A very rich local craft
Inspired by Arawak and African arts, made with natural and noble materials gleaned on the island, Jamaican handicrafts are very rich and original. We are not talking about the thousands of trinkets made in China that you will find in all the tourist hot spots, but about the objects made on the spot by hand, which have a more consequent price obviously. Each tourist center has its own handicraft markets that deserve a careful visit, as well as the small booths that dot the roads, displaying local production. Bamboo, straw, wood, shells, everything is a pretext for creation. Straw hats (essential for the hot weather), baskets, small bamboo furniture, canes, maracas, small jewels, shells, dolls, not to mention all the textile production around the rasta theme, berets, bracelets, T-shirts, belts... Woodcarving of Afro-Caribbean inspiration is also in the spotlight, with skilled craftsmen carving wood to extract birds, animals or traditional characters and masks of distinctly African inspiration
Markets not to be missed
In Kingston, the Craft Market on Hanover Street, south of downtown, unfolds (every day except Sunday) under a steel hall dating from 1872. A huge craft market with stalls selling clothes, basketry, wooden statuettes and objects, turtle shell jewelry - which environmentalists advise to leave on the stalls -, reggae cassettes... In Ocho Rios, the main market is a maze of small wooden stalls with palm and tin roofs (on Main Road on the sea side). Be careful, the wood carvings, the naive paintings and the items made from bamboo are local, the rest is unfortunately "Made in China"! In Montego Bay, three markets gather local creations: Harbour Street, with wooden stalls painted in pink and protected by high fences, Old Fort, the most recent one, and the one hidden behind the shacks at the beginning of Gloucester Avenue. In Negril, the Craft Market on Norman Manley Boulevard, just before the bridge over the river, is a very good reference. In Port Antonio, you have to push to the end of the main market (at the back on the left), to get to the city's craft market, a real tourist institution. It is square and covered; the merchants are much more numerous than the customers. The prices are obviously lower than those charged by the small roadside stalls, and the products are of good quality. At the entrance of the hall, a beautiful fountain surrounded by benches offers the possibility to rest in the cool
Kingston and Ochie shopping favorites
If the capital of the country is less touristy than the beaches of the north-east of the island, it is the capital of shopping for its inhabitants. For tourists, on the other hand, it is not the ideal city for shopping. The American style shopping malls are not very attractive, everything is much more expensive than in France, even if the euro/dollar parity is in our favor. Apart from the artisanal market, there are few interesting stores. The shopping addicts will nevertheless find local lines of clothes which change from our stores. Ochie is reputed to be a mecca for Jamaican shopping. This aspect of the local economy has developed thanks to the cruise ship passengers who stop here for the day. The shopping centers are numerous. There are many shopping malls where you can find sparkling jewelers' windows and colorful souvenir stores, such as Soni's Plaza, Ocean Village Plaza or the famous Island Village owned by Chris Blackwell. In Montego Bay, you can go shopping in the luxurious shopping malls of Blue Moon and Rosehall
Negril, the most expensive city in the country
In Negril, the stores - clothing, beach products, drugstores, toys, liquor and tobacco, jewelry, bookstores and newspapers, etc. - are numerous, and there is no lack of choice. - There is no lack of choice. Commerce is particularly well developed here. And perhaps for this reason, or because it is the island's first tourist center, Negril is the most expensive place in Jamaica, whatever the product or service sold. So be prepared to negotiate, but not to the point of offending the merchant... Thus, even gasoline costs a little more here than elsewhere.
Duty Free stores
Since Jamaica is outside the European Union, you can benefit from Duty Free (purchases exempt from VAT). Because of the large number of European and American tourists in Jamaica, there are stores directly labeled "duty-free", reserved for foreigners, which directly tax-free products without having to go through the office at the airport to get the taxes refunded. They all have a branch in Kingston, but it is better to shop in the tourist centers of Port Antonio, Treasure Beach, Montego Bay or Ocho Rios, which are busier and more important because they are much more touristy. The opportunity to buy trinkets, tee shirts, coffee or even Appleton rum, the most famous rum produced in Jamaica. There are also duty free stores at the airport of course.
Vinyls that have become very rare
Don't expect to leave with a suitcase full of old original reggae vinyls. The island has literally been robbed for a long time by Westerners fond of vintage albums that are now almost impossible to find. You will find pirate CDs sold on the sly by artists unknown in Europe that you will want to discover. In Kingston, Derrick Harriott's store is the only one that offers a few 45s, but mostly cassettes and CDs. For vinyl records, only private individuals sell them today to the most initiated; Jamaican collectors sell online the rare vinyl records that reappear in flea markets and other yard sales
