Top 8 Brunch Spots in Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston, Jamaica is known for its rich culture, vibrant music scene and delectable cuisine. One third of Jamaica’s population (roughly one million people) call Kingston home, so you can bet there are lots of entertainment options, and even free activities to check out in the city. Whether you’re a local or a tourist, one of the best ways to start your day in Kingston is with a delicious brunch at one of the city’s top restaurants. Here are eight of the best spots in Kingston for a mouth-watering brunch experience in 2023.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle22 Comments

Kingston Reggae Garden, Saint Andrew

I’m a city girl with a love for the country and thankfully in Jamaica, the country is never too far away. A short drive of fifteen minutes can land you in lush peaceful 360° greenery, seemingly far away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Every time I visit the country and admire the slow laid-back pace of life, I can’t help but think that this is how we were meant to live. I’m happy to report that I’ve found a new chill spot near the capital city of Kingston, Jamaica for us nature-lovers to unwind and reset. Kingston Reggae Garden is a restaurant, bar and oasis in Golden Spring, St. Andrew which opened in May 2021.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle14 Comments

Maamee River, Saint Andrew

Maamee River is a place I heard of via word of mouth, and I finally took note of the turn off from the main a few weeks ago when I made a visit to Maryland in rural St. Andrew. The Blue Mountains is my favourite corner of Jamaica, but I still haven’t scratched the surface in exploring it even after five years of being more deliberate in discovering every nook and cranny of Jamaica. Having dedicated the next few years of my life to completing a residency, my compromise for long daytrips and weekend staycations will be exploring all the close and accessible parts of the Blue Mountains. Hence, I ended up at Maamee River after work one Saturday afternoon and here’s how it went.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle11 Comments

Maryland, Saint Andrew

It always amazes me how close the ‘country’ is to our beloved city of Kingston. As a city girl, I often quip that I must’ve been from the country in a past life because I look forward to escaping the hustle and bustle every chance I get. The verdant mist-covered hills, breathtaking valleys and meandering rivers and waterfalls of rural Jamaica are more my scene. Papine is a small bustling town which marks the gateway of the Blue Mountains, Jamaica’s largest and most important mountain range. This mountain range is world renowned for Blue Mountain coffee, a brand of coffee which is as unique to the Blue Mountains of Jamaica as champagne is to Champagne, France, and is grown on steep inhospitable slopes between 3,500 and 5,500 ft. above sea level. Its tallest peak is the Blue Mountain Peak in Portland which towers at 7,402ft (2,256m) above sea level. Hiking to Blue Mountain Peak is still my most favourite adventure to date, but requires at least two days’ commitment. When pressed for time, I make do with exploring the more accessible parts of this mountain range instead and one such community worth exploring is Maryland, a rural district four miles north of Papine.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle21 Comments

Bob Marley Beach, Saint Andrew

When one thinks of going to the beach in Jamaica, St. Andrew is perhaps the last parish that comes to mind. Some go as far as to ask if this parish even has a beach to begin with, and I’m always happy to educate and say yes, SEVERAL! 🙂 All 14 of Jamaica’s parishes are washed by the Caribbean Sea so it’s a little weird that people assume St. Andrew doesn’t have any beaches just because it’s a largely urban parish and commercial centre. Three years ago I took a trip to the Carib and Wickie Wackie beaches which I wrote about here, and now I’m back with another lesser-known St. Andrew beach.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle29 Comments

7 Unique Things to Do in Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston is Jamaica’s capital city, a bustling centre of business, commerce and culture with a wealth of activities to enjoy. There are free activities, half a dozen rivers and waterfalls, dozens of local and specialty restaurants, charming cafes and coffeehouses, as well as a growing list of niche activities to check out. Here are seven fun & unique things to try in Kingston, Jamaica– updated for 2023 and beyond.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle23 Comments

Peter Tosh Museum, Saint Andrew

Peter Tosh is a platinum-selling Grammy award winning artiste and is one of the most talented reggae musicians to emerge from Jamaica. He got his claim to fame from the Wailers, a trio which also consisted of Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. Peter Tosh was born in 1944 in Westmoreland, Jamaica’s most western parish and his life was brought to a brutal abrupt end in 1987 after a home break-in and robbery-turned-murder. Tosh had a rough start with an unstable family background, shuffled around from relative to relative based on circumstances but his musical talent emerged early despite the upheavals. Tosh is a self-taught guitarist and keyboardist who got his first real taste of music and performing when he moved to Trench Town as a teenager and met his fellow band-mates in the early 1960s. He taught them how to play, and they dabbled in ska and rocksteady before finding their calling in reggae, infusing their tunes with spiritual and political messages from their newfound conversion to the Rastafari faith.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle12 Comments

19 Times My Parish (St. Andrew) Left Me Awestruck

I hail from Jamaica’s capital city of Kingston, born unda di clock as we say– a colloquial expression which means one was born not too far from this Victorian-style 33-foot tall clocktower built in 1913! This clock marks the very centre of the parish capital, a crossroad between four major streets in Half-Way-Tree which was once the location of a large cotton tree and how the town got its name.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle7 Comments

Long Walk to Freedom Highlights

Born in the year of ‘Til Shiloh, Buju Banton’s first album released after his conversion to the Rastafari faith, Buju is the reggae legend whose success story my generation has had the honour of witnessing. Us younger folks didn’t grow up under the likes of Bob Marley and Dennis Brown. We grew up instead knowing that life’s Not an Easy Road and learning how to walk like a Champion. Another ghetto youth who showed us that hard work and dedication to one’s craft can elevate one from poverty, Jamaicans everywhere felt disappointed when we heard the news of Buju’s USA DEA charges for conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine in 2009, especially given that we crooned the lyrics to Driver three years prior.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle19 Comments

Holywell, Saint Andrew

Located in the tropical mist forests of the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (BJCMNP), Holywell (pronounced Hollywell) is a cool escape from Kingston’s heat. This 330-acres “park within a park” is blessed by the fragrance of fresh mountain air and pine trees, and at 900m (3,000 ft.) above sea level, the cool temperature allows Holywell’s ecosystem to support a wide variety of ferns, flowers, and trees which are rarely seen in other parts of Jamaica. Many Jamaican birds call this forest home, including all 30 of Jamaica’s endemic birds!

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle17 Comments