Visiting Montego Bay to enjoy its beaches and festivals

Montego Bay is the second largest city in the Caribbean nation of Jamaica. It is a tourism hub in Jamaica. Several thousands of tourists from different parts of the world visit Montego Bay round the year. This magnificent city is renowned for its gorgeous beaches and crystal clear turquoise water. It is one of the ideal destinations where you can rejuvenate and unwind on a relaxing vacation.

Big cruise liners passing through the Caribbean region usually make a stopover at Montego Bay. Another perfect excuse to visit this beautiful city is duty-free shopping. The visitors here get great opportunity to buy their favorite items from some world’s famous brands at quite attractive rates.

Let us embark on a vacation to Montego Bay and enjoy its beaches and local festivals. Before planning your visit to Montego Bay, it is quite important to know the weather conditions beforehand. This would help you plan your visit better.

Montego Bay has largely a tropical weather with warm and sunny days. The pleasant weather makes the key Jamaican city a fabulous destination for spending your holidays. However, you must also be aware of seasonal variations here which include frequent showers, though they don’t last for long durations of the day. The months of May through October experience rains, with most rainfall taking place in September and October. The months from January through March are the coldest, while July and August are the hottest months. Montego Bay witnesses a pleasant climate for most parts of the year, with the period between mid-December to mid-April the most ideal to visit the city.

Exploring gorgeous beaches
Montego Bay is home to two famous beaches – Doctor’s Cove Beach and Rose Hall Beach. Both the beaches are great favorites with the tourists visiting the Jamaican city. The Doctor’s Cove Beach is a perfect destination for organizing beach parties. Visitors here also get opportunity to enjoy many other activities under the sun on its white sands. This is the best place to unwind with a beach umbrella over you. The environment is pleasant and you can enjoy fabulous sights here. The private operators are there to offer rides on boats with a glass bottom and parasailing.

Rose Hall Beach is yet another fantastic place in Montego Bay to spend your vacations. The beach is surely an ideal place for complete relaxation of your body and mind. If you choose to stay at one of the beachfront resorts, you will be able to enjoy strolling on its white sands. The access to the beach is provided by Rose Hall Beach Club. The tourists are also offered many facilities by the beach club.

Enjoying local festivals
Montego Bay hosts many festivals for most part of the year. Some of the famous festivals hosted in the city include Jamaica Jazz Festival, Ocho Rios Jazz Festival, Reggae Sumfest, Emancipation and Independence Celebrations, African Jamfest, and Jamerican Film and Music Festival. Let us now get an insight into these festivities.

The Jamaica Jazz Festival is held annually during the last weekend of January. This popular music festival is held for three days. The enthusiasts of jazz and blues were the pioneers behind this event, which initially started being held annually during the month of November. In its initial days, the event attracted nearly 2,000 music enthusiasts. However, weather related issues forced the organizers to move the dates of the festival to January.  The Jamaica Jazz Festival is ever since being held during the last weekend of January every year and attracts over 30,000 music enthusiasts. The festival also covers many genres of music, apart from jazz.

Reggae Sumfest is a fantastic musical event for the lovers of Reggae. This music festival is held during the month of July every year. The festival offers a great platform to a large number of Reggae artists for coming together and promoting this unique form of music, which is peculiar to the Caribbean region. A huge influx of tourists descends to Montego Bay to enjoy this amazing musical extravaganza.

The Ocho Rios Jazz Festival is another important festival that celebrated the magic of Jazz in Montego Bay. The Ocho Rios Jazz Festival first started in 1991. The primary objective to start this festival was to popularize and revolutionize the Jamaican music scene and promote tourism in the country. The festival is usually held during the month of June every year and is 8-day-long musical celebration featuring local musicians as well as those from the United States and Europe. The locals and tourists from around the world can look forward to a wholesome entertainment.