Half Moon offers its guests 33 stately four- to seven-bedroom villas, each with its own personal staff, entrance and beach. Arranged in a garden enclave, the villas are decorated in updated Jamaican great house style with a theme of black and white. There are also 152 luxurious suites and 46 breathtaking rooms. The accommodations are as beautiful inside as the buildings that house them. Decor is to a very high standard and the airy spaces provide a cool and calming sanctuary after a busy day under the Jamaican sun. At Half Moon, you choose the room accommodations to suit your taste and budget. Room rates starting at $400 per night and four-bedroom villa rates at $1880.

Ian Fleming is a British author who has created a fictional private paradise reminiscent of James Bond at GoldenEye. The land  is Jamaican north-coast property which he bought in 1946. The founder of Island Records, Chris Blackwell, has owned the home and 15 surrounding acres since 1976, and later turned it into a six-villa hotel before closing it two and a half years ago. Nowadays Mr. Blackwell has reopened the property in expanded form, as a 52-acre resort with 22 units, each with an outdoor shower and touch-screen sound system loaded with Island Records-produced music. There are also two new restaurants serve local cuisine, featuring ackee and saltfish for breakfast. The Jamaican Olympic triathlete Iona Wynter is in charge of activities; she combines fitness and fun in stretch and snorkel classes, moonlight yoga and leg and ab workouts designed to buff those Jet Skiing muscles. Over-lagoon suites start at $536.

Negril
With eleven kilometers of beautiful white beaches, Negril is a very cosmopolitan resort, but manages to keep a laid-back atmosohere. Negril’s beach has been rated as one of the top ten beaches in the world by many travel magazines. Pristine miles of sand, comprehensive watersports facilities, open-air dancing to first-rate live music and the best sunsets on the island are all on offer. It is ideal for a range of watersports and in the evenings you can dance to reggae in the lively clubs ot join one of the crowded beach parties. Exotic, fun an completely unforgettable.

Port Antonio
Off the beaten track and away from the more well-known resorts, Port Antonio has some of the most exclusive and upmarket hotels on the island. With its romantic, secluded beaches and the picturesque scenery of the Blue Mountains, this is an area that you will never want to leave. The Port Antonio area is perhaps the most beautiful and scenic part of Jamaica – rivers, harbors, waterfalls and so much more. One popular sight in this area is the Blue Lagoon that owes its color to its depth of 200 feet – the variations of Emerald and Jade colors will amaze you.

Leap out of bed and pinch yourself: No, you are not dreaming. That scent of an exotic tropical garden is real, carried in on the cool breeze coming off the Blue Mountains behind you. Strawberry Hill is based around an  eighteenth-century colonial plantation house perched high in the mountains. It belongs to Chris Blackwell, the record producer, who discovered Bob Marley and founded Island Records. Photo by: n_twiglet

Now an elegantly-designed hotel, it is still a popular place for famous musicians, models and the international jet set. The Georgian-style ornate wooden cottages are scattered among the gardens with striking views of the city of Kingston 3,000 feet (915 m) below. Photo by: M.Forrest

French doors open onto spacious private verandas where hand-carved fretwork carefully re-creates nineteenth-century carpentry styles. Inside the bedrooms are like showrooms for the fabrics, crisp white linen, and polished mahogany furniture and floors. Of course, all rooms have a high-quality stereo system, with plenty of Island Records CD’s available to enjoy. Photo by: Skye Hernandez

At meanwhile, explore other decks of the restaurant to enjoy its renowned ‘‘New Jamaican Cuisine”, using local species, sauces and herbs. Chef Kingsley McGregor has developed several trademark dishes that are said to exceeded expectations. Photo by: jsommer16

Location: Blue Mountains, Jamaica. Photo by: nicholaslaughlin

Negril, on the west side of Jamaica, is about a 1.5-hour drive from Montego Bay. The Grand Lido is situated on a 2.5-mile crescent of private beach north of town. The resort was built in 1989. Grand Lido Negril is a Super All Inclusive Resort suitable for couples and adult families 16 years and older.

210 suites, all the rooms are all suites or junior suites, complete with king beds, sitting areas, large baths, and satellite TVs.

The suites include balconies or patios and refrigerators stocked with soft drinks, beer, and water.

The resort pampers with Super-Inclusive amenities including complimentary manicures and pedicures, 24-hour room service, dry cleaning, land and water sports, and a choice of four gourmet dinner restaurants.

Water Sports include windsurfing, sunfish sailing, water-skiing, kayaking, snorkeling, underwater-vision boat rides, scuba diving with daily dives for beginners.

In the day, there are a myriad of new discoveries: the state-of-the-art fitness center, a spirit-and-body soothing spa and the centuries old cotton tree in the gardens.

Known also as the Niagara of the Caribbean, it’s undoubtedly the most popular tourist attraction in Jamaica. Located in Ocho Rios, Dunn’s River Falls is a dramatic 600-feet drop of cascading water it’s one of national treasures in the island. They attract thousands of visitors every year for ….. a climbing….

It’s a true! Dunn’s River Falls are truly breathtaking cascading waterfalls offers 600 feet of climbing to its guests. If you are physically able to “climb” the falls it is a must –it’s an incredible cascading falls challenge. The visitors carefully climb up limestone cascades, hand-in-hand like a human daisy chain, guided by competent staff. The professional guides are very knowledgeable and will ensure your comfort and safety at all times.

Water shoes are required and are available for rent if you do not bring your own. The fee: admission to Dunns River Falls is $10.00, shoe rental is $5.00. For more information – click here

Ian Fleming was a British author born 100 years ago. Fleming is best remembered for creating the character of James Bond in his adopted island of Jamaica. Goldeneye the writer’s villa in Oracabessa is today an exclusive resort known for its exotic gardens.

The three-bedroom villa at Goldeneye, where Fleming wrote most of his stories featuring Agent 007 costs up to $3, 400 a night.

This is the private beach at Goldeneye. the author often trod there with fins mask and spear in hand. He lived in Jamaica when you could get there by banana boat, and he described Negril on the west coast as a “five-mile crescent of unbroken, soft, white gold sand, fringed for all its dazzling length with leaning palm trees.

The picture displays Fleming’s gardener, left, who still works at Goldeneye.

Fleming and his wife Ann weremarried in Port Maria’s town hall. She didn’t share her husband’s love of Jamaica, however never staying as long on the island as he would.

The Rastafari Exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington features art and artifacts from the Jamaican- born sculpture. ‘’Bob Marley, ganja and dreadlocks are still here’’ said Edward Rothstein.

Edward also explained that most of us know Rastafari only through these popular manifestations. But what is really Rastafari? Is it a religion? A way of life? A kind of movement? So all of the above, as ‘’Discovering Rastafari’’ displays.

The exhibition tells the story of the local folk religion that began before 80 years with the main belief- Haile Selassie – the 20^th- century Ethiopian emperor was the living God, the Black Messiah.

The Rastafari beliefs grew out of a particular experience which is slavery and its aftermath in Jamaica, also a view of how that suffering might be overcome. In this case, ordeal was relieved by a hope adapted from the biblical dream of Zion, that someday blacks might return to a land from which they were exiled: Ethiopia.”

‘’These ideas were amplified by the charismatic, Jamaican-born black leader Marcus Garvey, who urged all blacks to see themselves in a common struggle,” writes Rothstein. “When Ethiopia’s prince regent, Tafari Makonnen, who had the honorific title ‘Ras,’ was crowned emperor of Ethiopia, Garvey called on his followers to join together and ‘lift up the hand of Emperor Ras Tafari.

During the years Rastafari belief starts to seem almost sunny. Actually, the history is far darker. Rastafari belief developed partly out of resentment, not just against whites, but against the black middle-class culture of Jamaica. This was one reason the once-disreputable styles of dreadlocks and the ceremonial smoking of marijuana became so important.

The fabulous hotel is located in west end road in Negril, Jamaica. This hotel is formation of 20 villas (4 with lofts), 6 studios and 9 standard rooms. The Rockhouse Hotel is located at the cliffs of Pristine Cove in Negril.

Lazy ceiling fans and large four-poster beds with mosquito netting reflect the laid back atmosphere. The cliffside freshwater pool was carved from solid rock, as were the ladders and stairs that lead down into Pristine Cove for swimming and snorkelling. The wood-hewn terraced restaurant and bar offers some of the best food in Negril, through a new more modern interpretation of traditional Jamaican cuisine, featuring the flavourful spice of curries and the sweetness of tropical fruits.

The restaurant, suspended directly over the water, makes it one of the best places to watch the sun go down. The new Rockhouse Spa, featuring the cliff edge Caribbean Drench cabana, offers a full range of body and beauty treatments and Yoga in their new Yoga room overlooking the sea.

The premium villas, constructed over the water on the cliffs edge with westward, sunset views, are individual thatch roofed cottages offering spacious, wrap around, private terraces, private outdoor showers open to the skies and sliding glass doors providing great vistas of Pristine Cove.

Come on, we move on to the next station – Negril. He is very popular and has grown rapidly in recent years. Negril is resort area on the island’s west coast. Resort development is carefully controlled, and no building by law is allowed to be taller than the tallest palm. Apart from the beautiful beaches, the waters offer world-class diving and a wealth of watersports.

Mandeville is a cool, clean, rural Jamaican town. It is the chief town of manchester parish, Jamaica`s mountain resort, the island`s largest urban center. Mandeville has a charm – and a climate – all of its own, as if it has been sheltered against al the developments in the capital and around the coast. It has a town square, parish church and clock tower, and many large, elegant early nineteenth-century houses to see along the winding streets. The square is more like a village green and Mandeville has been described as the most English town on Jamaica.

We continue our journey with the capital of Jamaica – Kingston. It is not only a capital but also commercial, administrative and cultural heart of the island. It is the largest English-speaking city in the Caribbean.

The most exquisite port on earth – Port Antonio. The town`s twin harbours, jewel blue sea and fresh hillsides still entrap the visitors. Port Antonio, like Montego Bay, claims to be the cradle of the tourist trade.

St. Elizabeth is located on Jamaica’s south west. On the quiet side of Jamaica, St. Elizabeth boasts an incredibly diverse terrain. There are deserted beaches all along the southern coastline with picturesque fishing villages and small sandy coves hidden among the rocks. The Black River, Jamaica’s longest river, is flushed through the Great Morass, a swampy marshland that is the largest wetland habitat in the Caribbean. St. Elizabeth has long been ignored as a tourist destination and the small farming and fishing communities still retain the flavor of ‘old-time’ Jamaica, making it a prime destination for the truly adventurous.

This cozy little coastline features a well-manicured beach shrouded in lush, green, shady palm and almond trees. When you need a break from Turtle Beach’s watersports, or shelter from the sultry island sun, there’s plenty of places to cool off. Those of you, who are hoping for a taste of seclusion in Jamaica may find that Turtle Beach is just the right spot and will not be disappointed. You’ll find urban areas without going far, but you won’t be too far from the beaten path, it is an excellent middle ground.

Plenty of wonderful sights can be enjoyed during your visit. The beach can be a relaxing experience, but natural attractions, like Enchanted Gardens, Coyaba River Garden and Museum and Dunn’s River Falls can be wonderful additions to your tropical vacation.

Nearest Hotels to Turtle Beach:

* Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort and Spa
* Village Hotel
* SandCastles Resort
* Crane Ridge Resort
* Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach & Villa Resort
* Jamaica Inn
* Royal Plantation

This delightful beach is located on Jamaica’s northeastern coast, near Ochos Rios, so you can tour the town after your visit to the beach.

Google Earth Placemark – Jamaica’s Turtle Beach.