Alternative content

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length and as much as 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width, amounting to 11,100 km².

The countries tourism is focused perhaps around Montego Bay and many flights go here. Alternatively however Kingston has a lot of charm and surprising a massive amount of culture. Safety concerns should mean you take the usual travel precautions and not dress up with too much jewelry and ask local advice before setting off alone to places.

It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Its indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno inhabitants named the island Xaymaca, meaning the "Land of Wood and Water", or the "Land of Springs".^[4]

Once a Spanish possession known as Santiago, from 1655 onward it was the English, and then British, colony of Jamaica. With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada. It remains a Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State. Kingston is the largest city in Jamaica and the country's capital.