You are looking for hostels in Jamaica? Good news, you have come to the right place.
On this page we list every single city with hostels and other budget accommodations. Hostelz.com helps you to find your Jamaica hostel and compare its prices on the major booking sites such as Hostelworld, Hostelsclub and Booking.com. So you can sleep on a budget and save money while backpacking Jamaica.
We list every single hostel in Jamaica and the world. In total, we have 18 cities in Jamaica for you. Please note that not all cities actually have a hostel to stay in. Below you can filter for cities with hostels and with no hostels-type accommodation, but guesthouses and budget hotels. This will help your planning.
Alright, you are more the visual type? Planning your trip with a map is always handy.
Therefore, this map shows you all cities with hostels in Jamaica. It will help you to plan your trip. Just zoom in the map and click your destination for more details. Just so you know: If we do not have a hostel in a city, it is likely that there is no hostel in that city.
Jamaica is a Commonwealth island country in the Caribbean; it lies 90 miles (145km) southwest of Cuba and 119 miles (191km) west of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti.) The capital of Jamaica is Kingston, on the southeastern coast. Jamaica is known for its music - genres like reggae, ska, rocksteady, and dub all originate from the Jamaican-African cultures. In recent years, Jamaica is also known for its athletes - namely Usain Bolt and the Jamaican bobsled team from the cult favourite Cool Runnings.
There are two international airports in Jamaica; fly into the one that best suits your immediate needs. Norman Manley International Airport, near Kingston and Port Royal, serves the southern coast and is the better choice if you are visiting the capital or the picturesque Blue Mountains. In the north, serving the Ochos Rio and Montego Bay areas, is the Sangster International Airport. Most tourists fly in here, as it is closer to the resorts and popular beaches. At both, there are taxis to get you into town or car rental companies if you choose to have your own vehicle.
The currency in Jamaica is the Jamaican dollar. The main economies are tourism and mining, with over half of the economy relying on the service and tourism industry. Cruise ships dock in Kingston regularly.
As with in much of the Caribbean, traditional European hostels are few and far between. You will find a variety of small hostels in Kingston, and some hostels and guesthouses along the coast. For inexpensive accommodation, you may find guesthouses a better choice, especially in smaller towns.
Even before your accommodation is sorted, you will feel the vibe of Jamaica. Music is literally life in Jamaica and everywhere you go you will find it. Do not miss the dancehalls in Kingston or the island churches on a Sunday morning. The indigenous tribes, the Arawak and the Taino, settled here from South America in the 5th-2nd centuries BCE. When Christopher Columbus visited, he claimed it for Spain but less than two hundred years later, the British evicted them (1655).
The former Spanish capital, Spanish Town, is at present-day St. Catherine and boasts the oldest cathedral in the Caribbean British colonies. Much of the economy during the first 200 years of British rule was sugar exporting. Jamaica achieved full independence from the British in 1962, however most Jamaicans still prefer to be a British territory. In Kingston and nearby Port Royal, you can visit Fort Charles, Liberty Hall, and various plantations such as Rose Hall at Ironshore or Devon House.
In the north, the beaches and resorts are quintessentially Jamaican. The lush rainforests seem to spring from the white sandy beaches and the turquoise seas. There is unparalleled hiking in the mountains, and its not strenuous; even the most moderate hiker can summit the famous Blue Mountain Peak. Jamaica’s forests are chock full of waterfalls. The top tourist choice is Dunn’s River Falls in Ochos Rios; there are better, less crowded ones if you get away from the tourist towns.
No matter what you do, Jamaica will capture your heart. To paraphrase what Sanka says in Cool Runnings, “feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it’s Jamaica time!”
Handwritten by local expert for Jamaica hostels Jakob Lombardi
Hey fam! Here are a few more tips from the community, from them to you, and you to them. This space is dedicated for travellers to share their best tips on backpacking Jamaica. Have a closer look - the Hostelz community share real hidden gems, insider knowledge and overall impressions of Jamaica. Everyone is welcome to add something useful, funny, unexpected and the "absolutely necessary to know before you go" - share, share and then share a little more!
There is a lot of travel planning to do. So let us help you once again by putting together the frequently asked questions:
There is several hostel booking sites, such as Hostelworld.com, Hostelsclub.com and Booking.com. While every platform has its pros and cons, there is a universal truth you as a traveler should be aware of: Not a single booking site can always offer the best prices.
This is where Hostelz.com comes in. You can compare all major booking portals with one click.
For you as a traveler, Hostelz.com is the best booking site to actually save money.
Prices always vary, depending on various factors. Weekends tend to be more expensive, same goes for special holidays. Please also take into account local vaction time.
You can search for exacty hostel prices in Jamaica here on Hostelz.com. Pick your destination and pick a date. The system will track down the prices to give an idea of what budget and prices you can expect.
If you want to stay at the best hostels, it is a good idea to have your hostel booked around 1 month before you travel. For the regular hostels, booking one week before should be okay. Yet again, this always depends.
We dedicated a full article to the topic of when to book hostels.
Generally speaking, hostels are as safe as you make them. We highly recommend always to bring your own padlock, using the lockers and taking care of your belongings. Make sure you pick a safe hostel, offering lockers and a safe location. Please always pay attention to the reviews; they can give you a great insight on what to expect and safety tips.
There is a few basics you should always pack when staying in hostels.
There is more actually. We wrote a complete guide with more details. Read our full hostel packing list.
