Enlarge Photo

Photo by: Zach Stovall

The north-coast metropolis of Montego Bay is Jamaica's second-largest city and has been the island's tourism capital since the 1950s, when it became a go-to Caribbean destination for the international jet set. Mo' Bay (as it's known locally) offers a wide variety of accommodations along its white-sand coast, ranging from humble guest houses to lavish resorts (though the best bargains are near the town center). Several popular diversions are nearby, including river rafting, colonial-era great houses, myriad water sports, and golf at five championship courses that surround the bay, making the city a perfect choice for the energetic traveler who likes to be in the thick of the action.

Montego Bay on $110 a day? We'll show you how...

Mo' Bay's location – four hours from the U.S. Northeast – also makes it ideal for a long weekend escape, and with 10 airlines serving this lively hub from 18 North American cities, fares can be incredibly low. (At press time, one-way fares from Fort Lauderdale were as low as $79.) Stay on or near the bustling "Hip Strip" (Gloucester Avenue) bordered by restaurants and bars, and you won't need to shell out for a rental car or taxis. Better still, you'll be walking distance from the sands of Doctor's Cave, famous for its crystal-clear waters reputedly fed by underground streams and a fun beach scene equally popular with locals and tourists.Many of Jamaica's resorts are all-inclusive and roll the cost of meals, drinks, taxes and tips into the room rate. The savings can be impressive, especially heading into the fall shoulder season, when rates start at around $200 per couple.

Check out deals at cozy 52-room Sandals Inn in town, high-rise Sunset Beach Resort on the Montego Freeport peninsula just west of downtown, the sprawling new Hotel Riu Montego Bay (pictured), and Iberostar's three resorts to the east in Rose Hall. Between the Hip Strip and downtown, the former Belvedere Hotel has emerged from a million-dollar renovation and transformed into Altamont West Hotel. Although most of the 59 rooms lack an ocean view, they are all comfortably appointed and include a hair dryer, an iron, cable television and Wi-Fi access. There's a small pool tucked behind the hotel, and the Body Bliss Spa features Maya-style treatments. The hotel attracts both business and leisure travelers, and its chic Wine With Me restaurant and wine bar is popular with local sophisticates.

Toby's Resort is a long-standing budget option in the thick of the tourist area, in walking distance to restaurants, bars and beaches. All of its 68 rooms are clean and comfortable, with a choice of king, queen or twin size beds, and all have either a balcony or patio. Twenty dollars gets an upgrade to a deluxe room with a small fridge, a coffee maker, an iron and a hair dryer. There are two pools surrounded by breadfruit and mango trees, and a restaurant and bar.

The curiously named El Greco Resort sits on a bluff on "Top Road," overlooking the heart of the city but removed from the din of the Strip. Most of the 96 one- and two-bedroom, tropically furnished, apartment-style suites offer sweeping views of the famous bay from private balconies. All have a kitchen, a television, a direct-dial phone and an in-room safe; daily maid service is included. There's a pool, a restaurant and tennis courts, and a private elevator deposits you directly onto the Hip Strip.

Continue to Montego Bay on $110 a Day...

Learn more about Montego Bay...

Learn more about Jamaica...