Jamaica Tours, Guides and Vacations

I love driving my van around Jamaica. It’s been about 10 months now I’ve had it and we have covered many many 1000’s of kilometers and nearly the entire country thus far. We have actually circled the island and spent time in most major cities. I can drive around Mobay, Ocho Rios, Negril and Kingston with no problem mon.

We have driven the South Coast route from Negril to Kingston a few dozen times now and I feel super comfortable taking this route. We have stopped at all the major attractions as well as most of the smaller ones in the last year and visited much of the South Coast Jamaica. I especially love the Bluefields and Treasure Beach areas. Mandeville seems like a nice place to chill with some of the coolest weather on the island.

The van has been a great asset and well worth the investment. I have had to put a few bucks into it to keep it running but besides my van insurance its been pretty cheap. The van insurance policy we started with was weak and basically it covers the legal crap we need. I’m looking for some new van insurance quotes online using a new service that I found at QuoteZone.com but I will most likely be forced to stick with the crap policy I have. I say its crap because it does not cover anything more than the other person and it costs a fortune.

I’ve been lost in the van at least once on every trip we take and to be honest I’m glad it happens. Most often we end up in some rather unique and interesting situations that could only be found by getting lost in Jamaica. From 100 head of goats taking up the road or an impromptu street festival that erupts around a sound system in the town square I have been in some places and seen some things that only only me and Jah seem to truly appreciate.

I love Jamaica and my van has been a great part of the experience. If you plan on spending any more than 6 days in Jamaica bring enough money to buy a car and just sell it before you leave. You’ll appreciate having one while you’re here and it may just change your life.

Travel websites can be many things including a high end travel site like Expedia or just a simple blog like VacationsMAX but what most of them do not offer are great suggestions for travel based on your personalized search criteria.

Things have changed though and an innovative site at GeckoGo.com offers a unique way to find the travel deals you are looking for and most of all the travel plans you really want to make. GeckoGo allows you to search for “where to go and waht to do based on your specific interests” through a simple to use and intuitive interface. In 3 short clicks I was able to determine that in order to see monuments and beach in January it looks like Mexico is the choice for us to travel.

I was very intrigued as to how this site worked and I think a personalized search experience such as what they offer is what the travel industry needs. It just seems to me like too many websites now sell the same travel services and GeckoGo.com offers something different. If you are not sure about where you want to travel for your next vacation and you need some suggestions or travel ideas than you should visit their site and try it out.

I bet you you will think the same thing about their site as I do.

Thursday night was Dancehall Night for Reggae SumFest 2008 and it was a great show with some of the biggest names in Jamaican music on hand for a show which proved to be an arresting experience for Bounty Killer and lots of fun for me and a few thousand others. It was my first backstage experience with permission to interview artists and straight up I was out gunned. Me and my little JVC handheld camera could not compete with the professional level equipment and setups that the big players had. These guys came prepared to interview and they got all the interviews they wanted. I was able to get some great pictures and hang out with lots of the artists but the few interviews I did do were horrible as the lighting was crap and the noise in the room made it almost impossible to hear anything beyond the crowds of people. My mission over the next year is to invest in a better video camera and audio microphone for interviewing people properly. I’ll be better prepared for next year presspass access.

I spent much of the evening in the press tent and missed much of the show hanging out backstage with other press people and lesser known artists like Jamaican culture artist Nature and more popular stars like Anthony B and Macka Diamond to name a few. I spent more time with the press people and the event turned more into a networking opportunity as I met many of the top people in the Jamaican music business. I discussed working with a number of artists in developing and promoting their music online and I think the evening went well for me in that regards. I already have lots of work to do from this show and I’ll probably be busy until next years event.

I got some decent photos from the show with lots more to write about in the coming days and weeks but here are some pics from Thursday Night Dancehall night at Sumfest 2008.

Sun sets before the first evening of Reggae Sumfest 2008

Nature interviewed by BBC Radio

Shane-O Backstage SumFest 2008

Hype TV Interviews Serani

Danielle D at Reggae Sumfest 2008

Voice Mail at Reggae Sumfest 2008

Harry Toddler at Reggae SumFest 2008

Jamaican Musician Spice at Reggae SumFest 2008

Macka Diamond at Reggae Sumfest 2008

Anthony B interviewed at Reggae SumFest

Elephant Man at Reggae SumFest 2008

The Crowd at Reggae SumFest 2008

I’m backstage at SumFest in the press booth with lots of important Jamaicans from places like the Gleaner, TVJ and CVM. There are quite a few press people here and they all look far more professional than me and my blog. I did meet one couple from England who are here to blog the event and also are writing a book on their adventures.

We’re both excited about the opportunity we have to interview some top Jamaican musicians. I’m waiting to get my name on a list with my choices for interviews. I’m hoping to meet with Elephant Man and Mavado this evening and possible Beenie Man if he’s taking interviews. I don;t know that I’ll get that far in all of this but I am certainly going to be interviewing someone.

I’ll keep posting as the night goes on. Anyone here want to give me a call at 876-865-8680