Safety question

[ct ti fan]

Have you been to Grand Central Station? Every day I'm there, and so are the police and National Guard, who are often heavily armed. You can also find drugs in that area, and people will beg for money. So to me Jamaica is not troubling at all. But you can run into trouble, specifically if you are looking for it.

Most of all, remember Respect. It goes a long way in Jamaica.

[KarenON]

We have been to Jamaica 15 times in the last 6 years (7 of those trips to Couples), and have trips 16 and 17 booked for December and April. We feel much safer in Jamaica, especially at the resorts, than we ever feel when we visit Toronto. We feel just so sorry for people who have that misinformed attitude, and because of that, miss out on the wonderful experiences to be had in a beautiful country like Jamaica. CSS has become our "home", we miss it, and the wonderful staff there, so much, and cannot wait until we return again.

[rjammin]

i live in western pa...but i'm not going to work tomorrow because of some problems i've heard of in Chicago.

LOL, good point!

[zaraforty]

Agree with the comment, in MX I have seen bank guards with sawed off shotguns.
And young military with I think M-14s. Even saw a tank go down the street once.

[Vee]

All I have to say to that is "Poo!".

We've been to both Negril and Ochi, and have never felt unsafe either place. (A little annoyed with the hawkers at Dunn's River, yes, but unsafe, no.)
In fact, in Negril, I (a 37 YO woman) run on the beach by myself in the mornings. One morning, a young man came up to run with me, and he was clearly trying to "pick me up." One of the beach guys from ANOTHER resort -- not even Couples grabbed him and pulled him away and said "leave her alone, mon." (Note: That is the ONLY time in 7 trips to Negril that anyone has even come CLOSE to being harassing, and he really wasn't. He was actually decently nice. -- The guys in the US are WAY worse.)

Would I walk down a dark alley in Ochi or MoBay or Kingston by myself, no way. But neither would I do that in NY or Chicago or SF. Be smart, be safe. And have a blast in our favorite place on earth!!

[Mzambo]

Have you been to Grand Central Station? Every day I'm there, and so are the police and National Guard, who are often heavily armed. You can also find drugs in that area, and people will beg for money. So to me Jamaica is not troubling at all. But you can run into trouble, specifically if you are looking for it.

Most of all, remember Respect. It goes a long way in Jamaica.

LOL ain't it the truth!!!!!!! I live near Detroit, and although Downtown is safe some of the surrounding areas are a whole "nother" story.....

[fltwinmom]

I felt more unsafe in Cozumel than I did in Jamaica. I've actually felt more unsafe in some "rough" parts of town than we did in Jamaica.

That said, I would always use good judgement and follow the tips already mentioned while off the resort property.

[dank120]

Everytime I hear one of those stupid stories, I call BS! It's never anyone that actually had it happen to them, it's always some imaginary "friend of a friend". You have to put yourself into the shoes of the residents of the country you're visting. Do you really think that they want to perpetuate any of the dumb stereotypes that people come up with? What benefit would somebody have from slipping contraband into your purse or lacing your sweet leaf with PCP or any of the other ridiculous crap that people come up with? Granted, it is "possible", but seriously, they want to garner your respect, not try to get you busted. I've been to several islands of the Caribbean, and I gotta tell ya, there are more places in the US that I worry about my safety than there are in the Caribbean, and I'm a martial arts instructor! Besides, if the security guard outside of Scotia Bank has a machine gun, that doesn't necessarily mean that he NEEDS a machine gun. That's just customary for security personnel in some parts of the world. Just be smart and cautious, like you would in any unfamiliar place, foreign or domestic and you will be fine. And, just to be safe, don't walk around ANYWHERE in the world with a handful of cash!