Jamaica’s second city praised for its famed white-sand beaches and laid back way of life

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Jamaica’s second city of Montego Bay in St James has been named one of the top destinations for American travelers to visit this summer.

This is based on a recent study of the Top 10 Summer Destinations review by insurance giants, Allianz Partners.

Famed for its white-sand beaches, laid back way of life and a whole host of water-based activities, Montego Bay has long been a favourite for North American travelers.

With Jamaica recently removing its COVID-19 related entry requirements, that status looks set to grow even further this summer with more North American visitors coming to Montego Bay.

The Allianz Partners study showed that Montego Bay is the fourth most popular international summer destination for travelers in 2022.

The list is headed by Cancun, Mexico in first place, San José del Cabo in second and Oranjestad (Aruba) in third. Allianz Partners analysed more than 1,175,000 flight itineraries for trips between five and eight days in length to generate their findings.

Relaxed entry requirement

Of note is the fact that the countries featured on the list have recently relaxed their entry requirements, making travel much more appealing. Jamaica lifted its COVID-19 entry restrictions in mid-April, making trips to Montego Bay much easier for travelers. 

Prior to COVID-19 putting travel plans on hold for the better part of two years, Montego Bay was among the most popular destinations in the world. The year 2019 saw as many as 4.2 million travelers visit Jamaica, with the country proving popular with both air and cruise passengers before the pandemic put a serious dent in the total number of arrivals.

This year, however, with restrictions eased and travel appetites restored, that figure could be set to rise once again. Once in Montego Bay, travelers are unlikely to regret their decision to travel there for the summer.

The city is renowned as a surfeit of world-class beaches, with Doctor’s Cave Beach, Cornwall Beach, and Sandals Montego Bay Beach among the best – but with the destination in such high demand, travelers are encouraged to get down there early in order to secure a top spot on the sand. Once there, travelers can look forward to a wide range of water sports to keep themselves busy – or they can simply choose to unwind in paradise.