Explore Jamaica

Our tour starts today in Kingston, Jamaica's capital and the island's cultural hub. Due to the number of evening flights into Kingston, your tour leader will meet you on the morning of Day 2 for a welcome meeting. Details of timings will be left in the hotel reception. There are no activities planned today, so you're free to arrive at any time. If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into Kingston's International Airport (KIN), approximately a 40-minute drive from our hotel. Should you miss the meeting, your tour leader will catch you up as soon as you catch up. If your flight arrives earlier in the day, why not get to grips with island life and sip a local Red Stripe beer as you soak up the views of the Caribbean?

Today, we'll head north out of the city, following the winding and unmarked roads upwards into the Blue Mountains. This place is famous amongst coffee lovers thanks to its single-origin coffee - we'll head to one of the area's best-known plantations. Way up in the Blue Mountains, we'll see how coffee is grown, harvested and brewed. We'll take a guided hike through the coffee fields that surround the estate before finishing up with a cup of freshly brewed Blue Mountain coffee. The National Park itself is enormous, spanning four of Jamaica's parishes and the breathtaking mountain scenery covers the eastern part of the island. On our return to Kingston, we'll visit the Bob Marley Museum, located in the colonial house where the reggae legend lived from 1975. For anyone interested in music, the museum gives a great look into the mind and inspirations of one of Jamaica's most famous residents. Finishing the museum at approximately 4pm, we'll head back to our hotel. For those who'd like to explore more of Kingston, you might like to visit Trench Town or Tuff Gong Studios and continue your Bob Marley odyssey, or see a superb showcase of Jamaican art at the National Gallery. Alternatively, you could spend some time at Devon House, the 19th century home of George Stiebel, the first black millionaire in the Caribbean. It's now a collection of local cafes and restaurants - as well as proudly serving some of the best ice cream in the Caribbean, which is well worth a try.

We'll have a leisurely start this morning before we travel to Charlestown for lunch and to learn about the story of the Maroons. Since the 1700s, pockets of Maroon settlements have existed in Jamaica - escaped or freed slaves who were able to fight off the British and be granted a treaty of relative autonomy within the region. On arrival, we'll visit the village and discover more about these amazing people, their historical legacy and way of life. We'll also taste some traditional Maroon food before continuing to Port Antonio. We'll make an optional stop en route to Port Antonio for rafting on the Rio Grande. The rafts are made from bamboo and sit two adults each. Your raft captain will take care of the paddle, so you're free to sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery. The rafting takes approximately 90 minutes, and we end where we start- at a spot aptly named the Rafter's Rest. Anyone not wanting to raft will be taken on to the hotel.

This morning we'll visit the mesmerizing Blue Lagoon where we will stop for some time to relax and have a swim. We will then continue to Frenchmen's Cove to spend a relaxing morning on the white-sand beach, which is sheltered in a secluded cove and backed by lush greenery. We plan to have lunch here, perhaps a tasty plate of jerk pork or chicken washed down with a bottle of Jamaican Red Stripe. We'll then return to the hotel in the afternoon.

This morning is free to enjoy Port Antonio - there might be the chance to visit a church service in the local area. We'll then continue to Ocho Rios, arriving around 2pm. This afternoon, we have the option to visit the Dunns River Falls, explore the local area or relax by the pool at our hotel.

After breakfast, we'll drive for just under two hours to Rose Hall Great House for a guided tour and to learn more about the heritage of the island. After the tour, we'll continue to Negril via a stop at Montego Bay where we can have lunch. Our driving time this afternoon will be approximately two and a half hours. Negril is a small town that's known to have some of the most beautiful coastline in Jamaica. As well as miles and miles of sandy beach, at one end of Negril you'll find clusters of high, craggy cliffs, jutting out over the water like spears. Perched high on one of these crags is Rick's Cafe, which we'll be visiting for sunset, one of the best on the island, as well as to watch the daring cliff divers who gather here to perfect their daredevil tricks. It's a lively spot, where locals and tourists flock to enjoy the music, rum and breathtaking views.

Today is free to enjoy everything that Negril has to offer. The long stretch of sand at Seven Mile Beach (in reality, it's closer to five miles!) is perfect for a long walk, or you could choose to simply swim or relax with a rum punch and a lunch of chicken or curried goat or a tasty Jamaican patty. There are many restaurants and cafes down the length of the beach if you want to get away from the midday sun. Alternatively, if you're interested in getting out on the water, scuba diving, snorkelling or glass-bottomed boat trips are all available.

Our drive this morning takes us inland towards the rolling hills of Jamaica's interior and our first stop, the Appleton Estate Rum Distillery. The estate, located amongst beautiful countryside, has been producing rum since the 1700s, and our tour today will show us how the sugar cane is magically transformed into Jamaica's beautiful golden rum. We'll end the tour at the bar, where we'll, of course, be sampling the goods! After a tipple of rum, we'll set off towards Treasure Beach, a low-key community that's off the beaten tourist path. Seafood here is excellent so it's well worth tasting some of the local lobster (when in season) or the fresh catch at dinner this evening. Our total driving time today will be approximately four hours.

There is plenty to explore in Treasure Beach, aside from the coastline itself. Just 1 kilometre/0.6 miles offshore is the unusual Pelican Bar - a fantastic driftwood construction on a sandbank in the middle of the ocean. If you fancy a visit, you can easily find a taxi boat. Keep an eye out, there's a chance you'll spot dolphins in this area, too. Alternatively, you could take a boat 'safari' up the Black River, a swampy river home to the Jamaican crocodile and over 100 species of native birds. On the way back to Treasure Beach you'll stop for a drink and to admire the views at Pelican Bar. For those who'd prefer to stay on dry land, there's an option to take a Jamaican cooking class to discover the secret of jerk seasoning. You'll learn to cook steamed fish and bammy (traditional cassava flatbread) or to prepare a lobster dish (when in season).

Our tour ends today and there will be two transfers from Treasure Beach to Kingston Airport (around a three-and-a-half-hour drive). The first transfer will arrive at the airport at approximately 1pm, so the earliest your flight can depart is 4pm. The second transfer will arrive at the airport at approximately 4pm for evening flights - typically there's a direct British Airways flight to London departing around 8pm-9pm.