Quick trip report (St. Elizabeth)

My wife and I and our friend (first time for her in Jamaica!) just returned from a wonderful week and a half in Jamaica. We stayed at Viking's in Great Bay, which hadn't changed much since our last visit a year and a half ago. Things in Treasure Beach were as wonderful as always: the breakfasts at Pardy's (and the conversations with Pardy) were fantastic, the coffee at Smurf's some of the best on the island, the pizzas and fish at Jack Sprat delicious, and the beers--everywhere--cold. We had heavy, steady wind nearly every day, so the ocean was rougher than we remembered. On the plus side, the wind kept (most of) the mosquitos away. It was, of course, very hot. Some of the beaches were a bit sketchy in areas for swimming (there are little rip-tide whirlpools in Old Wharf and Mary's Bay, for example), but nothing that couldn't be handled with common sense. Great Bay was the calm... more »

Night clubs, dance halls, and parties

I have 8 days to spend in Jamaica and I kind of have a basic idea of what I want to do with my time. I want to visit the blue mountains and do some hiking and drink some coffee and visit the other cities of the island. Thorntree has been a good source of info for that. However, I am having a hard time finding some concrete info on the night life in Jamaica. I would like to go to those crazy dancehalls and outdoor parties but am unaware about the ease of finding the night life and what security concerns I have to deal with. 25 year old white male here and I've been to dance clubs in Trinidad and Tobago and found that the places were actually not as bad as I've been led to believe and I want to know if Jamaica is the same way? Does anyone have any suggestions on specific places for the wildest nightlife locations? I can google search all I want but it's always the same shitty websites g... more »

Jamaica - Hire a driver for the day - Runaway bay/Ocho Rios Area

Hi,

We're going to Jamaica on a very short trip (4 nights) staying in Runaway Bay. We'd like to hire a driver for one full day of driving to the following: Dunn's River Falls before the cruise ship passengers arrive, Ocho Rios, Oracabessa and Port Antonio.

Could anyone recommend a kind and fun driver? Would hiring a taxi be about the same cost? What should we expect the average cost to be? Is our itinerary realistic?

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Change of Plans for Jamaica in July---Ideas?

I was booked at Roger's Nuestra Casa for a week in July and was informed he had inadvertently double booked......he is the most respectful and polite person, I can tell by his email-------he offered me a room at Mers Perch, a nice villa within under 10 minute walk away, BUT accessible by a 200' steep path. I would be welcome to use all the facilities at Nuestra Casa, and have meals there if I wanted. This seems fine during the day BUT---

My concern is--- since I am traveling solo, leaving the villa at night, alone on foot may not be a great idea.....I don't want to feel "couped up", and looked forward to strolling down the beach early eve to a bar or local hangout. But at Mers Perch I am not sure this would work.

He offered to refund my deposit, which is an option, but I searched so long to find NC. Any ideas??

Sailing from Central America to Jamaica

Hi,

I'm travelling through Central America at the moment and was hoping to crew on a boat/yacht, to and/or from Jamaica.
Any suggestions on how to go about this would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Late Arrival in Mo Bay, Cell Phone SIM Cards

Hey Folks,

I will be arriving late in Mo Bay (7 pm). My plans are to head out towards St.Anne's Bay/ Ochi area. My question is: should I get a hotel in Mo Bay that first night and then head out the next morning, or try to go half way that night?
This leads to a couple more questions:
1) If I stay in Mo Bay, can anyone recommend a chill, budget ($40- 50) place to stay where I could walk to a couple bars/restaurants that night and check out a couple local things? Hopefully not too far from the airport.
I'll need to get to the bus station too. I have read Mikey Mike's suggestions of Carter Guest House (MIkey they should be paying you a commission for all the good words you put out for them ;) !) This seems like a good place, but, far from the airport? Far from anything in the centre of town?

2) If I go half way (duncan's bay or falmouth) then where would be a good place to... more »

Jamaica v Mexico, June 4 World Cup Qualifier, TICKETS?

Hello All,

Does anyone have any advice as to how to get tickets to the Jamaica v Mexico World Cup qualifier in Kingston on June 4? I will likely arrive in Jamaica only on the 3rd or 4th. Are tickets available at the stadium? Somewhere else? Online? (I've looked but haven't found anything) Will it likely sell out? Is it already sold out?

Thanks in advance for any thought.

Montego Bay with a child

Hi everybody out there

We want to spend one week in Montego Bay in a child-friendly hotel (not all-inclusive) with our 2 year old child.

Swimmingpool, breakfast in the hotel and walking distance to restaurants around the hotel for dinner are important for us.

Who can recommend

• such kind of a hotel in Montego Bay ?
• good restaurants in that area ?