Jack no doubt was dismayed that his marauding career was at an end. But, if you’ve got to live in captivity, you can do a lot worse than Negril. For years, this sleepy town languished at the western end of Jamaica. But after the government built a road in 1959, tourists began to trickle in. That trickle turned to a flood in the ‘70s as young Americans and Europeans arrived to tune out and turn on. The counterculture ambiance merely enhanced Negril’s reputation as Jamaica’s lush, laid-back and, at times, licentious center for do-as-you-please vacations.

If you’re looking for fun in the sun, you’ll find it in Negril. The first thing you’ll want to do--indeed, you’ll feel compelled--is to hit the beach. The bow-shaped town hugs Seven Mile Beach, the longest continuous stretch of powdery shore in Jamaica--and one of the Caribbean’s most magnificent. As you stroll along the butterscotch sand, you’ll encounter locals taking a dip, lovers embracing under swaying palms, families enjoying picnics, children splashing in the shallow foam, and, in a few spots, sun worshippers performing their devotions au naturel. Tug off your trunks and join them. Or continue down the shore, past grotto-lined cliffs, until you reach Negril Lighthouse, erected in 1895 at the south end of the beach.

It’s a wheezing hike up the lighthouse’s staircase, but if you stick it out you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views of the bay and the sparkling Caribbean Sea, which seems to stretch to infinity. Beneath those calm, clear ribbons of emerald, teal and turquoise are treasures even more remarkable. Negril is ringed by magnificent coral reefs that nourish and protect a variety of marine creatures: squirrel-fish hiding in crevices overhung with red rope sponge; yellowtail snappers and parrotfish nibbling at the seaweed.