Where to stay in Kingston

Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island.

Kingston is the commercial and cultural capital of Jamaica with nearly a million people calling the city home. At one point, it was the only city in Jamaica. The city is assigned the equivalent of postal codes, (Kingston 5, Kingston 10, etc.) which is a good representation of how truly large this city is, especially for an island such as Jamaica. There are two major sections to this city: downtown and uptown,' also referred to as New Kingston.' In Greater Kingston more than 1.2 million people live on a plain between the sea and the mountains rising up to 2,250 m above sea level.

In Greater Kingston more than 1.2 million people live on a plain between the sea and the mountains rising up to 2,250 m above sea level. Since 1872 the city is the seat of government. Kingston can be divided into Downtown, Midtown, Uptown, East Kingston, West Kingston and villa areas in the mountains. Downtown is the historical old town with a chessboard layout of streets. The south used to be the harbour, but it was remodelled in the 1960s, and today there are bank and government buildings at the sea. A bit north from there is the parade place with a theatre on its northern side.

Getting around

Kingston has an extensive and modern bus system. The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) runs the bus system for the government, while private contractors also run the same routes. There are also minibuses and route taxis which are very affordable. Whenever in doubt, ask a bus driver how to get somewhere or where to find a certain bus; they are generally very helpful. Public transit generally goes through one or more of the three central transportation hubs.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.