Jamaica Driving Advice and Car Hire Info
Driving In Jamaica
Jamaica drives on the left and you can drive on the licence of most countries for up to 6 months. Many vehicles have been imported from USA with the steering wheel on the left, which can make overtaking difficult for visitors. You may therefore want to check this with the car rental company when reserving.
75% of the island’s 21,000km of roads are paved.Main roads on the island include the A1 from Kingston to Negril, via Montego Bay ; The A2 also connects Kingston to Negril but unlike the A1, the majority of the route is inland, with only the portion from Black River to Negril running along the coast. There are also two toll roads constructed as part of the country’s ongoing Highway 2000 project – The T1 runs between Kingston and May Pen (with a connection through to Spanish Town). The T2, also called the Portmore Causeway begins on Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston and ends in Portmore.
Main roads are usually in good condition but many smaller roads suffer from lack of repair so be prepared for some pot holes especially after heavy rain. Driving styles can be erratic and range from aggressive high speed tailgaters to old folks in dilapidated pick up trucks stopping suddenly to pick up a friend. Expect livestock and pedestrians in the road in rural arreas and avoid driving on badly lit roads at night. Jamaican Cities have a number of areas to avoid so if unsure of directions try and get the rental company to drive you to/from the outskirts of Kingston and Montego Bay rather than risk getting lost. Areas of Kingston to be avoided are West Kingston, Grant’s Pen, August Town, Harbour View, Spanish Town. Also exercise caution in parts of Montego Bay, including Flankers, Barrett Town, Norwood, Glendevon, Rose Heights and Mount Salem . Also avoid Mountain View on the route between Norman Manley International Airport and Kingston and use the alternative signposted Humming Bird route via South Camp Road instead.
Although I try and keep the information in the site updated as much as possible, in a rapidly moving world, situations can change daily. Therefore please use the site as an approximate guide, and in conjunction with other resources in order to form your view on driving conditions, roads, safety etc.
Jamaica Car Rental –
Sixt, Hertz, Europcar, Avis, ,Budget, Dollar, Thrifty, have branches here. Also usually features on Car rental broker sites and Web discount sites such as Expedia .
We currently have no local car rental partners in Jamaica. If you are a local car rental company who would like to feature on DriverAbroad.com please check details on our Partnering page or contact us on ADriverAbroad@Outlook.com
Jamaica Self Drive Rules-
Cars can’t be taken off Jamaica.
