Hardly a resort at all, Runaway Bay comprises a few shops, restaurants, bars and hotels strung along the coast road for about 4 mls, with good sandy beaches on one side and hills on the other.

Suits middlemarket and budget-conscious families, groups and couples looking for sun and sea in a quieter locale but still within reach of the bigger centres of Ocho Rios and Montego Bay.

Mainly hotel accommodation, with all-inclusives ruling the roost; many adult-only operations although some family-friendly options. A few apartments and villas for more independent types.

Good, although not as fine as those farther E and W, and mainly in smaller, sandy sections and coves rather than long, sweeping stretches. Some have dark sand, some rocky outcrops. Gently shelving and generally safe for swimming. It's best to stay near the hotel beach area, as unsavoury characters sometimes haunt the less-populated public beach areas.

Very basic opportunities. The larger hotels have boutiques and duty-free shopping. Local markets are good for crafts and souvenirs, as are the small shops and complexes in the area. Ocho Rios and Montego Bay offer far more for the serious shopper.

Daytime: water sports including windsurfing, snorkelling and scuba diving (there is an offshore wreck) but you will not find many motorised water sports; fishing; 18-hole golf course; tennis at some hotels. Nightlife: mainly hotel based.

The few local restaurants serve spicy Jamaican dishes, with seafood a favourite. Most hotels will accommodate nonresidents for dinner - again, seafood and Jamaican dishes predominate but international choices are also on offer including Italian, oriental and French.

Local buses ply the coast road (from Kingston to Negril) but run to no particular schedule and are usually overcrowded. Most hotels will provide transfers for guests. Car hire and bike rental recommended.

Half day: plantation and great house tours, including Prospect, Brimmer Hall, Seville or Sun Valley; Chukka Cove, an equestrian facility offering riding lessons, trail rides and polo matches as well as river "tubing" and mountain biking. Full day: Montego Bay or Ocho Rios for shopping; Green Grotto caves; Dunn's River Falls; Fern Gully, a 3-ml road along what was once a river, lined with hundreds of species of fern; Dolphin Cove to swim with dolphins; Bob Marley Mausoleum, inland at Nine Miles; Kingston for sightseeing.

On the N coast, 20 mls W of Ocho Rios. 50 mls E of Montego Bay and Sir Donald Sangster international airport.

On the coastal highway between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. Forested, gently sloping hills form a backdrop to the area.

Airport : Sangster
Airport Code: MBJ
Flight time from ther U.K.: 10 hrs