Source
r/Jamaica•
vych

Vacationing in Montego Bay

I'm heading to Montego Bay with my wife and daughter next week, it's our first time going to the country and we are very excited!

Is there anything recommended that we do (or places to avoid) while in the area? My wife is somewhat worried about leaving the resort but I would really like to at least spend a couple days adventuring! Would also like to try some of the off resort food... for reference my daughter is 9 and loves nature and animals.

Any advice would be appreciated :)

Posted Oct 9, 2018, 2:41 PM UTC

1010
selassiepickney•

I recommend you go to Negril and avoid that tourist trap, Mobay. The entire length of beach in Negril is beautiful, clear, open and free and you can have dinner at Rick's cafe and watch the sunset.

Edit: In Negril, you can safely venture to Sav-La-Mar by "route taxis" or bus for dirt cheap if you want to get a glimpse of real Jamaica. There are also a bunch of mineral springs, waterfalls and caves in Westmoreland (the parish negril is located in). Just negotiate prices and payments before you do anything.

6
superunclever•

Rick's Cafe is definitely fun and provides a beautiful location to watch the sunset, but I'm curious why you criticized Montego Bay for being tourist trap, and then proceeded to direct them to another tourist trap?

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selassiepickney•

Because outside of your resort in Montego Bay, there's not much to see and do that wasn't expressly designed to take your money. And it's the same kind of views, restaurants, souvenirs and bars you'll find every where else in the world.

Negril is closer to a natural state than Montego Bay. There are fewer tourist harassers. There's a long continuous stretch of free beach and on the other side you have amazing cliffs you can stare out at, jump from or swing into the water.

As far as off-resort activity, if I'm going on vacation to relax with my family or my girlfriend, I'm going to Negril. If I'm going on Spring Break, I'd probably choose Montego Bay.

4
vychOP•

Thanks... I probably should have asked here before booking the trip! Maybe we will go spend a day or two in Negril :)

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BreadFruitBandit•

👆 this too isn't bad, however Negril is also a tourist area where people will try to trap you into spending more than you have to. If you taking route taxis then go into police stations or any reputable institution and just ask for advice on what routes to take and landmarks

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masterkee777•

Martha Brae bamboo water rafting is awesome! Check out Island Routes tours, I know they are part of the Sandals resorts but you can still take the tours by hiring a private driver. Just ask your resort front desk to set you up with one. also Chukka tours will pick you up at your resort. My favorite tour was the bicycle trip down the Blue Mountains were you stop at coffee plantation and swim at a water fall, but it is a long ways from MoBay. Of course there is Dunns river which is pretty good too, you can take a catamaran ride there. We are going to try Island Gully Falls this November when we go down. What resort are you staying at?

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BreadFruitBandit•

👆 this is good advice

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vychOP•

Awesome thank you! :)

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damianja87•

if you want , i made a video on places to avoid in montego bay on my youtube channel ,

channel name : djam87 . or you can message me for the video link , i dont want to spam this page and get banned lol , but generally leaving the resort is still safe , only certain communities to avoid and most you would have to intentionally drive into , they are not near the tourist areas .

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places to go in Jamaica -

Frenchmans cove - portland (nature)

reach falls - portland (nature)

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dolphin cove- ocho rios (anmials /nature)

mystic mountain - ocho rios (nature)

​

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vychOP•

Thanks I will check your channel out tonight!

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