You've booked the flight. Now the question that catches most first-time Jamaica visitors off guard: how do you actually get from the airport to your hotel?
The three options, ranked
1. Pre-booked private transfer — typically $40-60 USD per person depending on distance and party size. Driver meets you at arrivals with your name on a sign, drops you straight at your hotel, no waiting around. This is what we recommend.
2. Resort shuttle bus — $20-25 USD per person, but you wait until the bus is full (could be 30-90 minutes) and stop at multiple hotels before yours. Cheap, but you might lose 2 hours of your first vacation day.
3. Taxi at the curb — usually a JTB-licensed red-and-white taxi, $80-150 USD for the same trip. Convenient but pricier and the rate isn't always quoted upfront.
Travel times from MBJ Airport
- Negril: 1.5 hours (90 km / 56 miles)
- Ocho Rios: 1.75 hours (108 km / 67 miles)
- Runaway Bay: 1 hour (62 km / 39 miles)
- Falmouth: 30 minutes (37 km / 23 miles)
- Treasure Beach: 2 hours (113 km / 70 miles)
- Kingston: 4 hours by car or 30-min Caribbean Airlines hop
What about Kingston (KIN) airport?
Norman Manley International (Kingston) is on the south coast, closer to Treasure Beach (1.5h) and the Blue Mountains (45 min). For Negril, MBJ is way better positioned. If you have flexibility, choose the airport closest to your final destination — the cross-island drive will eat your day.
Book your transfer
Browse airport transfers from local Jamaican operators on BookJa.me. Most include cold bottled water, free cancellation up to 24h, and prices roughly half what international booking sites quote.