Jamaica???

Anybody on here ever been to Jamaica? I'm going in about three weeks with SWMBO and just looking for any type of tips or suggestions. I'm staying at an all inclusive so pretty much everything is taken care of.

I've been to Jamaica 3-4 times. TAKE SUNSCREEN...also, if you burn easily you can buy aloe almost everywhere to sooth the burn...

You didn't say where in Jamaica you're headed.

It's been a few years since we've been there, but as memory recalls...

At first the people may seem to be really pushy, but they're just trying to "earn a buck". You won't have any problems as long as you are at the resort, but once on the streets you're open game.

Just give them a polite "no, thanks", but be warned it might take 2-10 times before they "go away"...

Ocho Rios is nice enough, but that's where the cruise ships dock.

A "must do" is Dunn's River Falls to make the climb. Quite different walking up a water fall. I've even done it in the rain and it was still somewhat crowded.

Negril has like 7 miles of beaches and most of them are "European-style" meaning topless...even some all nude beaches.

The hotel should have a list of beach parties at Montego Bay...they're OK.

From MB you can take the Appleton Express train into the interior where you'll end up on a sugar cane plantation. The train has a party car (where I spent the entire trip...both ways) where all drinks are free (included with the ticket price) and reggae plays the whole time. There are a few stops along the way, one at a cave, another at a place where women will measure you up for a shirt, woman's bathing suits, etc. If you get there tell them to make them larger than what they measure you for...the train will stop on the way back and they'll find you for payment.

Most of all, have a good time! :rockin:

We're staying at Ocho's Rios. I'm debating doing the Dunns Falls trip but I hate touristy places. We're gonna try to get up to Montego Bay at least once for a dive but don't know for sure. Guess I should have researched the city before booking the trip.

Ochos Rios (8 rivers) is really a shopping place because of the cruise ships, but at night they enjoy a party or 2 so it won't be disappointing.

I liked trying and buying the different hot sauces. They use a lot of Scotch Bonnet peppers. Good flavor.

Been there, to MB. Loved it, take sunscreen, if you are at Sandals they provide you with it and plenty of aloe.

People at the resorts are over the top helpful... the locals are very pushy about selling. If you want to buy something, offer 50% of what they are asking and they will sell it to you, dont pay the asking price.

You will love it, it is a great time, we got married and had our honeymoon there.

Be sure to bring back some Appleton Rum, I am still sipping on mine from 3 years ago.

I'm going to negril in september. sould be a good time, Or at least i hope since i got me seven nights!

Where in Ocho Rios are you staying ?

As with everyone else, sunscreen is a MUST ! Dunn's River is also a must-do. If you go on a resort trip, it shouldn't be too crowded.


BTW, HB_99, Ocho Rios does NOT mean 8 rivers, down there. It's a bartardization of the Arawak name for original name of the place.


Elfmaze...Negril is a PARTY !

You don't like touristy things but you are going to Ocho Rios? Look into Treasure Beach and the Black River boat trips.

My love and I went to Montego Bay a few years back. It was such a blast.
You still have time to do research, and I would suggest doing it. You will have such a great time and there is so much to do, its good to have a plan. Definately, do Ocho Rios, do it all, who knows when you'll be back. The 2 most important pieces of advice: 1. Leave the resort! It's easy to get stuck in the wonderland of the beautiful resort with people waiting on you hand and foot...but there is plenty of time to take advantage of the resort, get out and walk around. The Jamaican people are amazingly kind, hilariously funny, and willing to show you around. They can be pushy though so use your commone sense and be assertive.
2. Eat the local food! It's delicious and like nothing you have had before. You should be able to research places that are good near where you are staying, or the resort staff should be able to tell you there favorite place.
Enjoy every minute...I am so jealous.

Just went to Ochos Rio last November. We stayed at the Riu. Not sure about where you are staying, but bring large COFFEE MUGS. Reason being that while it is all you can drink, they serve you in small 8 oz glasses. There is no beach wait service so if you are hanging out on the beach, you will be getting up every 10 minutes to get a refill unless you BRING LARGE COFFEE MUGS. The bar staff will fill up whatever container you bring them. They sell the coffee mugs in the gift shop but as with all the crap in there, they are extremely over priced.

I second Dunns River falls. It was pretty awesome.

We went from November 24th- Dec 2nd last year. We arrived on a Monday and on Wednesday, there was a note under our door saying we could spend the rest of the week and weekend at the Montego Bay Riu, free of charge, in a like room. We took the deal and got to montego on Thursday and they had no more ocean front rooms so they stuck us some back room with a view of the shanty town. Us, along with numerous others, complained to the manager about getting swindled. They moved us to a ocean front suite (which was awesome) the next night and gave us free scuba diving and a massage. So, if anything like that happens to you, beware.

Dont forget the coffee mugs. I bought the POS ones from the gift shop for like 13 bucks. I would recommend going to 7-11 and buying those massive big gulp cups, but a large water bottle would work just as well.

kjung said:

BTW, HB_99, Ocho Rios does NOT mean 8 rivers, down there. It's a bartardization of the Arawak name for original name of the place.

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Yes, we (you and I) know that, but I'm certain he'll hear the same story we heard...

We're staying at the Sandals Grande. I'll be sure to bring plenty of sunscreen I burn like crazy. Thanks for the tip on the coffee mugs.

My wife and I were just at the Sandals Grande last month for our honeymoon... We were there for a week. It was a great vacation. A few things to keep in mind... Don't plan on drinking much beer that week unless you like Red Stripe, because that's all they serve on the resort. I decided to turn in my man-card and drink a bunch of fruity frozen drinks. I highly recommend the Jamaica Smile, it's equal parts strawberry daq, pina colada, and is topped off with rum cream. They don't have much booze in them, so I bet I drank 15-20 of them each day we were there haha. Also, make sure you take a pair of closed-toe shoes, I only took flip flops and brown leather sandals and several of the restaurants there require men to have closed-toe shoes and long pants. So I ended up having to go into town to buy shoes. I would also recommend taking the shuttle bus over to the Sandals Dunn's River resort for dinner a time or two. There are two really great restaurants over there... There is a Japanese steak house over there that requires reservations, and it fills up several days in advance, so I'd recommend setting up a reservation as soon as you check in. The other nice restaurant over there (i can't think of the name of it) served up an EXCELLENT filet... I had steak at 3 of the restaurants (not counting the Japanese steak house) and the filet I got at that place was the only good steak. The other two places I had steak didn't know how to prepare something medium-rare, they both came out well done.

We did two off-site excursions. We did the Chukka Zip-Line Canopy Tour which was incredible, highly recommended. We also did the Bob Marley party cruise which was a lot of fun as well... The party cruise sails out on their 70 foot catamaran, stops over a shallow-water reef for snorkeling, and then takes you to Dunn's River Falls... Even though you said you don't like tourist traps, I would highly recommend the Falls. Then you sail back to the resort and they open up the bar on the boat and everyone gets drunk. We saw the boat come back in a couple times and they were having to carry people off they were so drunk. Ours didn't get that wild because on the way back there were 6-8 foot swells so it was almost impossible to hold on to a drink without spilling or having it filled up with sea water.

The only downer for our trip was when we went to check out and pay for our incidentals, the guy was like "why didn't you use your spa credit?" and we were like, "what spa credit?". Apparently we had a $250 spa credit that was included as a perk when we booked online, but we didn't know about it. And of course they didn't bother to tell us about it when we checked in. So that really put us in a foul mood, especially since they wouldn't let us use the credit to pay for our incidentals or allow us to transfer it to our next visit.

try this for me i have never had it but want too.

Jersh said:

Don't plan on drinking much beer that week unless you like Red Stripe.

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Man I was so sick of red stripe after our trip. Although when we checked in there was some other local beer in our fridge which was much better then Red Stripe.

Skins_Brew said:

Man I was so sick of red stripe after our trip. Although when we checked in there was some other local beer in our fridge which was much better then Red Stripe.

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Our room was stocked with Carib, which reminded me of Miller Lite

I went to Couples in Sans Souci for our honeymoon in 2004. It was a good time. It's a smaller place and there were no crowds at all. I didn't do a damn thing for 10 days. Sat on the beach, did some water skiing, a bit of snorkeling and drank a lot.

As for beer all they served at the bar was Red Stripe, but if you asked (and slipped a couple bucks to the bartender) he'd go and find all kinds of beer in bottles.

adx-that sounds like a plan, i'll have to slip some money to the help and see if they can bring me something beside red stripe. i don't mind it but i dont' think i can drink just that for a week.

jersh- we looked at the party cruise and are definatly doing that. then going diving on two different days. i'll probably drink plenty of rum while i'm there whether its in frilly drinks or not. thanks for the tip on the shoes and pants.

If you do Dunns River Falls (it's cool) I would avoid the market on the way out. I thought a fight was going to break out. Those dudes will not take no for an answer. Swmbo was very uncomfortable.

Yeah I'll probably do it as part of the party cruise, so probably won't be a bunch of time for the market, specially if there's booze on the boat!

BeerBudha said:

Yeah I'll probably do it as part of the party cruise, so probably won't be a bunch of time for the market, specially if there's booze on the boat!

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Yeah you won't even see the market... And there will be a race to get back to the boat as well, they don't serve booze until after you climb the Falls...

Got back from Jamaica a few days ago. It was great, thanks for the tips you guys gave me. I'll get some pics up later.

Have fun on your honeymoon...

Why not have fun?? Take along a pair of dark sunglasses and a blind person's foldable cane and whip it out when you go out side...the things you could probably get away with...accidentally...

I went to Montego bay with my family a few years back, What I think is so great is how friendly and inviting most of the people are. That isnt to say that there arent a bunch of thugs (there are, the private villa we stayed at had a guard at night, armed with a harpoon gun, what a badass) The impression I got was that the people are incredibly laid back and open to strangers, I didnt get any of that "damn gringos" vibe off of anyone. Check out the markets and try to take a trip up into the hills, the coffee growing area of the country is much less touristy than the coast. You might even run into some regae musicians similar to delta blues musicians, very Diy, and not really into it for the commercial aspect. Eat mangos/papayas.

DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE.

We hired a driver (delroy, coolest mutha you are likely to come across) and ive got to tell you, I know I would have died if I had tried to drive.

Sorry to bring this back from the dead!!

I am heading to Jamaica 3/31-4/6 staying at the Riu in Negril. I definitely plan to try the dragon stout, but also wanted to try to pick up some cigars & some of the Appleton Rum among other souvenirs. My girlfriend is going nuts about me trying to leave the resort, and says they have days where vendors come there to set up shop... I figure they'll jack up the prices a bit, but any idea what kinda stuff shows up??

Also is it super dangerous leaving the resort?
I've heard if you throw the staff $$ they'll also get you what you want, so do you even need to leave?

Any info is appreciated

I stayed in Negril and we walked around from place to place without any hassle. Everyone was relatively relaxed unless they were trying to sell you stuff (mainly on the main beach is where that happened). We did have one lady on the beach try to claim we "robbed" her and she said she was going to get the police but we just walked away. Anyway, I wouldn't be too worried going off the reservation just keep your eyes peeled just in case. Also, there is this banana cream liquer they make there and dear god is it delicious. Just put some of that on the rocks and it is amazing. Hope you have fun!

^ Sangster's brand? If you had the same banana liqueur than yes, that stuff is incredible.