Jamaican Dollars or US Dollars? Money and Tipping Tips From Your Driver

Short answer: bring US dollars, keep a little Jamaican currency for small stuff, and carry a card for the big stuff. Jamaican dollars or US dollars is the question we get asked on almost every airport pickup, and the honest reply is that you will use both, just in different places. Here is how we tell our own guests to handle money for a week on the island.

Can I pay with US dollars in Jamaica?

Yes, nearly everywhere tourists go. Hotels, tour desks, craft markets, beach bars in Montego Bay, Negril and Ocho Rios, and most restaurants on the main strips take US cash without blinking. Our transfers and tours are priced in US dollars too.

The catch is the change. When you hand over a twenty for a seven dollar plate of jerk chicken, you will usually get change back in Jamaican dollars at whatever rate the vendor feels like using that day. That rate is rarely in your favour. So the trick is small bills. Bring plenty of ones, fives and tens. A stack of fives does more work in Jamaica than a hundred dollar note ever will, and some places will not break a hundred at all.

Away from the resort areas, in a Kingston patty shop, a country bar on the way to Nine Mile, or a roadside stall selling roast yam and saltfish, Jamaican dollars are the normal money. US cash still works most of the time, but you will pay a bit more for the convenience.

Should I change money at the airport?

Change a little, not a lot. The counters inside Sangster International Airport are handy but their rates are among the worst on the island. If you want local cash for your first day, change enough for a few drinks and tips and stop there.

Once you are settled, a cambio (that is what we call a licensed exchange bureau) in town will give you a noticeably better rate. There are cambios in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Negril, and your driver can stop at one on the way to the hotel if you ask. Banks exchange money too, but the lines are long.

Two things to avoid. First, never change money with someone who approaches you on the street or in a car park. It is illegal, and the notes are not always real. Second, if a bank machine asks if you want to be charged in your home currency or in Jamaican dollars, choose Jamaican dollars. Letting the machine convert for you adds a hidden markup.

As of this writing the rate is roughly 155 to 160 Jamaican dollars to one US dollar. Check it the week you fly, because it moves. A quick mental trick: knock off two zeros and divide by one and a half. So 1,500 Jamaican dollars is about ten US.

Do bank machines and cards work in Jamaica?

They do. Visa and Mastercard are accepted at hotels, larger restaurants, supermarkets, pharmacies and most attractions. Debit cards on the Plus and Cirrus networks work in bank machines at Scotiabank, NCB, Sagicor and JN. You will find machines in the arrivals area at Sangster, at the big supermarkets and along the main roads in every tourist town.

A few tips from drivers who have waited outside a lot of bank machines:

• Tell your bank you are travelling so the first withdrawal does not get blocked.
• Use machines inside a bank lobby or a supermarket during the day rather than a lone one on the roadside at night.
• Withdraw Jamaican dollars, since most machines dispense only local currency, and take out a decent amount at once to cut down on foreign transaction fees.
• Keep a backup card in a different bag. Machines do occasionally eat cards.

Small vendors, bracelet sellers, jerk pans by the road and the coconut carts on the sand are cash only. A cold jelly coconut on the beach runs a few hundred Jamaican dollars, call it a couple of US dollars, and it tastes better when you are not fumbling for change.

How much should I tip in Jamaica?

Tipping is appreciated but never demanded. A common guideline for a tour or excursion guide is around 10 to 15 percent of the price if the day went well. For a private airport transfer, a few US dollars per person is a kind gesture and not an obligation. At the attractions, the guides at Dunn's River Falls, the raft captains on the Martha Brae and the bartenders on the catamaran all work partly for tips, so keep some small bills in a dry pocket for them.

Restaurants on the tourist strips often add a service charge of 10 to 15 percent to the bill. Look before you add more. At all-inclusive resorts, check the house policy, since a few of the big chains do not allow staff to accept tips at all.

Jamaican dollars or US dollars both work for tips. Local notes save the person a trip to the cambio, but US cash is perfectly fine too.

How much cash should I carry per day?

For a couple on an excursion day, about 60 to 100 US dollars in small bills covers lunch at a local spot, a few drinks, tips and a souvenir or two. Pay the big items, your tours, your transfer and your dinners at nicer restaurants, by card or in advance so you are not walking around with a thick wallet.

Split your cash between two places, leave your passport in the hotel safe, and you are set. If you are still working out your first day, our first time in Jamaica guide and the excursion packing list fill in the rest.

When you are ready, book a tour or arrange your private airport transfers, and tell your driver if you want a cambio stop on the way in. We do it all the time.