Party Jamaica: Hip Strip in Montego Bay, Rick's Cafe and Reggae Night in Kingston

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Jamaica is the Caribbean's heartbeat when it comes to music and partying: the island that invented reggae, dancehall and dub has a nightlife that is vibrant, raw and deeply authentic. This 7-day itinerary starts in Montego Bay, where the Hip Strip gathers beach bars, dancehall clubs and restaurants that turn into dance floors after dinner. Red Stripe beer and Appleton rum set the rhythm. From there you travel to Negril — the bohemian paradise of the west: Rick's Cafe is the Jamaican institution where at dusk cliff divers leap from cliffs up to 12 meters, the DJ spins reggae and the crowd cheers every jump. Beach bonfire parties on Seven Mile Beach stretch the night into the sand. But the mecca comes at Kingston, the capital: the Bob Marley Museum in the former house of reggae's prophet is a required pilgrimage. And the Dub Club, on the hills above the city, is the temple of Jamaican dub — a legendary sound-system collective spinning vinyl of Augustus Pablo, King Tubby and Lee Perry into the small hours with the city glowing below. The Jamaican party is organic, loud and sweaty: not for the faint-hearted.