Nightlife & the Arts in Jamaica

Jamaica Nightlife

Nightlife includes both on-property shows at the all-inclusive resorts and nightclubs ranging from indoor clubs to beach bashes. For starters, there's reggae, popularized by the late Bob Marley and the Wailers and performed today by son Ziggy Marley, Jimmy Tosh (the late Peter Tosh's son), Gregory Isaacs, Jimmy Cliff, and many others. If your experience of Caribbean music has been limited to steel drums and Harry Belafonte, then the political, racial, and religious messages of reggae may set you on your ear; listen closely and you just might hear the heartbeat of the people. Dancehall is another island favorite, as is soca.

For the most part, the liveliest late-night happenings throughout Jamaica are in the major resort hotels, with the widest variety of spots probably in Montego Bay. Some of the all-inclusives offer a dinner-and-disco pass from about $50 to $100; to buy a pass, call ahead the afternoon before to check availability and be sure to bring a photo ID with you. Pick up a copy of the Daily Gleaner, the Jamaica Observer, or the Star (available at newsstands throughout the island) for listings of who's playing when and where. In Negril, trucks with loudspeakers travel through the streets in the afternoon announcing the hot spot for the evening.