Where can I buy a phone and also get service?
I would prefer to buy minutes rather than a plan, as there will be months where I would not use the phone at all. Is this possible?

And also, could a phone be rented instead for a month or so?
Thanks

We bought an inexpensive phone from Digicel (can't remember where though sorry) and it came with some free credit. We just use it each time we visit. We leave it with some money with a friend who from time to time puts credit on and uses it. If you don't use it for a certain period of time,it cuts off.
Suits us fine.

If staying for a short period you can rent a phone at the airport. Better to follow ukgirl example and buy a phone for about 2500J at any digicell office and leave the phone with a trusted friend between visits. Works for me, too.

you can buy phone from digicel offices in black river are southfield they are now now sale for as low as $1,750 +tax and $200 free credit sales ends in november.

Phones are available for purchase in Negril or Mandeville. If you are an American and have an unlocked phone that uses a SIM card and is GSM compatible, all you have to do is buy a Digicel SIM card and buy minutes. Unlocking a phone cost me about $35.00 USD
An unlocked, GSM compatible phone can be used in numerous countries such as China or Mexico. Ebay has tons of them for $75.00 or less.

Buy a simple cellphone in Jamaica. You then pay for a phone card in a variety of denominations and charge up your phone. This works for local and long distance calls. The phone needs to have more money added to it a minimum of every 90 days or you'll lose your phone number and have to buy another chip (SIM card) with a new phone number. If you use Digicel they have an excellent rate for overseas calls that's good for 30 days from when you charge up your phone; to do this, you need to buy a special phone card to charge up your phone, but if you plan to talk for maybe an hour or more while you're there it's a great deal.

Thanks for everyones help. One last question.
If I buy a phone throuogh Degicel in Black River for example, but my friend who I leave mt phone with moves to Montego Bay, can he add minutes at a different office than where it was purchased?
Thanks.

Yes,you can buy digicel credit in lots of places.We buy ours at the little shop opposite what was Morris's place in TB.You just enter the voucher number and your credit gets added.

Greg, the cards are available throughout Jamaica. Instead of cards some places sell little computer printout strips that look like a receipt from a store. These tend to be a little less expensive than the cards but are not available in as many places as the cards. When either the cards or computer printout strips are bought you use the serial numbers on them to add the money to the phone. You do this yourself. It is not done by the place where you buy them. It DOES NOT matter where the minutes are bought.

The cheapest phone I saw in JA was 3,000$ then you have to buy the chip for 600$. The chip used to come with the phone but not anymore.

I have tried it all ways. Left my phone there but the person forgot to charge it; another I left and it got damp, another my man decided he wanted it for himself!!

In the end I bought a cheap triband phone from Carphone Warehouse, as none of their phones are blocked, bought a chip in JA and bring it home with me to the UK and now just put some credit on it every so often via the internet (Ezetop). I could just buy a new chip everytime I go out as it would be cheaper but I like having my own number. I also like the fact that I can contact/ring as soon as I land in JA.

I do though go approx every 5 months!

Same here Jean, If you phone with a digicel chip, you can add minutes to it online from home. In between trips I'd add a couple bucks to it so when I arrived, I had a whole bunch of minutes on the phone. =)

The trick is to not get drunk and lose your phone

-sigh-

Heres a question for anyone who might have tried...

I bought an unlocked dual sim phone from ebay recently. In theory, I should be able to put in a digicel chip when I arrive. It is working with my home sim... crossing fingers on the digicel one.