Jamaica Trip

[GunninGopher]

Wifey and I will be splitting 10 days between Couples Sans Soucci (Ocho Rios) and Couples Swept Away (Negril) in October.
We love the all inclusive thing, and have done it for years in the carribean, but we always head out and see some local stuff. Any suggestions?

[jbone]

Stay in areas where there are plenty of other tourists. I found the peolpe to be extremely friendly and very respectful, but I did not test the back alleys.
If you do the Dunn's River Falls, (Ocho Rios) try to find a time when it won't be crowded. It is very beautiful, but the crowds can take away from that.
Even though they have a reputation for pot, and I know it was there, I was only offered to buy it once, and that was at the airport.
Also, when I was there, (13 yrs ago) you more than doubled your money when exchanging on the black market. This is illegal down there, so I had a friend exchane some for me when he did. I was affraid I'd get locked up forever.
Have fun.
J

[drejustice]

When your at Couples (negril) head off-site to Xtabi for a great lobster dinner.
http://www.xtabi-negril.com/restaurant.htm it on the cliffs over looking the water. Great food.

[Opinionated]

We went on the Bob Marley tour when we stayed at Ocho Rios. Got to go to his house, which is now a Bob museum and that was really cool. That was our favorite part of the trip. You can go to Dunns River falls and that's pretty cool, and there is always the booze cruise where they get you hammered and take you snorkling :D

[ACEB36TC]

I`ve Been To Jamaica At Least Fifteen Times. Our Fav To Be Sure. If You Play Golf By All Means Play The "white Witch" In Mo-bay. It`s Part Of The Ritz-carlton. Most Fabulous Course I`ve Ever Played. There Is Also A Good Course In Ocho.
As For Shopping Skip It All . Except For A Watch. Jamaica Has The Best Deals I`ve Ever Found For Watches. Just Find The Watch You Want Here, Price It, And Bargain Like A Mad Man When You`re In The Watch Shop. The Best One Is In The Shopping Village At "the Half Moon Club" Just Five Minutes East Of Mo-bay.
You Must Do Dunn`s River Falls But As Mentioned Above Try To Go On An Uncrowded Day. Look In The Harbor In Ocho And If You See Cruise Ships Pick Another Day. There Is A Site On The Net Which Tells The Cruise (port) Days For All The Islands.
Do ,with Out Fail, Stop At "scotchies" For Jerk Chicken. It Is About Three Miles East Of Mo-bay On The South Side Of The Road. Looks Like A Dive. Dive In.
If You Rent A Car Try Your Best To Get To Port Antonio Which Is About An Hour East Of Ocho. Beautiful. Do The Lunch At "noel Cowards" Home.
We`ve Never Had A Problem Anywhere We`ve Gone In Jamaica. Do Not Go To Kingston However. If You Show Respect You`ll Get It In Return. These People Are Very Poor And Anyone With A Job At Your Resort Is Considered Upper Middle Class. Any Job.
Be Very Careful Of The Mixed Drinks As Rum Is Less Expensive Than Any Type Of Soda And The Resulting Drinks Are Quite Potent.
If You Are Just Dying To Get Stoned Buy It From Your Room Service Person Or The Fellow Who Takes You To Your Room. Do Not Leave Your Room With Anything Illegal On Your Person.
Another Afternoon Or Morning Could Be "shaw Park Gardens". Beutiful Flora And Flowers. It Is A Quick Ride From Your Resort In Ocho.
We`ve Never Been To Negril So No Help There. By The Way Renting A Villa With Full Staff Has Become Our Favorite Way To Spend Time In Jamaica. Truly Ocean Front Homes With Full Meals And Maid And Gardener Can Be Had For As Little As $2000/week. Most Of The Villas Are At Least Three Bedrooms And Some Have 10 Or More. The Villa Companies Will Rent You Just As Many Rooms As You Need And The Price When Shared With Others Gets Very Inexpensive.
One Other Thing. Slow Way Way Way Down Before You Get Off The Plane. These People Do Not Use The Word Hurry.
In Ocho At Many Bars There Are Internet Rentals. Very Cheap And Easy. Most Of The Food Off Site From Your Resort Is Fine Particularly The Seafood. It Was Caught The Day You Eat It.
Have Fun

[a catered life]

We went on the Bob Marley tour when we stayed at Ocho Rios. Got to go to his house, which is now a Bob museum and that was really cool. That was our favorite part of the trip. You can go to Dunns River falls and that's pretty cool, and there is always the booze cruise where they get you hammered and take you snorkling :D
that was the bomb:D we have been twice and on our second trip we found local friends we had meet on our first trip so we had a party experience that was totally different than any tourist could ask for...
all i can say is have fun and do all the things the island has to offer...ps if your all-inclusive drink the top of the line stuff:D
also i dont know the name but in MO bay right across the street from the holiday in sun spree there a little smokey hut its the best dam jerk fish and chicken you will find on the island....enjoy

[Opinionated]

that was the bomb:D we have been twice and on our second trip we found local friends we had meet on our first trip so we had a party experience that was totally different than any tourist could ask for...
all i can say is have fun and do all the things the island has to offer...ps if your all-inclusive drink the top of the line stuff:D
also i dont know the name but in MO bay right across the street from the holiday in sun spree there a little smokey hut its the best dam jerk fish and chicken you will find on the island....enjoy
Yeah, I think I was more into the culture than the sightseeing thing. We ventured into Kingston and had no truoble at all. We even gave a group of kids a dollar a piece and they were unbelievably shocked and happy. We kept minimal money on us, never more than $50 at a time when we were in the city. If anyone tried to rob us, we would have just handed it over. I met some of the kindest, most laid back people ever there. It's definitely a different lifestyle over there, but the majority of the people are way cool.

[GunninGopher]

Great advice, keep it coming!!!
We are going to take a cab between Ocho Rios and Negril, so if there is anything interesting in between I'd like to hear it.

[Screaming Pete]

Do you like Rum monn!!! then go see the appleton distillery, and bring back a couple bottles for me!!!! there less than 10$ a bottle ..........Coffee jamacian bleu is the best coffee in the world i think so if your a coffee drinker don't forget that about 10$ a pound there and you can't even touch it for that here. sandals nigril has a shack on the beach a great place to spend the day. we took a jeep tour it down poured all day so it was fun. also the local og's make there own rum (shine) overproof DRINK Slowly very strong.....Have a great time and pack an extra liver.........LOL:D

[Screaming Pete]

Great advice, keep it coming!!!
We are going to take a cab between Ocho Rios and Negril, so if there is anything interesting in between I'd like to hear it.
the Joy of a cab ride, O MY GOD hang on!!!!!! and it's on the wrong side of the road.......most of the resorts run there own shuttles so i'd take them there free. and the cabs will work ya!!! and also everyone will want to sell you Gonja mon. Weed Mary jane...........but be awere cops follow them guy and will work you too.

[GunninGopher]

the Joy of a cab ride, O MY GOD hang on!!!!!! and it's on the wrong side of the road.......most of the resorts run there own shuttles so i'd take them there free. and the cabs will work ya!!! and also everyone will want to sell you Gonja mon. Weed Mary jane...........but be awere cops follow them guy and will work you too.
I haven't smoked weed since I was 18. Puts me to sleep and I'd rather stay awake.
We're thinking about a cab because we thought it would be a cool way to see some stuff between the resorts. If we take the resort shuttle the only place we'll stop on the way is the airport.

[Screaming Pete]

me either on the weed just letting you know how it is down there

[a catered life]

I haven't smoked weed since I was 18. Puts me to sleep and I'd rather stay awake.
We're thinking about a cab because we thought it would be a cool way to see some stuff between the resorts. If we take the resort shuttle the only place we'll stop on the way is the airport.
when i get home today i will post the name and number of our driver we had for 10 days..great guy and very professional

[ACEB36TC]

You`re Taking A Cab? At Least Take One Of The Mini-vans From Ocho To Negril. This Ride Will Be About 5 Hours. No Shit. Wear Your Bathing Suit And Stop By Jimmy Buffets Place In Mo-bay . It Is Directly On Your Way. Have A Drink And Ride The Slide!!!!! Also "schotchies" Is The Name Of The Jerk Chicken Place. Do Not Miss It. Just Tell The Driver. He`ll Know It. Your Driver Should Mention A Lot Of History On The Way. Very Interesting About The James Bond Flick Filmed There. Just Before You Get To Mo-bay Ask The Driver To Take You Up The Hill To The White Witch Golf Course. Even If You Don`t Play The Views Are Wonderful. Also The Half Moon Club Has A Wonderful Spa On Site. They Accept Non-guests If You Prepay With A Card. It Will Make The Trip Much Better. Another Easy Deal Is The Submarine /snorkel Trip In Mo-bay. You Can Easilty Do This On Your Way. The Driver Will Help With The Deal. You Could Even Make Dunn`s River On Your Travel Day. It`s Fresh Water And You`ll Be Totally Dry Before You Get Back In The Van.

[ACEB36TC]

We Will Be Just West Of Mo-bay The First Week In October. You`ll Pass Less Than A Third Of A Mile From Where We`re Staying.

[GunninGopher]

You`re Taking A Cab? At Least Take One Of The Mini-vans From Ocho To Negril. This Ride Will Be About 5 Hours. No Shit.
I wasn't sure about a cab. Catered Life's driver sounds like it might be a good idea. I was trying to get an idea of the route between the resorts. It looks like about 80 miles in a straight line, but I guess we'll be driving the coast and I'll bet the roads are terrible, right?
Thanks for the tips on things to do. I'm going to be bumping this thread all month and next!!

[Havasu1986]

I wasn't sure about a cab. Catered Life's driver sounds like it might be a good idea. I was trying to get an idea of the route between the resorts. It looks like about 80 miles in a straight line, but I guess we'll be driving the coast and I'll bet the roads are terrible, right?
Thanks for the tips on things to do. I'm going to be bumping this thread all month and next!!
I stayed in Sandals Ocho Rios and Sandals Negril. Loved both places and beaches. The airport is in Montego Bay. Its about 2 hours to O.R. and 2 hours the other way to Negril. The road to Negril has been improved, but the road to O.R. is a little bumpy. If you get car sick I would sit in front of the bus. I think there are flights from O.R. to Negril that you may want to look into.

[Havasu1986]

Wifey and I will be splitting 10 days between Couples Sans Soucci (Ocho Rios) and Couples Swept Away (Negril) in October.
We love the all inclusive thing, and have done it for years in the carribean, but we always head out and see some local stuff. Any suggestions?
I hope you bought hurricane insurance, because Jamaica may get slammed tomorrow. :(

[Mattman]

Ah yes, the days of drinking Red Stripe and sitting in Dunes River Falls all while you get solicited to buy dope. Had a blast.:)

[GunninGopher]

I hope you bought hurricane insurance, because Jamaica may get slammed tomorrow. :(
Uh Oh!!
I'm sure they'll at least get a new shipment of Red Stripe before we go, so I'll be cool either way!!
All Inclusive is great if you are a drinker. I can rack up a $100 bar tab easy if I'm just kicking it by a pool all day.