christiegr

My husband and I are considering a vacation..next year(June 2006)as this June we will be going to St John USVI.We would like some info. from a WELL TRAVELED TO JAMAICA person.Where would be the best place to go in Jamaica..I will list our interest.Thanks for any suggestions!!

1. A real Jamaician feel.(not so commercialized or americanized)not alot of high rises.

2.Great beaches for snorkeling.

3.A good location for exploring the culture and outdoors(rainforests,historical sites,animals,flora)

4.Place to stay does not have to be fancy..would like AC,frig,maybe a pool.

5.We are not into wild partying..just causual drinks.

6.We would like a place that the locals would go.

tivertonhouse

Treasure Beach on the South Coast/see the Community Web site treasurebeach.net or Port Antonio/Portland parish on far north eastern end of island. Snorkel off Billy's Bay beach or 2.5 miles out at Sunny Isles in TB;anywhere alongshore at Port Antonio to Long Bay,tho the waters at the latter are rougher and primarily for body/surfing. Neither are has high rises, AIs, etc.;both attract more independent-minded travellers. June is however traditional rainy season in Caribbean/aim late JUNE or early JULY for better weather, esp. in Porty, the lushes/wettest area.TB is like African savannah lands.

tivertonhouse

A full spectrum of interesting accomodations is difficult to find in Porty,however.One can count them on one hand.
Treasure Beach is primarily villas and guesthouses with many laid-back style choices at many pricepoints.

CaribbeanSoul

Negril is perfect for a first-timer to Jamaica. No high-rises as there has been a building moratorium in place since the 50's-60's when the government funded the construction of the road from MoBay to Negril for tourism reasons. Tiver can correct me if I don't have my facts 100% correct. But it was something like that. Negril has a beautiful beach with lots of local flavor and color! There is no place like it on earth. All hotels/resorts south of Bloody Bay are small boutique style places with individual charm. Tiver gives some great advice on places "off the beaten path"...but for a first-timer I strongly suggest Negril.

christiegr

Thanks so much tiver and caribbeansoul, for the advice.I will check out Treasure Beach and Negril.
I have heard alot of people talk about Negril being great.

CaribbeanSoul

By the way, when I mentioned building moratorium, it is for the height of the buildings....no taller than the tallest palm tree, I believe the "code" indicates. Although a couple new places have pushed the limits on that, I think.

tivertonhouse

Tho Idle-A-While is Negril is one great little place to stay/ditto The Caves and
Tensing Pen, Negril, with over 90 hotels/cottage colonies and inns, is commercialized tourist Jamaica, failing your wishlist points 1,3 and 5. A great beach to daytrip to but perhaps not the best choice. Think Cruz Bay and Mongoose Junction maxed up full volume vs. Coral Bay and the far end of St.John. Tho locals in Treasure Beach shudder at the thought of becoming Negril, it's often called ''what Negril WAS 30-40 years ago' -- and is far more laid-back community-oriented, non-urbanized and tourist-oriented. It's a
fairly secluded/remote fishers/farmers area that might reward you with a far more 'real' and non-touristic sense of Jamaica. Especially her people -- which is what most visitors come back with -- a sense of the vibrancy of life lived by people who lack most of the distractions of living in the U.S. Ditto Port Antonio, which you'd best enjoy with a driver/guide for touring/diving/snorkelling and exploring. This area is Jamaica at its most naturally gorgeouos, lush, dramatic and a true backwater.

christiegr

Thanks tiver, I checked out the website treasurebeach.net and I think that your suggestion to stay in Treasure Beach and make Negril a daytrip would be good.How far is Negril from Treasure Beach?

CaribbeanSoul

We normally travel to Negril in June and find that things are relatively quiet....slow would be the local term used. We have the place to ourselves. At CocoLaPalm, where we normally stay, occupancy rates are around 40% at best. I think you'll find Negril to be perfect for your first trip to Negril. Everything is relative, of course, but comparing Negril to Cruz Bay is like comparing a Mango to a Coconut.

christiegr

Caribbeansoul--Thank you for your help.I saw a show on Travel Channel about Jamaica and it included Negril so I will check it out more..both places look nice.We will probably stay in Negril and go to Treasure Beach for a day trip if we go during June.

tivertonhouse

Negril's about a 2 hour drive from TB, with many things to see/do en route.
Go early in am with a driver. Stop in Sav if you need to change money and check out the covered tin fruit/veg market at the end of the main drag,left. Keep your eye out for pickpockets,however, if the market ladies don't thrash them out first. Sav/Savannah La Mar is a typical Jamaican market town -- bustling -- and far more picaresque than picturesque... In Negril, Cosmo's is a good 'basecamp' for the day with a decent restaurant with rentable cabanas/watersports gear. Stroll the beach for the day. 3 Dive's and Norma's are good dinner spots if you stay on longer...If not, stop in Bluefields Bay/Belmont area at OASIS SPA for some pampering oceanside/check out the Peter Tosh mauseoleum a few chain up the main/eat at a local seaside fish joint like KD's or Robert's Soup Shack or Dorrit's/aka Oceanside Pub for curried landcrab in season. Riverside Cafe in Black River, on its bank,does good fish, Jamaican-style. There's also a Jamaican halal place called Floating Deck on the Crane Road just the other side of town.
and then back to TB.

christiegr

Wow!tiver-you sure know alot about Jamaica..how many times have you been there?Thanks for all of the information.

tivertonhouse

Since the late 1970s and will be down again all this May and then again in October which I do annually.

If you do the reverse, btw, and stay in Negril and then go to TB for the day, you won't 'sense' as much of TB in a day as you will Negril. A good day trip would be to take a private boatman (Dennis Abrahams, for example) for the almost obligatory cruise up the coast thru dolphin waters to PELICAN BAR, 2 mangrove stilt houses/one and 2 story, on a sandbar off the coast -- and then 12 miles up Black River into the Great Morass. Your driver could pick you up in Black River for the trip back to Negril.

christiegr

tivertonhouse-Have you also been to St.John..if so..what do you recommend there?It is our first trip there also.We are staying in a villa in Gifft Hill..which looks to be a great central location.

tivertonhouse

I used to live in Chocolate Hole but haven't been back in nearly a decade since it was getting too much like the States and too tourist for me.
Caneel, Lameshur and Coral are the bays you want to focus on/snorkelling's great as it is at Trunk Bay, tho here they'll be lots of cruiseshippers and daytrippers. Rent a Jeep to explore/the roads are steep/sharp/twisty. Other than dinner out/not inexpensive and a stroll thru the shops perhaps, ignore the resort stuff and just bliss out on the beaches and scenery.

CaribbeanSoul

Christie-
If you have yet to make the connection, Tiver manages several properties in the Treasure Beach/South Coast area. His knowledge of the lesser traveled area of this part of Jamaica has been invaluable on this forum. A perfect trip would combine both areas in a 10 day to 2 week trip as they are very different. Having only taken a day trip to that part of the island, I can't speak for the South Coast/TB area as an "expert". However, knowing what I do know, we would probably not consider the area if we had just one week. We love the beach and the beach doesn't compare to Negril beach....not even close. Keep this in mind as you decide where you want to spend your time. I have been traveling to Negril since the mid 80's, but have no vested interests in the area.

As far as Gifft Hill is concerned....it is centrally located on the island, close to Cruz Bay and the North Shore beaches. You can't go wrong as long as the villa is in good condition. The views are nice. Which villa are you looking at? I do have a lot of information on many of the popular villas on St. John.

christiegr

Thanks for the info.St.John looks to be the least commercialized of the USVI..but have heard that there is alot of construction going on.

We will be snorkeling the day away..probably.We are going to St Thomas for 1 day..only to go to Coral World for the kids..ages 10,7 and 2.

Thank you for all of your info. on Jamaica..my husband was kinda skeptical about going there because he knows people that have been there and had bad stories..but they also went to Kingston,MB and Ochios Rios..I am not even interested in those towns.I'm sure that all have ALOT of people touring from the Cruise Ships.

I told him that it is a big island compared to where we have been..so I was sure that someone knew of neat places to go.

CaribbeanSoul

I meant "as long as the villa is IN good condition".

christiegr

CaribbeanSoul--We are staying at Bamboo villa rented by viva..do you know of it?

CaribbeanSoul

I have not heard of that one. I'll see if I can come up with some info for you on it. Some may be info you already know.