsafe. As in any big city you have to watch your belongings, but that's just life. We walked to most of the places we wanted to see and you get a much better picture of the city by walking.
6. Have an ice cream at Devon House
When researching what to do in Jamaica before we went, one of the things that popped up most often was to have ice cream at Devon House, so my expectations were through the roof about this ice cream. All in all it was pretty good ice cream, but in my opinion it was the area that was most attractive and not necessarily the ice cream. Devon House is a colonial mansion which was owned by the first black millionaire in Jamaica, George Stiebel. The grounds are today a beautiful spot to relax, look at some of the cute shops, have some lunch or yes have some ice cream. If you are looking for ice cream at "Devon House I scream" it is located at the back of the house, it took us some time to find it.
