50th birthday , Off to Jamaica , advice please
Discussion
Real shot out of the blue , my eldest daughter surprised me last night when she said my impending 50th birthday present was a week in Jamaica all inclusive for 2
Got really emotional as you do , Anyway seeing as we will be there for 7 days any do's & dont's & things we should maybe do or visit ?
off in 2 weeks , What a fabulous present eh,
Got really emotional as you do , Anyway seeing as we will be there for 7 days any do's & dont's & things we should maybe do or visit ?
off in 2 weeks , What a fabulous present eh,
Very nice indeed.
The things I enjoyed most were:
Climbing Duns River Falls
Wife Swimming with dolphins and sharks at Ocho Rios
Ricks Cafe and the sunsets
The Jamaican people - no hassle, just really decent folks scarping a living. They do not hassle you like we get from props offering s
t in Europe.
The chill of it all. No problem! Irie!
We did not go to the more dodgy areas, or the Marley museums and similar stuff. I will leave others to comment on those.
By the way, Ganja is actually illegal in Jamaica to. It's not that the guys taking you by bus from the airport to your resort, or hiring out Jetskis are selling it out of the boot or anything...
enjoy.
The things I enjoyed most were:
Climbing Duns River Falls
Wife Swimming with dolphins and sharks at Ocho Rios
Ricks Cafe and the sunsets
The Jamaican people - no hassle, just really decent folks scarping a living. They do not hassle you like we get from props offering s
t in Europe.The chill of it all. No problem! Irie!
We did not go to the more dodgy areas, or the Marley museums and similar stuff. I will leave others to comment on those.
By the way, Ganja is actually illegal in Jamaica to. It's not that the guys taking you by bus from the airport to your resort, or hiring out Jetskis are selling it out of the boot or anything...
enjoy.
Frog Dog said:
Where in Jamaica are you going? I was in negril for 3 weeks last year.
We spent most of it in the beach/by the pool. Ricks cafe was cool.
Have a great trip
Were off to Negril beach , sunset of the palms i think she said , looks amazing We spent most of it in the beach/by the pool. Ricks cafe was cool.
Have a great trip
plenty of googling for me until we go
Ricks cafe ?
thanks for the replies btw
Jamaica is a big place, can you narrow it down?
I've only stayed in Negril, which has a very relaxed atmosphere and 7miles of white sandy beach. i would go again in an instant. Mo Bay and Ochos Rios are much more developed, Ochos Rios is a pure tourist development. There are hawkers and guys trying to sell you weed etc., but a strict 'no thanks' is sufficient and there are 'tourist police' around.
You can hire a car and driver very reasonably, cheaper than hiring a car sometimes with the bonus of local knowledge. 6 of us hired a minubus and driver for $20 each and he took us on a tour of the south of the island, stopping at waterfalls, scenic spots, rum distilleries etc. We also went croc spotting by boat.
We went to Kingston by public transport. The tour rep wanted $160 each for a day trip, we spent half that between us for 2days including a night in a Kingston hotel. We went to Marley's house, some of the parks nearby, to Port Royal etc. Maybe the bus isn't for you though, it's a good old drive and there will be 30odd of you in an 18seat bus. It did make for an interesting journey, with us and the locals providing mutual entertainment as very few westerners travel this way.
The Blue Mountains are also worth a day or two exploring. Very relaxed pace and stunning scenery.
Eat plenty and often, the food is really rather fantastic. A good start to the day for is banana pancakes, fresh blue mountain coffee, and a cheeky J before hitting the beach Lobster is good and cheap, as is most seafood and, of course, jerk chicken.
One tip is that a taxi driver will naturally ask you if this is your first time in Jamaica. Tell him you go every year, as otherwise the fair will be much higher.
Oh, and if you like reggae, see what gigs are on. I saw Toots & the Maytals play a bar on the beach, much better than seeing them in rain soaked Glastonbury a few months later!
I've only stayed in Negril, which has a very relaxed atmosphere and 7miles of white sandy beach. i would go again in an instant. Mo Bay and Ochos Rios are much more developed, Ochos Rios is a pure tourist development. There are hawkers and guys trying to sell you weed etc., but a strict 'no thanks' is sufficient and there are 'tourist police' around.
You can hire a car and driver very reasonably, cheaper than hiring a car sometimes with the bonus of local knowledge. 6 of us hired a minubus and driver for $20 each and he took us on a tour of the south of the island, stopping at waterfalls, scenic spots, rum distilleries etc. We also went croc spotting by boat.
We went to Kingston by public transport. The tour rep wanted $160 each for a day trip, we spent half that between us for 2days including a night in a Kingston hotel. We went to Marley's house, some of the parks nearby, to Port Royal etc. Maybe the bus isn't for you though, it's a good old drive and there will be 30odd of you in an 18seat bus. It did make for an interesting journey, with us and the locals providing mutual entertainment as very few westerners travel this way.
The Blue Mountains are also worth a day or two exploring. Very relaxed pace and stunning scenery.
Eat plenty and often, the food is really rather fantastic. A good start to the day for is banana pancakes, fresh blue mountain coffee, and a cheeky J before hitting the beach
Lobster is good and cheap, as is most seafood and, of course, jerk chicken.One tip is that a taxi driver will naturally ask you if this is your first time in Jamaica. Tell him you go every year, as otherwise the fair will be much higher.
Oh, and if you like reggae, see what gigs are on. I saw Toots & the Maytals play a bar on the beach, much better than seeing them in rain soaked Glastonbury a few months later!
Black can man said:
Were off to Negril beach , sunset of the palms i think she said , looks amazing
sorry, i took a call before posting, didn't see this!if you look at google maps, there's a stretch of beach between the palms and the hotel riu. this is a stunning beach, quiet and where locals often go. there's a shack in the clearing just north of your hotel that sells bbq food - mainly whatever has been plucked from the sea that morning. i recommend it
I'm off to Falmouth for 2 weeks all inclusive on Monday and am looking forward to it immensely.
Do you research and decide what you want to do. Have a look here and see others peoples comments on stuff to do/not to do etc. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g147313-Negri...
Don't forget camouflage clothing is illegal in any form over there...
Do you research and decide what you want to do. Have a look here and see others peoples comments on stuff to do/not to do etc. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g147313-Negri...
Don't forget camouflage clothing is illegal in any form over there...
It's a big place, don't think you'll get to see 'it all' roads are poor and it's very slow going in the mountains. Dunns river falls climb is the only 'must do' I think (been twice).
Get a tourist map at the airport and pick places to go on day trips in a hire car that float your boat - everyone's different, if you like caves you can see them, if you want to go in to the jungle you can go on a tour etc.
I'd hire a car and go exploring, Browns town and similar in land, in the mountains is where you'll see the 'real' Jamaica - you also won't see any other tourists and you'll be quite a novelty as people don't expect tourists in these areas.
Are you safe or not in these areas, the hotels will say NO, however I felt fine and had no issues in my hire fiesta with the Mrs in tow.
Ricks cafe jumpers / divers are worth seeing but it's a complete tourist trap. Infact most of the Coastal areas near good beaches are just full of hotels and tourists.
Hiring a car, get one from the airports big firms, fraction of the price hotels will tell you car hire costs.
Get a tourist map at the airport and pick places to go on day trips in a hire car that float your boat - everyone's different, if you like caves you can see them, if you want to go in to the jungle you can go on a tour etc.
I'd hire a car and go exploring, Browns town and similar in land, in the mountains is where you'll see the 'real' Jamaica - you also won't see any other tourists and you'll be quite a novelty as people don't expect tourists in these areas.
Are you safe or not in these areas, the hotels will say NO, however I felt fine and had no issues in my hire fiesta with the Mrs in tow.
Ricks cafe jumpers / divers are worth seeing but it's a complete tourist trap. Infact most of the Coastal areas near good beaches are just full of hotels and tourists.
Hiring a car, get one from the airports big firms, fraction of the price hotels will tell you car hire costs.
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