Arriving at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston places you among it all, with nearby cities and landscapes an easy drive away. The airport sits on the Palisadoes, a thin sandy spit that curls around Kingston Harbour, so your first view is water on one side and the Blue Mountains on the other. Kingston is Jamaica's loud, creative capital, a city of sound systems, art galleries, and roadside jerk pans that runs on its own rhythm.

Standout experiences around Kingston: - Tour the Bob Marley Museum at his former home on Hope Road - Walk the grounds of Devon House and order a scoop of its famous ice cream - Wander Port Royal, the old pirate town at the tip of the Palisadoes - Take a boat out to Lime Cay for a lazy afternoon on a tiny sandbar - See Jamaican art from Taino carvings to modern work at the National Gallery - Visit Trench Town Culture Yard, where reggae history was written - Eat fried fish and festival dumplings at Hellshire Beach - Climb into the Blue Mountains for a coffee farm visit and cool air - Catch a Sunday night session at Dub Club in the hills above the city

Kingston makes a fine base for the eastern half of the island. Spanish Town, the old colonial capital, is about half an hour west, and the winding road up to Holywell and the Blue Mountains takes about an hour. The North-South Highway puts Ocho Rios and its waterfalls within roughly 90 minutes. Ask anyone for directions and you may get a story too. Come hungry, bring your dancing shoes, and let Kingston set the pace.