Getting to Jamaica

This post will NOT tell you how to get to Jamaica quickly and cheaply because the only tip I have for that is: DO NOT LIVE IN WESTERN CANADA!!  Period.  Otherwise, I’m sure you can fly from Toronto or some major US destination on one of those $199 round trip specials I’ve only heard about in my dreams.

**This post was published on the second day that this blog ever existed….way back in 2009.  I have since inserted some 2018 updates throughout the original post, for your entertainment**

Aside from all that, there are some awesome oddities about traveling to Jamaica.  The VERY first thing I noticed on my VERY first trip was the flight attendants, just before landing, went up and down the aisles of the plane spraying something.  Weird.  I asked about it and found out it was pesticide.  And its only odd until you learn that because Jamaica is an island they don’t have all the pests North America has.  **2018 update:  Even though not every single flight has done this over my fifteen years of Jamaica travel, the majority of them still do it**

The SECOND thing I noticed was that there were no boarding bridges at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.  This was in March 2003 and was the most quaint thing I’ve ever experienced – walking off an airplane onto the tarmac.  Before Jamaica, the only place I’d ever traveled was California, so this was my first time experiencing anything less than LAX.  I got to experience this on three trips before they finally got boarding bridges in 2004.  **2018 update:  Now Sangster airport is large and the walk from your plane to immigration to the exit of the airport is excruciatingly LONG…because all I want to do is get outside into the island air!

The best thing about getting off onto the tarmac is that they opened both the front and rear doors to the plane.  There are two benefits to that.  #1, you can get off the plane faster.  #2, the hot, sticky air immediately rushes through the cabin of the plane, your pants stick to your legs, and the smell of Jamaica permeates the air.  Usually that smell includes jet fuel and a faint smell of smoke from random rubbish burning off in the distance.  Once you’ve been there, trust me, you WILL grow fond of these smells.  This is my personal guarantee.

The THIRD best thing about arriving in Jamaica if you happen to be fortunate enough to be on a plane full of Jamaicans, is the huge applause upon landing!  I absolutely LOVE this!  To this day I’m not sure if they’re just so happy to be home or if they’re praising the Lord that they’re still alive and the plane didn’t crash.  Either way its one of the most heartwarming things to experience.  The only trip I’ve never heard the applause was the one where my connecting flight was in Houston.  I guess there are no Jamaicans in Texas?

My last point in “getting there” is the most unusual thing I’ve witnessed on a flight.  Jamaican women on a red-eye Air Jamaica flight (red-eye meaning in the middle of the night!!) arriving at 7:00 AM, dressed in bikini tops, batty riders (SHORT shorts) and nails so long they’re poking out the eyes of the person seated next to them.  Now, I have no clue what the contributing factors were, or why the dress code on this flight was different from ALL the other flights I’ve taken.  But it was definitely a sight to behold.  I felt overdressed to say the least.  **2018 update:  Now that I’m more familiar with Jamaican culture and lifestyle I fully understand the dress code of Jamaicans returning home.

Whether you’re a very beginner traveling to Jamaica or a seasoned veteran, in the comments below drop your thoughts about arriving in Jamaica.  Trips down memory lane are so fun!