Search results for

If you’re looking for a unique fine-dining experience under the stars, away from tourists and with gorgeous night skyline views, look no further than Robbie Joseph’s Seahorse Grill. Tucked on the grounds of the Montego Bay Yacht Club, this restaurant is popular among expats and residents and remains a best-kept secret. Classy yet unpretentious, it offers outdoor, waterfront dock, and terrace seating and “global cuisine with a twist of West Indian flair.” From a juicy steak night—hard to find in Jamaica—to pastas and Jamaican seafood specialties, you’ll be talking about that dinner under the stars for a while to come. The cocktails are pretty fabulous, too. This restaurant is a west coast gem.

Pier 1’s greatest appeal is its setting: The open-air restaurant and nightclub occupies a pier that extends out into the Caribbean in Montego Bay. By day and into the early evening, the restaurant draws visitors and locals interested in a good meal with a stellar water view. At night, regular parties start late and run into the wee hours of the morning. Skip the noisy chain restaurant-bars down the street and try something more Jamaican, instead.

Many restaurants around the Cayman Islands have pushed the ocean-to-table movement to new heights. From the Grape Tree Cafe, a popular roadside fish fry, to Morgan’s Seafood Restaurant, a fine dining spot in West Bay, there are plenty of locally-sourced options waiting for you. For a meal well worth the trip all on its own, try the tasting menu at Blue by Eric Ripert, the French chef’s restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton on Seven Mile Beach.

There’s a lot more to the San Fermín festival than the running of the bulls. In Pamplona, a skeptic learns what it’s really like to attend the biggest summer fiesta in Basque country.

Albert Kahn’s photographic archive is a mesmerizing record of human history.

On the still-bucolic site of a former coconut plantation just west of Montego Bay, Round Hill is another of the legendary hotels created in the early 1950s to accommodate wealthy Brits and Americans who were discovering the pleasures of a Jamaican winter. Since then, it has evolved into a thoroughly modern resort that manages to retain its original, exclusive, clublike spirit. In the beginning, Round Hill consisted of a group of shareholders (British playwright Noel Coward was one) who rented out their private villas when they were absent. That’s how it still works, although the celebrity shareholder most mentioned these days is designer Ralph Lauren, who rents neither of his two villas. Along with 27 other villas, which can be divided into 86 suites, there’s the Pineapple House, a seafront block of 36 rooms, all decorated, predominantly white on white, by Lauren. The ambience is quiet luxury, the service is relatively formal (the doorman wears white), and the children among the guests are treated as the heirs and future holiday decision makers that they are. Almost every villa has a story, whether it has to do with Coward, the Kennedys, or How Stella Got Her Groove Back. And Montego Bay, whose city lights can be seen only from the highest villa (#28), is still another world away.

Tourism is down, prices are up, social services are disappearing, and the government is bankrupt. Which means it’s a good time to get to know Seychelles.

More than any other of the luxury beach-colonies that opened in Jamaica in the 1950s, Tryall has retained the feel of a private club. Yet this 2,200-acre property, with 87 villas, almost all having views that sweep down to the Caribbean, is Jamaica’s largest all-villa resort, and home to one of the Caribbean’s finest golf courses. Created by a group of Texas investors that included a future governor (John Connally) and future senator (Lloyd Bentsen), the resort, backing its own private beach just west of Montego Bay, continues to add villas notable for their luxury and individuality, one with a gallery devoted to Jamaican art, another with its own basketball court. Each villa has a dedicated staff, including a chef, housekeeper, butler, laundress, and gardener. And although each villa is essentially self-contained, the resort’s restored 1834 Georgian Great House, with its restaurant and bar, where events such as the manager’s cocktail party are held, serves as focal point for guests who want to “get out” without leaving the property.

Watching the sun set on Jamaica‘s west coast is a bona fide activity. The island’s red skies are a sight to behold. I have yet to experience a better Caribbean sunset than in Jamaica. From Montego Bay all the way to Negril--famous for having the best--to Whitehouse, get your camera and Red Stripe ready for the last hours of daylight. You won’t lack for choice of seafront bars or scenic spots--from the trendy Pier One in Montego Bay to the wooden shack watering holes along Negril’s West End cliffs. Wherever you end up, there’s a very good chance you’ll get hooked on this daily sunset viewing routine.

The Ocucaje Desert holds some of the most important fossils in the world. And their only defender is a renegade guide with an eye for shark teeth.

Climb high to find the best views of the San Francisco Bay at one of these great vistas.

It’s a ripple effect.

The west coast of Jamaica doesn’t sleep. If it isn’t some daytime live tunes on the beach, or a street party in the wee hours, it’s the evening live Reggae available in multiple seafront venues. At night, the island takes on a different energy and everyone comes out to enjoy the fresh air and the tunes. Almost every other Jamaican seems to have a natural talent for music. It’s no wonder, then, that there are plenty of local acts to go around, often performing covers of Bob Marley, from MoBay to Negril. Recording artists also show up regularly--from Beenie Man to Beres Hammond. Along the highways and neighborhoods streets are the latest posters, flyers or billboards announcing upcoming live Reggae shows. When in doubt, head to Pier One in Montego Bay, or Alfred’s, Bourbon Beach and Jungle Nightclub in Negril. Better yet, ask the locals, who love their music. The sound of Reggae is never too far off.

AFAR chose a destination at random—by literally spinning a globe—and sent comedian Jorma Taccone on a spontaneous journey to Nairobi, Kenya.

Rebecca Walker embarks on a spontaneous journey to Bulgaria, guided by locals she connected with both virtually and in real life.