Tourist Offices--Before you go, you can get information from the Jamaica Tourist Board at 1320 S. Dixie Hwy., Suite 1101, Coral Gables, FL 33146 (tel. 800/233-4582 or 305/665-0557).

In Canada contact the office in Toronto at 303 Eglinton Ave. E., Suite 200, Toronto, ON M4P IL3 (tel. 800/465-2624 or 416/482-7850). Brits can contact the London office: 1-2 Prince Consort Rd., London SW7 2BZ (tel. 020/7224-0505; www.visitjamaica.com).

Info on the Web--The Internet is a great source of travel information. Jamaica is on the Internet at www.jamaicatravel.com. In addition, Yahoo (www.yahoo.com), Excite (www.excite.com), Lycos (www.lycos.com), Infoseek (www.infoseek.com), and the other major Internet indexing sites all have subcategories for travel, country/regional information, and culture-click on all three for links to travel-related websites.

Other good clearinghouse sites for information are Microsoft Expedia (www.expedia.com), Travelocity (www.travelocity.com), and Travelweb (www.travelweb.com).

You might also check out "The Unofficial Website on Jamaica" (www.jamaicans.com), the best all-around site, with some good pointers, cultural tidbits, a patois primer, and plenty of humor. This is one of the few Jamaica Web pages that isn't either a blatant ad or just somebody's home page with a few vacation pictures.

Travel Agents--Travel agents can save you plenty of time and money by steering you toward the best package deals, hunting down the best airfare for your route, and arranging for cruises and rental cars. Airlines have cut commissions, though, and most agents have to charge a service fee to hold the bottom line. Agents don't get the same rates from all hotels-many have special deals with particular hotels that they do a lot of business with. So if one agent turns you down on a hotel, another may still be able to get you a room, and at a different price. In the worst instances, unscrupulous agents will offer you only travel options that bag them the juiciest commissions. Shop around and ask hard questions-use this book to become an informed consumer.

If you decide to use a travel agent, make sure the agent is a member of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), 1101 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314 (tel. 703/739-8739; www.astanet.com). If you send a self-addressed stamped envelope, ASTA will mail you the free booklet Avoiding Travel Problems. If you get poor service from an ASTA agent, you can write to the ASTA Consumer Affairs Department at the address and phone number above.

You may also want to contact the U.S. State Department for background bulletins, which supply up-to-date information on crime, health concerns, import restrictions, and other travel matters. Write the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 (tel. 202/512-1800).

Destination Jamaica: Red-Alert Checklist

If you purchased traveler's checks, have you recorded the check numbers and stored the documentation separately from the checks?

Did you pack your camera and an extra set of camera batteries, and purchase enough film? If you packed film in your checked baggage, did you invest in protective pouches to shield film from airport X-rays?

Do you have a safe, accessible place to store money?

Did you bring your ID cards that could entitle you to discounts, such as AAA and AARP cards, student IDs, and so on?

Did you bring emergency drug prescriptions and extra glasses and/or contact lenses?

Do you have your credit card PINs?

If you have an E-ticket, do you have documentation?

Did you leave a copy of your itinerary with someone at home?

Did you check to see if any travel advisories have been issued by the U.S. State Department (http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html) regarding Jamaica?

Do you have the address and phone number of your country's embassy with you?