I think it’s safe to assume that everyone nowadays owns a smart phone so this post is about communicating with them in Jamaica and how to get the most out of your smart phone experience there.  I wrote a similar post to this many years ago but times change, technology changes and everything is different now.  So this is the most up to date version I’ve got, as of 2018.

Roaming

First of all, if you’re in the beginning stages of becoming a Jamaica travel addict you may still be using your foreign smart phone while traveling and that’s totally okay these days!  Communications have come a LONG way over the years and most foreign phone companies now offer roaming plans that are very affordable to all.

For example, in Canada, Rogers charges $10.00 CDN per day up to a max of $100.00 per billing cycle and you can use your phone exactly how you would use it at home. So the most you would ever pay to use your Canadian phone in Jamaica is $100.00 CDN per month.  Not bad considering this wasn’t a thing a few years ago.  So if you’ll only be in Jamaica for a couple of weeks you can totally use your phone this way with ease.  Contact your phone provider at home to get info on their roaming plans.  If you are an infrequent visitor to Jamaica this is probably the best bet and the least hassle.

Unlocking Your Phone

A second option if you’re a more frequent Jamaica traveler is to unlock your smart phone from back home.  This will enable you to buy a local phone chip when you arrive in Jamaica and have your own dedicated Jamaican number.  When you arrive on the island you swap out your phone chips, load credit on it and proceed to use your phone.

Nowadays an unlock from your provider back home is usually only $50.00 and it’s the most reliable way to unlock your phone.  If you choose to unlock it independently your warranty is voided so it’s common sense to pay your provider to unlock it, especially if you have an expensive smart phone.

Buying a Jamaican Phone Chip

The two major cell phone providers in Jamaica are currently Digicel and Flow.

Both of these providers are well known and have plenty of retail locations across the island.  It is not at all difficult to find either of these retailers to obtain a local Jamaican phone chip.  If you are unsure of which provider you’d like to go with it might help to know that there’s not much difference between the two.  Both are MAJOR providers that service the entire Caribbean.  Some say that coverage differs.  I’ve been with Digicel for more than ten years and rarely have coverage problems, at least not enough of a problem to switch providers.

While purchasing a phone chip you can also purchase credit at the retail location.  For future credit purchases you can literally buy credit anywhere in Jamaica.    Almost every corner store, bar, supermarket, and restaurant sells credit.  You will even find random people walking around the street selling it.  No problem.

If you prefer to top up online with your credit card you can easily do this at either of the retailer websites noted above, or on third party top-up websites such as DING.com or Ezetop.com which are essentially the same company but are available on both websites.   I have been using Ezetop for years and have never had a problem.  I have also topped up through Digicel’s own website and their mobile app.

Buying a Jamaican Phone

If you’re anything like me you’ll want a separate phone for your Jamaica addiction.  For me it was just common sense to have a Canadian and a Jamaican phone.  Both are the identical versions of Samsung Galaxy models.  I have my own personal reasons for wanting two phones at all times and it has come in handy plenty, even if just for extra photo and video storage.

At both Digicel and Flow retail locations you can purchase anything from a $30.00 plain Jane cell phone right up to the $1000.00 newest versions of Samsung and iPhone models.  Check their websites to see which handsets they carry.  Jamaica is up to date on the latest smart phone technologies and if you wish to buy a phone on the island you’re able to get what you want.  I bought my second phone in Canada and unlocked it but either way works just as well.

One of the benefits of having a separate phone in this day and age is that smart phones run on LTE / 4G networks, meaning your Jamaican smart phone will work at home on your home Wifi.  I can and do use my Jamaican Whatsapp at home all the time rather than give out my Canadian number or duplicate contacts into both phones.  If your Jamaican phone is hooked up on your home Wifi network you don’t need credit to use it for data.

Good to Know

• ALL incoming calls in Jamaica are free.  If people call you, you can talk as long as you want and it won’t affect your credit level.
• If you have a Jamaican chip and you go home for a period of months you need to top up your credit every 120 days to keep your chip active.  Even topping up with the bare minimum amount keeps your number active.  I have lost a long-term phone number in the past because I did not know this important tidbit of information.
• There are inexpensive international calling plans in Jamaica that are well worth the money if you intend to all home a lot.
• There are hundreds of Wifi hotspots in Jamaica, including hotels, resorts, restaurants and many public places.  Finding Wifi to cut down on your data use is somewhat of an easy task in major centers.
• If you bring your laptop on vacation with you and find yourself needing internet but you’re not near any, you can tether your laptop to your data plan on your phone and enjoy fantastic internet speed.    CHECK OUT THIS POST to find out how to do it.

Data Plans

There are MANY options for smart phone data plans in Jamaica, including vacation plans.  If you will only be in Jamaica for 7  or 14 days, they have prepaid plans for just those durations.  There are also plans for as much as 30 days and as little as one day, which makes prepaid phone service very flexible in Jamaica.  Each plan and its cost are outlined on the respective service providers’ websites.  Then you can just top up online and dial a corresponding code to activate the plan you desire.

Here’s a link to Digicel quick pick data plans (prices shown in Jamaican dollars).

Here’s a link to an abundance of Flow prepaid options.

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