Greetings All

From the minute we left Jamaica after our 2nd visit in 2014 we’ve yearned to go back. On that trip we did 4 nights at White Sands Negril, 3 nights at a villa in Duncans Bay and ended with 2 nights at the Holiday Inn in Rose Hall. We absolutely loved Negril, higglers and all. Duncans was serene and beautiful as well. The Holiday Inn was OK, kids liked pool, but confirmed to us that AI resort vacations aren’t for us. We used drivers/Knutsford Express/taxis’ to get around. I spent considerable time on negril.com preparing for that trip and much time since living vicariously though others reports/pictures jealous and dreaming of returning. I owe negril.com boardies a great debt and I promise a trip report of my own knowing how much I love to read others. Thank you all for your love of Jamaica. Once you go you do know…

Anxious to do more than just party on the beach, after reading *Vi*’s incredible trip reports and seeing her pictures, we decided that we must include Port Antonio in the next trip. That's finally happening and we are returning in late March for 10 days/9 glorious nights – just my wife and I this time. We plan to start with 3 nights Port Antonio then make our way over to Negril for a 4/2 beach and cliff split.

This trip we are renting a car (not for debate) for flexibility and keep logistics costs in check. I have driven on the wrong side all over Barbados including a few roads better described as goat paths. I will only drive during daylight hours and have no plans to go off the beaten path (on purpose anyway LOL). I confirmed my credit card includes CDW insurance in Jamaica (underwritten by Chartis Jamaica Insurance Company Limited). Nuff said...

We are flying out of Toronto and can fly for same price into Kingston or Montego Bay landing at ~noon either way. We will leave Negril and fly out of MoBay early afternoon. Having travelled between MoBay and Ochi and going back that way, I’m leaning toward flying into Kingston to see a part of the island we have not seen before. We would depart Norman Manley for Port Antonio. Google Maps suggests the A3 via Annotto Bay or the A4 along the South Coast are comparable in terms of distance and time ~2hr 45min. I’m not betting on the times being accurate but believe either option would reasonably get us to PA before dark.

I read a 3 year old post somewhere that the A3 is a better road/route than the A4? Does this still hold true? Can anyone provide firsthand driving experience? Would you recommend flying into Montego Bay and driving from there instead to get my Jamaican bearings on a well developed stretch of road to Ochi? I read Flipadelphia26's 1st time experience renting a car in JA doing the North Coast route on his honeymoon was a very positive experience. Thanks for that Flip. I'm very confident I can manage that.

I have a Garmin GPS. There is a Jamaica map download available for purchase on internet. There are also options available in the app store for iPhone. Does anyone have experience using a GPS or GPS app successfully in JA?

Thanks in advance for your feedback

Buffalo.