Located on Jamaica’s northwest coast, Montego Bay is the country’s second largest city and main tourist hub. With numerous accommodation options, duty free shopping and terrific beaches, Montego Bay is a vibrant destination with a lot of history. If you’re looking for a happening seaside Caribbean town, MoBay is the complete package.
Doctor’s Cave Beach is where the city welcomed its first tourists, back in 1880. This was the place where Dr. Alexander McCatty founded a sanatorium; word quickly got around about the beneficial effects of the water in the resort and American and British tourists started flocking in. The sanatorium was destroyed in a fire decades ago and now a beach club provides tourists with all the needed facilities to enjoy the sun and crystal-clear waters.
Part of St. James Parish, Montego Bay is split into three distinct parts: the actual city, where day-to-day life takes place for 100,000 or so inhabitants; the main beach drag; and finally, the contiguous hillsides.
MoBay’s cityscape offers a mix of architectural styles, from colonial Georgian to century-old wooden structures. Many visitors, however, never make it past the “hip strip” of Gloucester Ave. A perpetual hive of tourist activity, Gloucester actually features some terrific restaurants and is a great place to snag some ackee, salt fish and a couple of cold Red Stripes.
