Jamaica

Is Jamaica safe to visit?

For a resort stay, mostly yes, and safer than at any time in a generation. The Jamaica Constabulary Force counted 673 murders in 2025, down 42% on 2024 and the fewest in 31 years. Killings fell another 23% in the first half of 2026. Most visitors stay in guarded resorts on the north coast and never see the violence.

Yet the rate is still high. InSight Crime puts 2025 at about 23.7 homicides per 100,000Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary people, nearly three times the Dominican Republic's rate and slightly above Mexico (21.4). Add the damage from Hurricane Melissa and a patchy health system, and we score Jamaica 53.

Where the violence is

Gang shootings happen mainly in inner-city communities that tourists have no reason to visit. The US advisoryUS travel advisoryThe US State Department's rating of each country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel).More in the glossary, updated in June 2026, keeps Jamaica at Level 2 overall but asks visitors to reconsider travel to named neighbourhoods in 10 parishes. In Kingston these include August Town, Mountain View, Denham Town, Parade Gardens and Greenwich Town; in Montego Bay, Flankers, Mount Salem, Rose Heights, Norwood and Salt Spring. Savanna-la-Mar, near Negril, is on the list too.

Montego Bay is the place to pay attention. The St James police division had 35 murders by late June 2026, more than any other division and 25% more than a year earlier, even as the national total fell. Most hotels and resorts are well guarded; the risk starts when you walk into the hills behind them.

When the government sees an outbreak of shootings it can declare a state of emergency or a special security zone, with cordons, searches and short-notice curfews. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says these rarely affect tourists, but check locally.

Robbery and sexual assault

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says the motive for most attacks on tourists is robbery. Visitors staying in private rentals have been followed from Kingston's airport and robbed when they got out of the car. Resisting can lead to violence, so hand things over.

Sexual assault is the risk resort guests should know about. The US embassy routinely receives reports, including from tourists at resorts, and the FCDO says perpetrators are often people victims met socially at a bar, beach or excursion. Do not share your room number with new acquaintances, use licensed excursion providers, and make sure you have your own transport back. The police unit for sexual offences, CISOCA, is on +1 876 926 4079. The US advisoryUS travel advisoryThe US State Department's rating of each country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel).More in the glossary also notes that serious cases are often not prosecuted to a verdict.

What Hurricane Melissa changed

On 28 October 2025 Melissa came ashore near New Hope in Westmoreland as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of about 160 knots, the strongest landfall on record in Jamaica. The National Hurricane Center's report counts 45 deaths, mostly in St Elizabeth and Westmoreland, and about US$12.2 billion of damage, 41% of the country's 2024 GDP. Several hospitals in the west and south were badly damaged and a leptospirosis outbreak followed the floods.

For visitors this matters mostly for health care. The US advisoryUS travel advisoryThe US State Department's rating of each country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel).More in the glossary warns that specialist care may not be available, ambulances are not always staffed or available, private hospitals want payment before admission, and even insulin can be hard to find. In May 2026 the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary said access to care in the worst-hit areas was still limited. Bring all your medicines and make sure your insurance covers air evacuation, which the State Department says costs at least US$30,000 to the US.

Driving and getting around

WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 17.8 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2021. Police counts are lower: 374 road deaths in 2025, about 13 per 100,000, and 163 by mid-July 2026, 19% fewer than a year earlier. Rural roads are narrow, winding and unlit, lane discipline is poor, and many drivers have no insurance. US government staff may not take public buses or drive between cities at night, a sensible rule for visitors too.

Use Jamaica Tourist Board licensed taxis, which carry a blue JTB sticker on the windscreen, or Uber where it operates. Hire cars and minibuses often have no rear seat belts.

How to stay safe in Jamaica

• Stay out of the named neighbourhoods; ask your hotel before walking anywhere outside the resort area.
• Do not walk on empty beaches or roads, even by day, and avoid using ATMs after dark.
• From Kingston airport, take the Humming Bird route via South Camp Road.
• Keep your passport and valuables in the hotel safe.
• Emergency numbers: police 119, ambulance and fire 110.

How we scored it

Conflict (75) is Jamaica's best factor, and road safety (52) is middling: WHO's 2021 estimate is 17.8 deaths per 100,000, and police counts have fallen since. Violent crime (38) is the weakest, even after the fall in murders: a rate of about 24 per 100,000 is still in our lowest band. Natural hazards (45) and health (55) reflect Hurricane Melissa and a health system that has not fully recovered. If murders keep falling at the 2026 pace, the violent crime score will rise.