Jamaica Suggestions

[jdb]

We are looking to take a trip to Jamaica in the spring and was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions on an all inclusive place to stay?

[Scottri]

My only suggestion would be to not go. I was there for 2 weeks and hated it. The diving sucked and I got tired of people bothering me all the time to buy pot and other crap.


Scott

[jdb]

You are the second person to tell me that about every one trying to sell you something. The diving, was it the water or the service that sucked?

[Cherry]

Its been many years like 20 or so for me but Negril was a great area and while I only did the hotel course and didnt have anything to compare it to the diving was good with quite a few rays. If you are single and want to "hook up" try hedonism 2 or the Grand Lido next door. nude volley ball in the pool at midnight :) shhhh dont tell mrs cherry. Go online and check out the Negril web page for a few other options ...like the Jungle house rooms rite on the beach...

things may have changed but like the song says...

doan worry...bout a ting ....every little ting gonna be alrite

[hcs3]

if you're going strcitly for diving, jamaica is not the best option.

i have dove negril on 2 vacations for about a total of 20 - 24 dives. to get into decent diving, you have to go below 80 foot. 100 - 120 feet was pretty good, in fact, and i look forward to doing it again. at least IMO. i felt the dives in 40 - 60 feet were only OK, but some sites showed sings of damage from divers. 30 feet and shallower was boring. too many new divers kicking corals. not much was growing.

no large fish. jamiaca still spear-fishes and uses traps to catch fish for a large supply of their food source. you will see a ton of small fish, but nothing of decent size. most fish seem to be afraid of divers as well, except for the damsels, etc. if you want to see huge groupers, etc., jamiaca is not the place for you.

in regards to the resorts, most are excellent. one thing jamaica knows is how to have a good time. jamiacans are also the friendliest people i have ever met in my life. everything is "no problem." we have stayed in the sandals negril twice and loved it. they go out of their way to be friendly. the dive team was out of this world.

if you don't enjoy good pot, say no thanks and keep walking. they only ask once. if you show any interest at all, they will ask several times.

when buying anything on the island, try to pay 1/3 the price they originally ask.

HTH

henry

[hcs3]

here is a link to the photos i took while diving in negril. i have horrible photography skills and crappy equipment, so i apoligize for the quality. still, you get a good idea of what you will see in negril.

link (http://www.saltyendeavors.homestead.com/scubadiving.html)

HTH

henry

[Tim Ingersoll]

We were in Ocho Rios several years ago. We stayed at the Sans Souci Lido Resort. All inclusive. Very nice, romantic, quiet. I would recommend it. The diving sucked. There was a decent little wreck near the resort and some decent shallow dives. No fish bigger than your middle finger. The guide got really excited about a tiny barracuda. He nearly pulled my fin off trying to get my attention and then seemed put out that I didn't get excited too.

[AllenG]

I've yet to hear anyone speak favorably of any aspect of a trip to Jamaica other than arriving back home. From crime to overly persistent and intrusive sales people to isolation at one's resort to poor service, Jamaica seems to be a bad choice.

[CGoheen]

I just came back from a week at "Breezes" in Montego Bay. Currently it is winter so it rained several days. On rainy days it's tough to get any water activity going. Visibilty seems to disappear to less than 10 feet and the water sports pretty much close shop to wait for better visibility. I dove with Recreational Divers Inc located at the Holiday Inn in Montego Bay. My hotel made the arrangements and it cost me about $40 US a dive. Depending on the day the visibility was from 10-30 feet. That is considered poor for Jamaica, but for an Atlantic Coast and quarry diver that's okay. The water temp was about 75 and there was differing acquatic life (Large crab, small crab, sea cucumbers, tropical fish, puffer fish, moray eels, etc). There was also various coral formations.

I like diving, so for the most part I liked the dives. The down side is that we were only 2 passengers on a 10 diver boat. (As an aside, that's the way it goes when you don't go with a large group - you become passengers on somebody else's dive adventure)The others were trainees, so the boat went where the trainees went. And since you have to be with a Jamaican guide, you went pretty much where the trainees went as they followed the guide. After each dive the boat went back to the pier (maybe 10min ride) and the tanks were unloaded and then refilled. So, you had a top side interval 1 hour to 2.5 hours as they refilled tanks and did pool training for the next batch. The air is not filtered like many shops do in the US, and no NITROX fills were available. Then the boat was reloaded and back out to another site nearby. We saw Chubb reef from several different points, and the "sea wall" (although it goes down to 130 feet we only were guided down to 51 feet).

I had hoped to go see Widow Maker and several other "famous" sites, but I didn't do enough research before I went to find some dive shop that wasn't tied to a training regime.

hcs3 gave a good summary of the Jamaican's in general. They want to sell you anything. I just said no and they left me alone. Cuban cigars are cheaper at the Airport as is the best rum. Buy it when you are leaving.

As far as the hotel goes, it was great. Good food, lots of really fun visitors from all over the world, free snorkleing, wind sailing, sailing, kayaking. The resort staff went out of their way to make sure we were having fun, even when it rained.

If you have questions, please ask.

[caymaniac]

I've had friends that have gone and will never go back. Is it because they advertise? The diving is no good. The people try to rip you off. My brother and his wife went and were robbed. My Dad and Mom went and they were robbed. How do you like being hasseled about going to parties to do drugs to have prostitutes? I guess if this is something you like ..........go.

Caymaniac :eek:

[hcs3]

doesn't matter if you're in the states, or jamaica. if you are looking for trouble, it will always find you...

[Hop Devil]

Jamiaca gets a bad rap. Yea, the diving is so-so at best but if you live with a non-diver anything that is warm and wet looks good.
Especially if you're used to cold water low vis diving.
The diving with the all inclusives is the same. Load up boat with 8 or 10 resort divers, go out for a 30 minute dive and come back.
The all-inclusives are fine though if you just want to kick back eat and relax. I've been to Sandals Ocho Rio's twice, Sandals Negril, Breezes Runaway Bay and Holiday Inn Montego Bay.
I actually enjoyed the diving at the Holiday Innn but it was not included in the package, hence they took you to some pretty good reefs. Like most of the others say here you won't see much marine life but to me any diving beats no diving. By the way the only way to do Jamaica is all-inclusive and don't leave the resort.
good luck email with any questions.

[DocVikingo]

.... Caribbean to chose from, Jamaica would be about the last place to go.

Sorry.

DocVikingo

[Tim Ingersoll]

Amen Doc. :rolleyes:

[AzSnake]

My wife and I took our honeymoon at Sandels Dunns River. The diving IMO was a 6 or 7 out of 10. (at least on my scale. Haven't been to GBR or Belize yet) The resort was GREAT, food was good and the people were very nice. Hint.... If you stay on your all inclusive resort you won' get robbed, you won't get hassled, you will have a good time. The diving isn't good enough for me to go back just for that but the overall package for me and my wife was great and absolutely worth it. The resort dive was a 6 but the private dive operation that took my wife and me out took us to a very nice shelf which had a ton of turtles, sharks, rays, etc.

[Tim Ingersoll]

If that was a 6 or 7 what do you consider a 2 or 3? The bathtub?

[Kat]

It depends on what/who's in the tub;)

[Tim Ingersoll]

You're right. I retract my nasty comment. :)

[MercutioATC]

It's true that you'll be approached by nearly everybody trying to sell things. All you have to do is smile and say "no, thank you" and they smile and go away. Jamaican people are mainly very friendly and very poor. Thy're not obnoxious, but you're generally carrying in your pocket what they make in 2 or 3 months. Sure, they'll try to sell you something for a few dollars, but I've never had anybody there press when I said no.

Also, should you want an item they're offering, always haggle for it. They never expect you to pay full price and it adds to the experience. Judging from the experiences my sister had there, this works better if you're female :)

[Juls64]

We were at Beaches Negril (owned by Sandals buts allows kids) in 2000.
All inclusive. Did the resort course and thats where we got bit by the scuba bug.

For just adults, look into Sandals Negril or Swept Away (owned by Couples) also in Negril.

Good luck and don't get discouraged. Beach is nice and no sand fleas. If you want more than just diving, it can be a fantastic place.


Juls=-)

[strdive]

Concerning Jamacia, I was in Negril over Xmas and New Year,,Negril Scuba Center is the best,,the diving is below average but if you have your heart set on Jam. go to Negril but you have to be into roughing it diving wise and enjoy the local color ...cool place if you know the ropes.

[peterjmaerz]

My two cents:

Unfortunately, my experience in Negril was one of being relentlessly badgered, harassed, cajoled, and implored to buy anything from dope to women (!) to beaded hair, etc. etc. I've travelled quite a bit and I try to do everything in my power to avoid being the Ugly American. I fully understand folks' need to survive and make a living any way they can. I fully respect each person's right to my full attention, eye contact and interaction when approached. I and my buddy, when accosted, would smile broadly, hear out the hawker, politely *thank* the person for their solicitation, decline and attempt to break off the contact. This seemed totally ineffective: the soliciting person continued unrelentingly to offer their wares, even pursuing us as we were forced to rudely stroll away up the beach, badgering us behind our backs.
In trips to bleakly poverty-stricken St. Vincent, not much better off Dominica, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, Belize, Bonaire, Caymans, etc. etc, I've never encountered anything remotely close to the harassment I found in Negril. On the contrary, in most cases, I found it a pleasure to interact with the local folks (even to the extent of being invited to dinner with a Dominican family after offering a ride to a hitchhiking school girl.) I've purchased some really cool artifacts from local artisans who, while determined salesmen/women, were never abusive. The Negril experience totally soured me on any thought of returning to a physically beautiful island.
The diving...well, OK, with a fair sampling of the usual Caribbean suspects, but no comparison to the above mentioned locales.
But, hey, the beauty of travel is that each person's experience is unique. All I can do is offer mine.

[crance]

Jamaica gets a bad rap but visitors need to use a little common sense. The Europeans love to go there but they are much better travellers than North Americans and understand what it really means to travel to a Third World country.

You wanted to go to an all inclusive but you didnt state whether you are single, couple, or a family.

For an out going party type single person, try Hedonism. Otherwise try Swept Away, Club Caribbean, Breezes Runaway Bay.

For a couple, try Couples Hotel, Sans Souci, Braco and any of the sandals Resorts. couples.com sandals.com superclubs.com

For Family, try FDR Hotel in Runaway Bay. fdrfamily.com

Jamaica does too have good diving you just have to know where to dive. Runaway Bay is a great area to dive in for all types of divers. I leave Negril to beginners. Port antonia is also great. Try Lady G'Diver (sp?) you will have to do a bit of research to find somewhere to stay near to her dive shop. http://www.3routes.com/ca/jama/0937.html

NITROX is too available in Jamaica from Jamaica SCUBA Divers. They are the only one that have Nitrox in Jamaica. Look for them at www.scuba-jamaica.com


Dont knock it till you try it. Most third wirld countries do have a harassment problem and as someone else stated, most FIRSt worl visitors like myself have pocket change in our wallets that would be someone salary for a month. I have been to other Caribbean Islands, Egypt , Czech, Italy, and i got harassed there too. Just be firm and friendly and go you way. The Gypsies in Rome were pretty bad. By the way, I have been to New York City and seen a visitor get mugged in the middle of the day. So people take the blinders off and learn from your travel experiences and the only way to do that is to travel. So visit Jamaica. Only the complainers have something to say as is always the case on the "Guest Comment Sheet" . The majority have a good time and sadly they never seem to fill out the " Guest Comment" Sheet if you catch my drift.

[Tim Ingersoll]

You miss the point. The contributors to this board are giving comparison information to other divers on Jamaica vs. other dive locations in the Caribbean. When you compare Jamaica to places like Cozumel, the Caymans or Turks and Caicos it is seriousely wanting in a number of respects. If it is all about the diving then don't go there.

[Scuba One]

If you stay at the all-inclusive resorts you will not hav to deal with the harrasment. The diving in Jamaica has come a long way in the last few years. In Negril they have installed permanent moorings on most major sites and created a marine park to get ride of the fish traps. They are creating artificial reefs at most major dive areas throughout the country.

The major all-inclusive reosrts now have state of the art dive boats and follow dive industry standards. Jamaica may not have the best diving in the Caribbean, but they have a great combination of top shelf resorts with easy diving.

Thanks

RKraft
http://www.divesuperclubs.com
http://www.divesandals.com

[Ebro]

My wife and I honeymooned in Jamaica in May of last year (2002). We had a fantastic time. However it was not a dive destination for us. We were there for other reasons :) the ability to get some bottom time was a bonus.

We stayed at Couples Negril. The food was good, the drinks were included , and the place was nice. I'm sure we would not hesitate to return. In fact, we seriously considered it when our Coz trip hit a snag (back on track now though ;)

I went to Jamaica knowing that most of my time would be spent on the resort. For this trip, that was perfectly ok. We were not pestered for anything at the resort. However, once we left we did indeed run into some hard sellers. Frankly it wasn't as bad as I was expecting from what I had read. Most were willing to drop it once I made it clear I was not interested. We did run into some very un-agressive sellers also, they got our business.

Diving was fine. We dived with the resort shop (all included). They had a great boat and good DMs. Water was warm, and vis was good. A bit cloudy (water) at times but overall I can't complain.

I guess what it boils down to is, people always say to go somewhere else. What I am saying is, Jamaica is a great vacation destination where you can do some diving to boot. For me, it's not a dive destination.

Ebro

[happyfish]

I was there towards the end of last November, not there primarily for diving (medicine) but managed to get in 12 dives during the four weeks I was there.

As a place to go, I am sure there are better destinations in the Carribean. Cuba is a good example. If I was to go back it would only be to an all inclusive, and as that isn't really the way I like to travel I probably won't be back.

The people can be friendly, but they can also be very aggressive, demanding and rude. I have travelled through the third world a reasonable amount but people tend to use their size and agression to coerce people into buying things. I had the advantage of being a semi-local working at the hospital so I got off a bit lighter.

As for diving - it wasn't spectacular (but was my first tropical diving experience so I loved it), but there was still stuff to see. I dived with the guys at FDR Pebbles and Runaway Bay. http://www.scuba-jamaica.com/ They are owned by a husband/wife team - Chris and Kelly who are fantastic. They would pick me up from Montego Bay and take me to their resort to dive and drop me back (for no extra charge). They are also extremely helpful - put me in touch witha good comapny to dive with in Negril (before I had even dived with them). They were safe, reliable and helpful - and I am sure that some of the operations, including some resort operations aren't. They even have people form all-inclusives coming to dive with them (although I suppose that partially defeats the purpose). Kelly is teaching the nitrox course there, and they are the only nitrox centre around that region.

Anyway hope that helps. If you do end up going and have time I would check out Dunns River Falls (nice, but we have nicer back here in New Zealand), the Twyman Estate Coffee Plantation (you will need to ring or write in advance), Blue Montain Peak is a good little hike and the sunrising while you are the highest (in one way) people in jamaica is pretty cool.

Ciao

Shaneel

[busted]

You may have already taken your trip, but in case you didn't, I have been to Jamaica a couple of times and the Wyndam Resort is a great place to stay if you are going with family or just your significant other. However, the diving is terrible. I dove with a dive operation based out of the Jack Tar Hotel and there was nothing good to say about it except they got us back to shore eventually! The boat actually drop the divers in the water and then took off with snorklers. When we came up after about 30 minutes due to a problem with a new divers gear, there was no boat and we had to float around in choppy water for 20 minutes until the boat finally found us.

[OHDiver]

I did a lot of diving while in Jamaica with my kids on spring break... (not this past spring break, the one prior to) We stayed at Beaches Negril..... A nice all-inclusive place to stay with kids... Although there is NO comparison to the one on Turks & Caicos... The diving is okay in Jamaica but not the greatest due to the spear and dynamite fishing there... But..... I will say that the diving staff was GREAT..... My son did his referral check out dives while we were there.... and.... We made some really wonderful friends there.... Infact, one of the DM's from the dive shop is coming here next week to spend a week with us.... Yes, all the way from Jamaica! I can't wait to see him again... It is great to actually follow through in keeping in touch with someone like that and having them come to the states to visit....
Needless to say..... even with the diving not being the best.... we had a WONDERFUL and very memoral trip there....
Karen ;)

[VTernovski]

Your mistake is that you go to those all inclusive hotels...
here what you should do:

Go to Port Antonio, Portland (North East Jamaica), stay at Goblin Hill and dive with Jan Lee at Lady G'Diver;

Read my trip report at the link below (turn to page 6!)
http://beneaththesea.org/TSSC/seaswells/SeaSwells_2003-05.pdf

[OHDiver]

I and my buddy, when accosted, would smile broadly, hear out the hawker, politely *thank* the person for their solicitation, decline and attempt to break off the contact. This seemed totally ineffective: the soliciting person continued unrelentingly to offer their wares, even pursuing us as we were forced to rudely stroll away up the beach, badgering us behind our backs.
In trips to bleakly poverty-stricken St. Vincent, not much better off Dominica, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, Belize, Bonaire, Caymans, etc. etc, I've never encountered anything remotely close to the harassment I found in Negril.

******
You have apparently NEVER been to Mexico.... I was in what I was told ahead of time to be "The Beautiful" Puerto Vallarta, Mexico this past spring break.....
IT WAS THE WORST.... I didn't expect much as far as the diving while there, but I did do a few dives to be able to at least say I dove while there... (can't be that close to any possible diving and not dive).....
However.... As far as the people bothering the living heck out of you to purchase something, anything from them.... MY LORD.... It was the WORST by far that I have EVER experienced.... They would even fight with each other if you decided to go with a different one due to a lower price.... It was aweful!
I LOVED JAMAICA.... I agree, the diving is not the best.... however....I have experienced worse diving in Florida at times... It is BEAUTIFUL and the people are extremely friendly (unless you plan on traveling to Kingston that is)... There were even "guard stations" on both ends of the property to keep the so called harassing sales people away from bothering with the resort vacationers....
JAMAICA gets way to bad of a reputation.... There are areas here in the States that I am more embarrassed to admit are here than most of Jamaica....
I guess it depends on just how spoiled one decides they must be. Sure, I'd rather dive the Caymans, or T&C or many other areas myself.... But.... Isn't it nice to have a varity of places to experience? :grrr: