Montego Bay · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Montego Bay is a cruise port with a working town behind it, and buses to the whole north coast.
Sleep off Gloucester Avenue
Guesthouses sit on the slopes just above the Hip Strip, walkable to the beaches; the town centre near Sam Sharpe Square is cheaper and less touristed.
What a day costs
Bed J$3,500–7,500, food J$1,500–3,000 at cook shops and patty shops, transport J$500. Reckon J$6,000–12,000, roughly $40–75.
Getting around cheap
Route taxis and minibuses leave from around Sam Sharpe Square for a few hundred dollars, and the Knutsford Express coach runs the coast on a fixed timetable.
Free by day
Dead End Beach under the flight path, the Sam Sharpe statues and the Cage in the square, and the whole length of the Hip Strip.
Pier 1
The waterfront bar and its Friday night sound system draw a mixed crowd; Gloucester Avenue's bars handle the rest of the week.