Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Destination: Ochos Rios, Jamaica

I'm not going to lie and tell you we explored the entire Island because we didn't! Quite honestly the Margaritaville in "Ochi" as the locals call it has been a dream destination of mine for years, so you will find that most of the information about Ochi pertains to getting wasted at Margaritaville. However, we did find many useful bits of information that you can absolutely use to your advantage when you travel to Ochi.

If arriving by cruise ship, this is a docked port. You can just stroll of the ship and hit the town...of course the first 1/2 mile radius is as touristy as it gets. The first thing we noticed when we disembarked was that we were mobbed with taxi drivers and tour operators. I must stress this: If you are looking to travel on a budget then make sure you travel outside of the fenced area which holds many taxi drivers and operators. Those individuals charge much higher rates than the taxi drivers outside of the fenced area. For example, we were told $40 RT to go to Dunns River Falls, which is a mere 3 miles away. However on the outside we negotiated with "Cheap Charlie" who was an awesome local, we arranged for RT transportation for $20. In addition, Cheap Charlie was extremely nice and shared local information with us about the town as we drove to Dunns Falls.

Now that I've mentioned Dunns Falls a few times you may be asking yourself, what is it? It is in fact a MUST see if you go to Ochi, it was an amazing experience. Dunns Falls is a waterfall/river that you can climb!
The ships do offer tours and excursions to the falls, but I prefer to be independent and go at it on my own. The falls are amazing, very beautiful and quite the scene. We HIGHLY recommend a waterproof camera, especially if you go on a day like we did, when it was pouring rain. So are you ready for some inside tips on Dunns Falls?



*Either shoes or water shoes are required! You cannot wear sandals. We did not know this - and to be honest I'm not sure I'd want my shoes getting soaked as I climbed the falls. There are many water shoe rental locations, both on the way to the falls and at the falls. They were $7 a pair to rent.
*If you happen to go on a rainy day like we did, lockers are available for $8, however you get $3 back when you return the key.
*Entrance to Dunns Falls is $15 per person
*It is tradition to drink a Red Stripe at the top of the falls. I wish we could have, however it was a monsoon out!


Now that you know about Dunns Falls, let's talk about getting drunk! Margaritaville is located in the touristy area, just outside of the cruise terminal on your right hand side, a 2/10 mile walk or so. This is the 2nd best Margaritaville I have been to. A water slide and pool are on site, a swim up bar and it's located right on the beach. The staff was amazingly friendly and the DJ kept the party going all afternoon. There were several contests for the ladies and I can honestly say we both had an amazing time, although I'm not sure Jenny remembers the entire event. The only negative feedback I have for this Margaritaville is that it was pricey. We drank quite a bit, but the tap was in the $150 range, definitely higher than expected. Make sure you check out the Margaritaville store for unique postcards specifically for the Caribbean and Jamaica, if you're like me those are major keepsakes!

We Rate Ochos Rios, Jamaica



Brandon & Jenny - Caribbean experts on information you SHOULD know but nobody tells you! www.tips-fb.com

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