Practical travel information on Health in Negril - Lonely Planet Travel Information

Health & safety

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Dangers & annoyances
While you're there

Dangers & annoyances

There are no particular problems in Negril that can’t be encountered elsewhere in Jamaica, although in Negril they are multiplied, so a few reminders are in order.

The hustlers who work the beach for a living will definitely want to establish a relationship with you, and you can expect to be endlessly offered everything from drugs to the hustlers themselves. Usually – but alas not always – you can shake them off with a firm ‘not interested’ or ‘maybe on the way back, ’ if you know you’re not passing back that way. Tourist police now patrol the beach but, by law, all Jamaican beaches must permit public access so the hustlers are free to roam. Some hotels post security guards on the beach but they’re not always that effective.

Though ganja is smoked in plain view in Negril, undercover police agents are present and rarely a week goes by without one or more visitors being arrested. Tourists have been reported as suffering harmful side effects from ganja, especially from ganja cakes. This is also true of hallucinogenic wild mushrooms. Apparently drinking alcohol while on mushrooms can induce a ‘bad trip’ – and the same term may end up describing your vacation.

Prostitution is an established part of the local scene and short-term holiday liaisons are a staple. Female visitors should expect to hear a constant litany of well-honed lines enticing you to sample some ‘Jamaican steel.’

Opportunistic theft occurs, especially of items left on the beach, as does burglary in budget and midrange properties. There have even been reports of tourists being robbed at gunpoint in their hotels; never open your hotel door to strangers without first ascertaining their identity. At night take a taxi rather than walk the dimly lit roads.

There are no sidewalks alongside West End Rd, so be careful when walking the road; traffic whips past pell-mell.

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While you're there

Medical services

The nearest hospitals are in Savanna-la-Mar and Lucea.

Long Bay Medical & Wellness Center (tel/>957-9028; Norman Manley Blvd) General practice. Oya Oezcan (440-7071) is based here and does physical therapy and massage. She also speaks German.

Negril Beach Medical Center (957-4888; Norman Manley Blvd; 9am-5pm, doctors on call 24hr) Has a lab open 9:30am to 2pm Tuesday and Friday.

Negril Health Centre (957-4926; Sheffield Rd; 9am-8pm Mon-Fri) Government-operated.

Negril Pharmacy (957-4076; Plaza de Negril)

Ocean View Pharmacy (957-9599; King’s Plaza, West End Rd)

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