Jamaica

>>1232142
Jamaica is a good place to visit if you want to be murdered.

>>1232160
That is bullshit man. The US is probably more dangerous then Jamaica.

Kingston has a pretty high murder rate. I'd like to go, but as with a lot of other places, I worry about being white and sticking out like a sore thumb. I wouldn't do an all inclusive thing, since if I do that I may as well stay in Florida.

>>1232178
I am from Florida also man. Remember that it is a poor country, but most crimes are NOT towards tourists. Like in any city and country in the world you need common sense, and with that you'll be fine.

I was thinking about enjoying nature and the mountains so I wouldn't stay at Kingston. I was thinking the Blue Mountains. It's a very safe place with friendly people.

>>1232178
>>1232187
my wife and i are both so white we're almost transparent and we never felt uncomfortable in kingston. montego bay and ocho rios were terrible because their economies are based on hustling tourists, whereas in the south people have their own lives to live. yes, jamaica has a crazy high murder rate, but most of them are gang related blood feuds. so really being white is one of the safest things to be, as it's unlikely anyone will confuse you for a jamaican gangster.

>>1232190
How was the overall experience? I would go to the Blue Mountains over the city. Seems to me like it would be safer, and serene.

Yea it seems like hustlers is the main worry you should have, and really it's only an annoyance not dangerous.

I heard from some people that they were consantly getting harrassed for money, or at lest were just seen as a pair of walking wallets.
Like, groups of men coming to them on the beach and demanding cash for "protection", people constntly begging them for cash on the streets and many other similar situations
how much truth is in this?
Are there places there really free of this behaviour where a whitey will be treated just like another person?

>>1232195
>>1232196
we went 10 years ago, so ymmv, but every place that wasn't a cruise ship anchorage was great. kingston, black river, and negril in particular. though i've heard negril's getting worse. we didn't spend much time in the interior (but holy hell, what a bus ride it was over those mountains! lol), but the whole southern coast was fantastic. very chill, friendly, and great food. we told a taxi driver in black river we wanted to rent a car so he drove us around to a bunch of his friends houses until someone had a spare they gave us for $50 for 2 days.

Is Jamaica more dangerous than the rest of carrabiean? Like Saint Vincent or Trinidad Tobago for example.

>>1232220
Statistically, it's got the highest murder rate in the Caribbean (a bit over 40 homicides per 100,000 people), but a lot of other places are pretty close--Trinidad has about 35, St. Kitts has 39, etc.

But it's not that relevant--hardly anybody is shooting tourists, as noted above. Drug dealers are shooting other drug dealers. Common developing world street sense is enough to eliminate most risk of violent end.

>>1232198
Not bad at all, hopefully the people in Blue Mountain are pleasant.

>>1232233
Like any country, stay out of the dangerous areas. The rest of the island is lovely and people were very friendly to me.

Because of persistent "Do Not Leave The Resort" stories largely put about by the resorts who want you and your money to stay on-site, some of the more remote places don't see many tourists, so there might be some "What the fuck is this guy doing here?" staring. I never felt it was hostile, maybe sometimes a bit guarded. A smile and a friendly word cleared that up pretty quickly.

>>1232590
>stay out of the dangerous areas
eh, the bus from the north coast to kingston *literally* dropped us off in a burnt out shell of a building in trenchtown, and no one gave us a second look.

>>1232233
The closest I've ever been to developing world is San Juan. I walked around in Catano and Calle Loiza in broad daylight. That's about it.

I'm guessing I've got to stick to the bar next to my hotel at night anywhere like Jamaica if even that?

>>1232590
Would the people in the rural/mountain areas be welcoming? I want to spend most of my time there and just hang out with them and explore.

>>1232717
more 10 year old info, so take that into consideration, but, while i was sometimes the subject of extra attention, it never felt hostile. for example, several times while i was driving in the country someone would see me and call out "whiiiiiiiteeeeeey!" but it always sounded amused/incredulous, not angry. like what you would do if you saw a giraffe on the side of the road.

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I took my girlfriend to the Caribbean last year.

>Jamaica?

No, she went of her own accord.

>>1233385
What?

>>1232775
Yea I completely understand what you're saying, but everyone does that honestly. I have no issues with that. I think I'll have a great time honestly.

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Jamaica was a shithole in my experience. The place is literally falling apart, every building, every road, every piece of infrastructure was crumbling.

Everyone is trying to scam you for as much money as they can get.

The entire place felt like "tourist trap the country."

The beaches were sub par compared to everywhere else I have been in the caribbean and the jungle was nothing exciting.

>>1233439
Cuba, and the Dominican Republic are the same honestly. The Caribbean is just mainly made up of third world countries.

>>1233439
This was my experience as well. If I went again I would stay at a resort to have a recluse from the vultures. I've been to many developing countries in the islands, SA and Asia and in my experience the touts in Jamaica stand out as the worst. Too bad because other than them it's a great country

>>1233439
>>1234156
when and where did you go?

>>1233385
wew

>>1234090
>Cuba, and the Dominican Republic are the same honestly. The Caribbean is just mainly made up of third world countries.
Real Travelers poo poo the idea of staying at resorts, but for the most part there is a reason they exist as walled off compounds. The Caribbean is indeed a third world shithole in so many ways, especially in the places that rebelled against their crown to become independent. They simply aren't making it. This is one reason why the Caymans are still awesome, as they never left. So in places of revolting independence, the resulting left behind governments that formed and had turnovers have all the trappings of messed up african governments, corruption, drugs and horrible politics as their countries became poorer and poorer. It's like a type of communism or socialism in thinking that simply never even got to that level of implementation. Unhappiness, let's say. Do you want to visit somewhere like Jamaica that actually has a couple of generations of citizens with low opportunities that were taught to hate you by their leaders? It's a real thing in Jamaica. Only the natives with one foot in two countries (due to emigrated families) experienced a balance from the govt bullshit and the reality of how the rest of the modern classless world thinks.

Tourism people had a bunch of senpai trips for travel agents and actually had to have a "come back to jamaica" (63-75)tourism campaign trying to undo some of the government control damage to the local psyche about their hate of white/rich ppl. But the haters, and the children of the haters, are still alive and a good deal part of the population. It's like trying to cure Nazis or other racists. It's not likely to happen fast. Drug crime and poverty is a symptom of their messed up island and other places in the Caribbean too, some worse than others, but never for a moment consider Jamaicans to think the same as other Caribbean islanders when it comes to non-natives and who to target to crime.

>>1234401
>there is a reason they exist as walled off compounds.
yes there is: they want to cultivate fear of what's outside those walls so people and their delicious dollars stay inside the walls. i know many people who went to all inclusives in jamaica and they were all told specifically "don't leave, it's not safe." which runs completely contrary to the experience my wife and i had roaming the country:
>>1232190
>>1232198
>>1232594
>>1232775

Its been a few years so bear with me.. I did a few weeks in JA. The only other Caribbean island ive been to was Cuba. Never stayed in a resort.

Flew into Montego bay, large city, little for beach options, you have to pay to use the beaches, but that keeps the touts out so not actually too bad. Great street party scene, went to a few random parties, big sound systems just show up on flat decks and the whole neighbourhood comes out. My guest house was up on Salem hill, hung with locals in the little tin shacks that sell beer and food..and drugs, mostly they sell drugs. big, dirty and fun

Negril- smaller feel, busy beach with loads of nightlife, lots of decent music if you like dancehall, reggae, reggaton.. constant harasment to give up your money..
I stayed at judy house, good place to meet other backpackers..

Treasure beach- way less developed, chill local vibe. can go to pelican bar from here, its a tourist trap, but still nice for a afternoon.

Ocho rios- cruise ship port.. some waterfalls and shit nearby.. I would have hated it except that I hooked up with a great girl there and had nice experience at the luminous lagoon..

over all impression.. not exactly dangerous if you use common sense.. lots of hustlers trying to sell you anything.. drugs, girls, trinkets...etc
Awesome nightlife if you want to party.. food and drink is alright.. everything is s bit expensive... Ill admit everything felt a little fake, like these guy just put on their rasta costume in the morning and look for tourists.
As a male they sell you drugs and girls, if youre a woman they brag about their dicks.. big bamboo, as they say. A bit rapey, works out well for you cause most backpacking solo girls are so sick of it, that hanging out with a chill white dude is a refreshing change.

I never made it to kingston or Port Antonio, which I had hoped to

>>1234545
Thanks for all of that! Did you happen to go to the Blue Mountains?

>>1235655
no I did not, heard both amazing and negative reviews from other travelers while I was there...
Probably depends on the people you are with.. good friends always means good times no matter where you are... so my advice is to go.

http://files.peacecorps.gov/manuals/countrydata/jamaica.pdf

I'm currently under consideration for Jamaica by the Peace Corps, and here's some of the crime statistics they provide about volunteers. Volunteers probably being closer to culturally aware white people who don't walk around like obvious tourists. Seems like theft is the main issue, but being a woman alone also seems to not be a great idea.

>>1236148
Being a woman alone isn't a good idea anywhere, anytime

>>1235734
What negative things did you hear?

>>1236148
Interesting link. Looks like 5 aggravated sexual assaults/rape for the 100 that went. If you break it down by just half being women (it was more), then you can call it a 10% chance of sexual assault. And, that happened ON DUTY, not in some weekend jaunts outside of the assigned campus. Obscene!

>>1236529
Yeah, it's a bit skewed though. There were two sexual assaults in 2015, and that was higher than usual. That could've been two women together in one event. Still pretty fucked, but I don't think it justifies a claim of 10% chance of aggravated sexual assault.

>>1236529
>>1236535
Yea that has to be bullshit.

>>1236379
Why not?