Heading down to Playa in a few weeks here but have a credit with AirTran so was looking at destinations figuring out where else I wanna go later in the year and thinking about heading back down to Negril. Been there about 8 times already so figured I'd put together a data sheet on Negril if anyone's interested in traveling to Jamaica.
Montego Bay is going to be where you want to go if you wanna game or want more nightlife, however the beaches are all manmade, much more hagglers and hustlers and hassles there. Same with Ocho Rios as that's where the cruise ships come in. Port Antonio is a bit slower paced, less tourists, less hassle, very beautiful area.
Negril is definately a tourist destination, don't mean to make it sound like some unknown place but much more small town feel, very laid back and chill. Great destination for smokers. There is some nightlife a club called the Jungle and & live music on the beach at Alfreds and many other places.
Once You Land:
Alot of times you may have a free bus included with your trip depending upon who you book through. I always ditch these as you have to wait for other passengers and they stop along the way at other towns.
I forget what htey're called but there's normally shared busses somewhat like collectivos in Mexico, pretty cheap ride to Negril, otherwise you can always take a cab or use a private driver. I always use a guy named Dennis the Menace, picks me up with a patti and a beer and a joint rolled waiting for me for the ride back.
Other option is the cliffs, dont have beaches but most have rock platforms near the water where you can jump right off and swim. Cliffs are going to be a bit more private, slower paced, usually a bit cheaper than the beach.
As far as hotels there's all types of hotels, cabins, cottages, along the beach and cliffs. Ranging in price from maybe $30 a night up to a couple hundred for a beaches or a sandals. I don't do AI's try to keep it cheaper if I do stay at an actual hotel if I'm going with a girl I like the smaller non-AI botique hotels.
One thing to keep in mind, nothing in Jamaica is really nice. Where as in Mexico for pretty cheap you can have granit counters in your bathroom and stuff in Jamaica even a pricier place is going to be pretty basic, who goes on vacation to have nice bathroom fictures though right, hwo gives a shit.
One of my fav places is CoCo La Palm. In the summer you can get summer rates of like $55 per night, winter and high season is more like $100 to $150 so I normally go in summer. Not too fancy but perfect location on beach, friendly staff, 420 friendly as is most everything there. I'm a big fan of this place.
Dinner can be cheap, if you get off the beach and tourist area and go into town get a nice lobster dinner, piece of fish, veggies and a beer for like $6. On the beach stuff will be a bit pricier but still reasonable.
Beers are normally about 150JA, exchange rate is normally about 1USD = 90JA. One thing I kinda like is that there's not a lot of chain stuff in JA. They have a few burger Kings and a KFC or two but not a lot of fast food or chain stuff which is nice to get away from.
Overall I really like that you can get away and eat healthy but also delicious food. Lots of fresh fish, vegetables, best fruit I've tasted in my life. You can get a lobster grilled on the beach during the day for about $7.
You also have several different waterfalls to visit. You can go see weed farms and sample the goods. There's a bunch of mineral springs and "blue holes" as they refer to them.
There's group tours but don't do those, better off hiring a private driver, they will let you go where you want at your own pace, they often know other cool places to check out. Most are cool with you drinking and smoking in the car.
There's a few places on the beach like alfreds where they have nightly live music and shows. Actually get some pretty big acts if your into reggaee and its pretty cheap to go. There's a club called the jungle. Otherwise it's more chill beach bars and places with live music, one cool place does jazz nightly.
There's a surprising number of solo women who travel to Negril, No not just for the "renta rasta" female sex tourism although you do see plnety of fat 60 year old women walking the beach with cut 19 year old Jamaican dudes. In the summer you get a lot of european and british women traveling solo for a couple weeks or months.
People overall are very friendly tourists wise. There seems to be the same type of person who goes to and enjoys negril. YOu talk to people and they are like this is my 33rd time here, stuff like that. Everyone is very open to meeting new people, hangingout, sharin a driver for a day. Very easy to meet people and hangout if you go solo.
I thoguht it was wierd like ya we both from Chicago who cares whats the likliehood we know same people right? Wind up going clubbing at the jungle, hangout smoke all that. Finally after the night ends I'm walking back to my room and all the sudden it hits me, she's a pretty well known news woman in Chicago. I wind up googling her when I get to the roomand everything matches up as far as neighborhood she lives in and everything. I was leaving the next day but had breakfast with her and her gf and left them the rest of my smoke and some papers before I left.
I was gonna post some pics but lost my memory stick. Years ago had posted some pics on a blog I never really did anything with. Doesn't have all my pics but has a few if anyone wants to see http://iriephotos.blogspot.com
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Top Places In Jamaica:
The top tourist destinations in Jamaica are going to be Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and lesser popular but still pretty popular Kingston and Port Antonio.Montego Bay is going to be where you want to go if you wanna game or want more nightlife, however the beaches are all manmade, much more hagglers and hustlers and hassles there. Same with Ocho Rios as that's where the cruise ships come in. Port Antonio is a bit slower paced, less tourists, less hassle, very beautiful area.
Negril is definately a tourist destination, don't mean to make it sound like some unknown place but much more small town feel, very laid back and chill. Great destination for smokers. There is some nightlife a club called the Jungle and & live music on the beach at Alfreds and many other places.
Getting There:
Pretty easy destination to get to, affordable flights, same price range as Mexico flights. If your in a major city probably have direct flights going out about 3 times a week but you can always do a connecting flight and catch daily flights out of Atlanta or Miami.Once You Land:
Alot of times you may have a free bus included with your trip depending upon who you book through. I always ditch these as you have to wait for other passengers and they stop along the way at other towns.
I forget what htey're called but there's normally shared busses somewhat like collectivos in Mexico, pretty cheap ride to Negril, otherwise you can always take a cab or use a private driver. I always use a guy named Dennis the Menace, picks me up with a patti and a beer and a joint rolled waiting for me for the ride back.
Where To Stay:
You basically got two main choices the beach or the cliffs. The beach is obviously on the beach famous 7 mile beach. By far best beach and water I've ever seen. Water is perfect temp and super clear, enough action to be exciting on the beach but also slow enough paced to relax and have space to yourselfOther option is the cliffs, dont have beaches but most have rock platforms near the water where you can jump right off and swim. Cliffs are going to be a bit more private, slower paced, usually a bit cheaper than the beach.
As far as hotels there's all types of hotels, cabins, cottages, along the beach and cliffs. Ranging in price from maybe $30 a night up to a couple hundred for a beaches or a sandals. I don't do AI's try to keep it cheaper if I do stay at an actual hotel if I'm going with a girl I like the smaller non-AI botique hotels.
One thing to keep in mind, nothing in Jamaica is really nice. Where as in Mexico for pretty cheap you can have granit counters in your bathroom and stuff in Jamaica even a pricier place is going to be pretty basic, who goes on vacation to have nice bathroom fictures though right, hwo gives a shit.
One of my fav places is CoCo La Palm. In the summer you can get summer rates of like $55 per night, winter and high season is more like $100 to $150 so I normally go in summer. Not too fancy but perfect location on beach, friendly staff, 420 friendly as is most everything there. I'm a big fan of this place.
Food:
Obviously jerk chicken is huge there, as is curry goat. You can eat pretty cheaply if you want to. There's a couple "patti men" who walk the beach or have little shops, pattis are basically jamaican fast food. Sorta like a hotpocket filled with either curry chicken and potatoes or mozarella and peppers and veggies or an assortment of other things. You can get a pretty big patti for like $1 on the beach for lunch. Also plenty of lil beach standsDinner can be cheap, if you get off the beach and tourist area and go into town get a nice lobster dinner, piece of fish, veggies and a beer for like $6. On the beach stuff will be a bit pricier but still reasonable.
Beers are normally about 150JA, exchange rate is normally about 1USD = 90JA. One thing I kinda like is that there's not a lot of chain stuff in JA. They have a few burger Kings and a KFC or two but not a lot of fast food or chain stuff which is nice to get away from.
Overall I really like that you can get away and eat healthy but also delicious food. Lots of fresh fish, vegetables, best fruit I've tasted in my life. You can get a lobster grilled on the beach during the day for about $7.
Currency:
Currency is Jamaican dollars. You can get by with USD, however as with most places you get shafted on the exchange rate. I normally find I pay about 15% to 20% less paying in Ja, however seeing as how most currency exchanges are ripoffs and charge about that to exchange you dont really wind up ahead. I get my currency at spot rates through a friend who works in FX but if you gotta exchange there pretty good rates at Hi-Lo grocery stores.Day Trips:
So much cool stuff to see. There's plenty of areas to snorkel and scuba, an island off negril you can take a boat to. If you go to the cliffs there's some awesome places to go cliff diving. Ricks Cafe is a tourist trap but cool place to see once. Great place to see a sunset, you can cliff dive and you can also watch teh Jamaicans go up to about 90 or 100 feet and do flips and all other types of crazy stuff. If your into cliff jumping and diving but don't like the crowds plenty of private areas to go diving by yourself. Also some cool caves you can swim into and explore.You also have several different waterfalls to visit. You can go see weed farms and sample the goods. There's a bunch of mineral springs and "blue holes" as they refer to them.
There's group tours but don't do those, better off hiring a private driver, they will let you go where you want at your own pace, they often know other cool places to check out. Most are cool with you drinking and smoking in the car.
Nightlife:
Negril is great, but not exactly a clubbing or nightlife destination. I'ts more chill bars along the beach, though there are some clubs and strip clubs in town, some pretty seedy. I wish I could find the story, was reading a story about some college kids who met an older british guy who wanted to go cruising for chicks. They wound up gangbanging some hooker in the alley, she stole $600 from the british guy, he argued about it, she pepper sprayed him in the face and they wind up peeling away getting chased by some jamaican dudes with guns, hilarious story, can't find it at the moment though.There's a few places on the beach like alfreds where they have nightly live music and shows. Actually get some pretty big acts if your into reggaee and its pretty cheap to go. There's a club called the jungle. Otherwise it's more chill beach bars and places with live music, one cool place does jazz nightly.
Woman/Gaming:
Like I said, not some huge party spot more chill. I normally go in the summer when things are slower so probably a bit better in high season and spring break time. High Times does a beauty contest every year on the beach in Negril. There's a surprising number of solo women who travel to Negril, No not just for the "renta rasta" female sex tourism although you do see plnety of fat 60 year old women walking the beach with cut 19 year old Jamaican dudes. In the summer you get a lot of european and british women traveling solo for a couple weeks or months.
People overall are very friendly tourists wise. There seems to be the same type of person who goes to and enjoys negril. YOu talk to people and they are like this is my 33rd time here, stuff like that. Everyone is very open to meeting new people, hangingout, sharin a driver for a day. Very easy to meet people and hangout if you go solo.
Smokers Paradise:
For you smokers out there, Jamaica is by far the best 420 destination. From the second you hit the runway everyone is offering you smoke, everyone on the beach, everyone at your hotel. Everything is cheap and good quality nothing like mexico. You can some pretty much everywhere and smell it everywhere. I was sitting at a nice restaurant one night and ordered a redstripe and asked the waiter to bring an ashtray, he jokingly says no cigarettes only ganja so pulled a giant spliff out my pocket and lit it up, had a 70 year old couple sitting next to me, didn't say a word, like I said everyone is very chill and go with the flow there. Guys walking the beach seling brownies and banana bread. Mushrooms are legal though not really the same type of shrooms we are used to in the states not nearly as strong but still kinda crazy. Fav Story/Memory:
One night was sitting at a bar on the beach, slower paced place, the bartender is my driver and hookup down there so was just me and him chilling. lady comes to the bar, just flew in, doesn't have smokes. I go to the room and get her a pack and give it to her, she buys me a few drinks. We start talking she's from Chicago as am I. Start talking, drinking, hanging out. Bartender lights a huge spliff, were chilling. All the sudden she says, you can't tell anyone you saw me doing this. I thoguht it was wierd like ya we both from Chicago who cares whats the likliehood we know same people right? Wind up going clubbing at the jungle, hangout smoke all that. Finally after the night ends I'm walking back to my room and all the sudden it hits me, she's a pretty well known news woman in Chicago. I wind up googling her when I get to the roomand everything matches up as far as neighborhood she lives in and everything. I was leaving the next day but had breakfast with her and her gf and left them the rest of my smoke and some papers before I left.
Wrapping Up:
Jamaica's an awesome place. Downside is I'm not into black chicks so locals are pretty much pointless to me, plus most are pros and aids is a problem down there. If your going to game or wanna have some fun plenty of opportunity just not gonna be like some other destinations where thats maybe the focus of the trip. If you wanna get away relax, smoke, enjoy the beach, and outdoors, do some fun stuff like cliff diving it's an awesome destination. Internet isn't great anywhere so probably won't get much work done there if your looking to get away for a few months and work. I was gonna post some pics but lost my memory stick. Years ago had posted some pics on a blog I never really did anything with. Doesn't have all my pics but has a few if anyone wants to see http://iriephotos.blogspot.com
