Getting here
Airports, drive times, and getting from the plane to the gate.
Richmond Estates is in Priory, on Jamaica's north coast between Runaway Bay and Ocho Rios. Most guests fly into Montego Bay, which is the closest of the two big international airports and the simpler drive. Kingston works too. Either way you do not need to hire a car — a transfer can be arranged to meet you.
Which airport
MBJ
Sangster International
Montego Bay
~1 hr 25 – 1 hr 30
Jamaica's main international gateway and the one most guests use. It has by far the widest choice of direct flights from the US, Canada, the UK and Europe.
The drive is the easy one: a single run east along the north coast road, no mountain sections and no turns that are easy to miss. If you are choosing purely on convenience, choose this.
KIN
Norman Manley International
Kingston
~1 hr 45
Worth checking if the fare or the schedule suits you better — it is on the far side of the island but, on the tolled highway, it is not much further in time than Montego Bay.
The toll road is the whole point: take the highway across the island rather than the old road over Mount Rosser, which is considerably slower and windier. Budget for tolls, and note that the figure above assumes the toll route.
OCJ
Ian Fleming International
Boscobel
~45 min
Much the closest airport to the house, and the obvious answer if you are arriving by private or charter aircraft.
Scheduled commercial service is limited and changes, so check what is actually flying before planning a trip around it. The runway handles aircraft up to roughly a Cessna Citation Excel, not full-size airliners.
Drive times are door to door in normal traffic, as Google reports them. Allow more at rush hour, and more again if you are stopping on the way — which, with the north coast road running past most of the local guide, is a reasonable thing to want to do.
Airport transfers
A private transfer can be arranged to meet your flight and bring you straight to the house, for any of the three airports. It is the same driver service guests use for day trips once they are here, so if you want a car for a day at Dunn's River Falls or Nine Mile later in the week, it can be the same arrangement.
Send your flight details when you book, or as soon as you have them, and it can be set up before you travel.
Driving yourself
Hire cars are available at both Montego Bay and Kingston. Two things worth knowing before you book one:
Good to know
- Jamaica drives on the left. If you are coming from North America or mainland Europe, that is the adjustment to make — and doing it for the first time on an unfamiliar road after an overnight flight is the argument for taking a transfer on arrival and hiring later in the week instead.
- The estate is gated, with 24-hour manned security at the entrance, so you will stop at the gate on the way in. Have your booking details to hand.
- The directions links above end at that gate, which is deliberate — it is as far as any satnav can usefully take you. The house is under a kilometre further, in the Coolshade section, and exact directions to the door come with your booking confirmation.
Once you are here
The nearest beach is about ten minutes away, Ocho Rios is about half an hour, and a supermarket, pharmacy and ice cream shop sit at the entrance to the estate. The local guide covers all of it, with a drive time measured by road for every place in it.