Jamaican Music History Tour of Kingston from Ocho Rios
Description
Kingston is the birth place of Reggae Music! On this exciting lyrical odyssey designed for music lovers, you will learn about the various forms of Jamaican music, visit locations important to the music, and get the opportunity to purchase classic reggae. The Bob Marley Museum is a must see stop on the tour for all fans of the King of Reggae, and this tour is an excellent choice if you are interested in music, music history, culture, food, and community. You will be safely guided by experts familiar with the musical scene and the ins and outs of Kingston. All you will need to do is relax and absorb the energy.
Tour Options
Itinerary
At the Bob Marley Museum you will learn the rich history of one of Kingston's great ambassadors known as the King of Reggae. You will be able to go through the various rooms of his house and see how he lived so many years ago. The tour will give an understanding of what made Bob Marley such a great musician.
For lunch we head to the famous Orange Street otherwise known as Beat Street. Here we pop into a small community studio, shop for vinyl in one of the oldest Jamaican record shops still standing, and have some ital lunch. In Trench Town you can have a drink at the bar, sit in the courtyard with folks from the community, or have a listen to the band that is practicing. If you wish you can do a tour of this community to learn more about how it produced so many of the island's musical greats. Then for the final stop we go to a street art project, meet up with creative Rastafarians and absorb the positive vibrations of the city. At the end of the tour you will be returned to your Ocho Rios hotel. The day will be an enjoyable, entertaining, educational one. This tour is truly a unique experience!
In the community run museum you will learn the story of the various reggae artists who have come from Trench and why this poor community has had such a major impact.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We pick up from all accommodations in Ocho Rios and Runaway Bay.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
Reviews(21)
Wayne White was our very safe driver and guide, very knowledgeable and engaging with personal stories and perfect organisation, the tour was jam packed and interesting. A real lively Bob Marley theme balanced with local Kingston, and a drive around the eye opening markets, buying and tasting local fruits. The Devon ice cream was amazing. As was the local Pattie lunch which was reasonably priced. The highlight was Trench Town, no spoiler here, amazing experience and not to be missed. Thank you to Wayne (and Malakai at 56 Hope Road and Cash at Trench Town our local guides at the visited locations ). This was the real behind the scenes Kingston Jamaica which we will never forget. BeLu London 18th May 2026.
A thoroughly enjoyable and well organised day trip. Collected from our Ocho Rios Hotel by friendly driver Wayne. Very knowledgeable of Jamaican history in general, as well as the musical aspect, we learnt a lot about the island's history on the journey down to Kingston. The Marley Museum, patties n ice cream at Devon House, an unscheduled stop at the Cemetery viewing dignitaries and musicians epitaphs. On to downtown Kingston for the murals then up to Orange Street for the classic studio sites and record shop. Locals incredibly friendly and pleased to see us there. Finally a tour of Trenchtown by our guide Cosh for some social history, Marley's home, and info on the incredible amount of musical talent that sprang from such a small area. An interesting and again informative drive back through the countryside and villages returned to our hotel. Would recommend this tour to anyone interested in the island's culture and music. Spend a day out from your resort to experience Jamaican life.
Amazing day in Kingston organised by Karen of Jamaica Cultural Tours. We were picked up from Ocho Rios by our driver, Steve, who took us to Kingston and back. First stop was the Bunny Lee Museum in Duhaney Park. We were met by our guide, Uncle Chris (who appeared as a kid in the iconic film "The Harder They Come") who gave us a personal tour of the museum and recording studio. For lovers of ska, rocksteady and reggae, it was so memorable. Next, we had delicious patties and ice cream at Devon House with Karen before we met our guide, Courtney, to see the Downtown music murals, Randy's Record Shop on North Parade (a vinyl treasure trove) before we finished on Orange Street, the home of ska. DJ Mitchie played reggae vinyl in the street and we even had our photo taken with reggae artist Jah Fagan. It was an unforgettable day, the highlight of our holiday in Jamaica.
The tour was through the history of music very interesting and enriching. And the guide is very attentive and friendly. I loved it.
You would have to live under a rock to not have heard of Bob Marley. The wife and I are not huge, reggae fans, Bob Marley fans, or even music aficionados. Having said all that we recommend the tour highly. Hearing and experiencing for ourselves the source of the lyrics of some of the most well-known and popular songs of the last century was extremely interesting. Hewitt was a great driver and should be an honorary Canadian as he kept apologizing for the rain. The tour started late and ended latter due to the rain but due to Hewitt carful driving we always felt safe even in the heavy down pour. We are really glad we took a day away from relaxing to learn a little more about Jamacia and its most famous son Bob Marley.
Courtney and Mr. Paulwell we’re excellent. I would highly recommend this tour ta all of my friends and family members. The tour was educational and enriching.
This tour was exactly as described The driver spoke to us , giving us history and description as we drove from the Moon Palace to Kingston. He also gave us some jokes and we would not hesitate to recommend the same driver again. When we arrived in Kingston a guide “Courtney” joined us , who was equally funny and knowledgeable as the driver. We visited some amazing artwork on Kingston , followed by a visit to Devon House for scrumptious Jamaican patties followed by amazing ice cream. Next we headed to the Bob Marley museum (where he lived ) this was a superb part of the day where we met friends of Bob Marley and a load of history and memorabilia. The guide there was also excellent . We finished the tour with a visit to Trench town. Also interesting , then return to the Moon Palace . This was a good value tour and highly recommend this to others .
This was the best organized excursion of our trip to Jamaica. Karen was very professional and knowledgeable regarding Jamaican history. Courtney is a local artist with a wealth of info that goes far deeper than the standard Marley tours. Both Courtney and Karen made my family (including children) feel safe in some of the rougher parts of town. Great experience! Highly recommended!
Lovely day Thank you to our very nice driver Wayne We learnt a lot I recommand this tour Trench town museum and Kingston
A lovely scenic journey from Ocho Rios through the mountains and towns down to Kingston. Our guide for the day when we got to Kingston was Courtney who was very pleasant and very informative and always answered any of your questions. The tour was inspirational for me as I'm a big Bob Marley fan and reggae in general. A great day out.
