Montego Bay, Jamaica

Montego Bay is a rough city, although its not as bad as Kingston. The main tourist area seems rather run down, with people constantly trying to force you buy things, whether it be t-shirts, marijuana, or shot glasses. Generally, the poverty level seems rather high, although the beaches are okay. I'd suggest going to Negril in Jamaica for good beaches.

Went for a long weekend to Montego Bay. We went orignally booked to stay at Breezes - Montego Bay. The resort was horrible. The reservation for our ocean view room got messed up by our travel agent. So we got stuck in a cabin room next to the disco (until 4:00 am) and the recycle center (starts at 6:00 am). Needless to say we had checked out by 7:00 am and moved to Sunset Beach Resort in Montego Bay. It was great in every way. DO NOT STAY AT BREEZES - BAD ALL THE WAY AROUND.

The town is really rough, ugly and the people keep accosting you. I even had one gal who seemed friendly to me, but then it turns out she had something to sell (I won't say what) and when I expressed no interest whe started cussing me and I felt fearful in the district. Not enough police on the stree either, they seem to be hiding out in cars or in other places, likew guarding he cruise ship harbour. The roads are just a mess of confusion too, they just seem to weave around, no clear directions to them. And the whole terrain is not kept up, weeds seem to sprout everywhere, junked cars are left beside the road and no effort made to keep the vegetation trim and neat. The place is just like a third world country, it seems to me. This is strange, as it used to be British, and I usually htink of them as neat people, especialy with gardening.

Our stay in Montego Bay was worse than Negril where we stayed at an all-inclusive. We stayed at the Buccaneer Hotel (mistake) which turned out to be a knotch below a Motel 6. Water pressure was almost non-existent. The motel is next to Sangster airport, so the jets taking off made the hotel vibrate. There is a bar bumped up against the hotel facing the ocean side and the music is very loud every day of the week until well after midnight. Light sleepers may not be able to stand the thump, thump of the music. Trying to walk from the hotel to Jimmy Buffets about a mile away was a total pain in the ass as the locals were aggressive in trying to sell you something. Telling them NO once wasn't enough. It took 3 or 4 NO's before you ran into the next one and then you had to start all over again. It can be intimidating for people not willing to put up a defense. Montego Bay is not the place to go when a person is spending hundreds, if not a few thousand dollars on their trip. Dwayne, Ho... Read more

DO NOT go to montego bay. if you have ever been to the carribean you will expect it to be like all the other places, but you're wrong. if you feel the need to go to jamaica, at least go to negril. montego bay is awful. we almost got killed walking to pizza hut and you can't go anywhere without fearing your life. if you do go, make sure you bring a body guard!

I agree with the other poster that the constant badgering from the locals ruins the whole place. Its like getting attacked by 2000 gnats whenever you walk outside. Also we were in the town of Montego Bay shopping and 3 men in their 20's started to talk to some of the people in our group (a group of like 8) - they were playing some scam where they would ask one person what hotel they were in and the other one would go to another member of the party and say "arent you staying at the xyz hotel?" After we cought on we tried walking away from them and one of them said - "Give me your money or your life" - i.e. we are going to kill you. We ran away into a taxi and went back to the hotel. Regardless to say I will never set foot on that hell hole of an island ever again. There are many other islands in the caribbean that you can go to and be completely safe (i.e. Anguilla).

I stayed in Sunset Beach Resort in Spa located on a private gated penisula in Montego Bay (away from the city, but not to far away). Great entertainment at the resort, the resort featured a retro disco, spa and wonderful day trips to Dunns River Falls to name a few, vans that took you shopping or to and from the many clubs in town, a spa at the resort, small casino. Everyday a wedding occurred which was lovely. Free water sports and you never had to wait for equipment. The staff were very friendly, and informative. The only down fall is that the lights went out once, and the water went out twice for 30 mins. (but I hear that is normal for the carribean that is normal). I would recommend this resort for friends not really couples. You will have so much fun here because of all the activities and meeting people/flirting (don't loose your head) that it isn't really romantic but so much FUNNNNN.

Constant hassles from street vendors made our time in Montego Bay almost unbearable. The only relief you get from people trying to sell you stuff is on private beaches (guards keep them off) and in your hotel room. We stayed at Doctor's Cove, and in the less than quarter mile stretch between the hotel and the private beach area we were approached 19 times going and 17 times returning by vendors. I realize these people make their living vending to tourists, but with the current drop in visitors (hotels are averaging less than 25% occupancy) their attempts to make a living ruin your trip. Beaches weren't too bad, water was warm, but the constant nagging & unwanted approaches more than outweigh the positives.

Great Vacation for couples! We loved it!

A little on the cheesy side. You will get hassled to buy everything under the sun here. Negril is nicer, and a little more laid back.

The best destination in the Carribean.