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    Explore the vast openness and wildlife found roaming in the western United States, including Theodore Roosevelt National Park (pictured) in North Dakota. Begin Your Journey!

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    Trinidad & Tobago: Beautiful Coastline. Go Now!

    Trinidad & Tobago
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    St. Kitts & Nevis: Nevis Island. Go Now!

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    The original banana republic, Honduras has made a name for itself with the banana trade; however foreign influences have also vastly altered the culture. Go Now!

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    Mexico: Sunrise over the mountains in Puerto Vallarta. Go Now!

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    Although many people just go for the beaches, Mexico offers impressive mountain vistas (pictured in Puerto Vallarta), great food, and historic ruins that compete with the best in the world. Begin Your Journey!

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    This Caribbean island has hints of British culture, but is wholly Caribbean as well. Explore Barbados!

Social Life in Jamaica

Behavior

The Jamaicans are conservative in most aspects of their lives and this is best seen in their behaviors, dress, and dining etiquette. They tend to dress and act conservatively, much of which is based on their deeply rooted Christian faith.

As a visitor to Jamaica try to follow the lead of the locals by dressing conservatively (see below for details), dining in the local etiquette (see our Jamaica Dining & Food Page), and avoid sensitive conversation topics, such as politics, finances, and business unless initiated by your local counterpart. Also try to avoid being loud, rude, showing off wealth, or getting noticeably drunk in public. Finally, although Jamaica has a reputation for offering vast quantities of marijuana, this drug is illegal in Jamaica and smoking can land you in jail.

Dress

The traditional dress of Jamaica is rooted in Africa and Europe. The outfits, made of cotton, tend to have short-sleeves and long pants, with women wearing a long dress of red and white called a quadrille dress or a bandana skirt. Often times women also wore a hair wrap of red and white with this dress. For men the most traditional item of clothing is the guayabera, which is essentially a jacket.

Today this traditional dress is still worn on some holidays, but more commonly modern western-styled clothing rules the island and the colors of the flag, yellow, green, and black, tend to be the colors of choice for special occasions, but all colors are worn. As a visitor to Jamaica, you are free to wear any western-styled clothing that suits you. Just try to dress for the occasion as businesses and churches tend to request more formal and conservative dress, while just wandering around the country has no true dress restrictions. However, sunbathing naked or women sunbathing topless is rarely to never permitted; if in doubt, check with locals before doing so.

This page was last updated: December, 2013