Kingston to Ocho Rios in Record Time

North South Highway at 1 year

Presented by Palace Resorts

Cutting Through The Heart of Jamaica

Part of what makes Ocho Rios, Jamaica such a popular international destination is its charm, fantastic resorts and of course beautiful shores that bring together a mountainous tropical rainforest with the Caribbean Sea.

Fortunately, that doesn’t include the roar of large commercial aircraft buzzing the resort town as Jamaica’s two major international airports are located nowhere near the town famous for its waterfalls. But that also means you’ll have to partake of a substantial road trip to get there.


The toll highway represents the country’s largest ever infrastructure project and has revolutionized access from one coast to the other, while making it easier than ever to get to Ocho Rios.

The Travel Current already told you about culture, history and beauty of the 100 km trip from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios, but what about the most common way to get to Ocho Rios, from Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport?

That trip used to take close to two hours and while it did provide an extended view of the country’s beautiful interior, including its renowned Blue Mountains, it was often a perilous (especially when it was raining) and time-consuming endeavor.


second Image of North South Highway

Paying Dividends After a Year

For the past year and several months, however, the trip has been reborn as an efficient and safe voyage that provides all the fantastic sights you always get while cutting across the country, without any of the failings.

That’s because the North South Highway, also known as Highway 2000, has been in operation since early in 2016. The toll highway represents the country’s largest ever infrastructure project and has revolutionized access from one coast to the other, while making it easier than ever to get to Ocho Rios.

According to Raul Brito of Stanley Consultants, the engineering firm that oversaw the project that was built by China Harbour Engineering Company, the results have already been impressive.

Brito says that the average time of travel from Kingston to Ocho Rios on the new highway is almost half what it used to be – from close to an hour-and-a-half to about 45 minutes.

The volume of traffic has also increased, as monthly traffic averaged about 240,000 vehicles, while the amount of accidents also dropped in its first year of operations.


Opening New Horizons

While it now makes getting to Ocho Rios and Moon Palace Jamaica a quick and enjoyable ride from Kingston, the highway project also represents a boon to the country’s economy.

Throughout Jamaica’s history and even before its independence in 1962, the country has essentially been a tale of two coasts – north and south.  The south, with the country's capital in Kingston has been the political, commercial and industrial center of the island, while the north has been its primary economic engine as the tourism center of the country; it’s most profitable industry.

Now that a modern roadway connects the two coasts, economic growth is expected for both, as is development along the route itself, further compounding the economic impact. 

It also means those visiting Ocho Rios can take day tours and trips to the capital to visit the Bob Marley Museum (or his actual birthplace, Nine Mile, in the middle of the country), Devon House, or the Blue Mountain Coffee tour.