I was supposed to attend my niece's wedding at Sandals in Ocho Rios last weekend. However, as a single, the room would have cost me about $500/night. I looked into off-resort accommodations but was told by many it was not safe to stay off the resort grounds. I had considered extending my stay to dive in Negril for a week. but I decided to cancel the entire thing.
$500 a night seems very high - even for an all inclusive. You might try looking around at some of the travel aggregators (like Hotels.com) - I'd be surprised if you can't find a good, reputable resort for between $100-200 a night. Although, I assume there's some seasonal fluctuation.
. . . However, I also heard that the dives were guided and were lucky to last 30 minutes and that the "unlimited diving" at Sandals meant a maximum of two dives a day. Really? No thanks.
The two guided dives a day sounds right. All of the dive groups I contacted, back when I went, did check-out dives (and only check-out dives) in the afternoon. That left mornings and (possibly) evenings for people who are already certified - and I couldn't find anyone doing night dives.
However, there's a certain "flexibility". The guide who led my group was so bored with his usual dive sites, I think he'd have been very open to alternate suggestions (particularly if you tipped him). And even the touristy stuff (like Dunn's River Falls) is deserted on Sundays . . .
A lot of the unaffiliated dive shops are willing to come get tourists at the resorts, too. One of them was over an hour away, and they
still offered. So if you don't like what your resort's offering, it doesn't hurt to call around.
---------- Post added May 8th, 2014 at 03:52 PM ----------
I've been to Runaway 2x, I know its unsafe outside the resorts, but why wouldn't someone take a taxi?
I think they meant unregistered taxis. The resorts maintain their own stable of pre-screened taxi & shuttle drivers, but those cost a premium. There are also local (government-registered) taxis, which are supposed to be pretty safe, too. But there are also unofficial taxis . . . and there have been "incidents" with them.
And I can see that. Some of the local communities I passed through were nice, but others looked like Third World slums, patched together with whatever building supplies could be found/scavenged/stolen. And the Jamaican government has the bad habit of portraying foreign tourists as infinitely wealthy. . .
Oh, and incidentally, the moment you step off your resort, prepare to be pestered for tips. Except for my dive trips, almost anyone I ran into asked for a tip, for even the most minimal service. And one shuttle driver subjected us to a half-an-hour sob story, about how expensive it was to be a parent in Jamaica, with school fees and uniforms
