Advice about Spring Break In Negril
 

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GENERAL INFO

Has anyone been to Negril during
spring break (in March) that can give me advice? A group of us are staying at the Negril Gardens. How is this place? Fun? Boring? We have all-inclusive, any tips about getting our moneys worth? Besides drinking a lot.

What kind of entertainment is there to do during the day? Do you spend a lot of time at your resort?

We also have friends that are staying at the Holiday Inn, a few hotels down from ours. Can we go from hotel to hotel? Or do you need a bracelet to get into each hotel? (I know the security was pretty tight in Cancun last year. We weren?t allowed in any hotel but our own.)

NIGHT LIFE

What are some clubs my group should hit up? And are the party packages worth buying from the spring break companies. What about bars?

FISHING

Does anybody know where to go Fishing down there? What?s the cost and how long does it take?

PLACES AWAY FROM Place away from 7 MILE

Do you recommend any place to visit that is off the 7-mile beach? Maybe in town? Or is it not safe to get away from the toury spots? I heard something about the backside of Jamaica. The part that vacationers typically don?t go to. Does anyone know anything about this?

If you know a little about this spot please reply any help would be great. Sorry about the 50 questions and thanks in advance. I can?t wait for this trip to come.

Will

1. The only Holiday Inn I know of is east of MoBay - an hour and a half from Negril. Negril Inn maybe?

2. Negril Gardens is nice, it's on the main beach so you can walk in either direction to bars, eat, shop, live music, just walk. If you stay out past 11 or so you may want to take a taxi back if you get too far away, unless you're in a group.

3. During the day most people hang on the beach...you can also do whatever watersports interest you (probably not included in your AI package except maybe non-motorized ones but outside vendors offer aprasailing, jetskiiing, etc). It's neat to go up to the cliffs and snorkel. Xtabi is a good place and they're fine with non-guests using their water access if you buy a beer or something. Stay on for sunset, it's best up on the cliffs.

4. You can go to the restaurants or bars of most of the otehr hotels if you plan to spend $ there. If you are visiting friends that's usually OK too, unless it is AI then you have to pay for a day pass.

5. There are TONS of bars in Negril, mostly small ones along the beach and cliffs. Just stop at any you like. SOme have $50J red stripe - that's under $1 a beer. Look for signs to taht effect.

6. The live music places on the beach rotate nights but some to check out are Roots Bamboo, Risky Business, Margaritaville, Alfred's, Bourbon beach. There are only a couple of clubs (if you mean like disco/hip hop) - the Jungle is on the beachroad and there's a kind of seedy place in town called Compulsion...it's name may have changed since i was there.

7. Buying the break package is really up to you....mostly they are all-you-can-drink affairs, foam parties, t-shirt contest, like that. If you're into that, go for it. If not, I wouldn't waste the $.

8. Off the beach I can definitely recommend going to the cliffs - they're just on the other side of town and perfectly safe, there will be lots of breakers staying up there too. There isn't much for a tourist in town itself.

I recommend getting away from Negril for a day if you can - into the mountains to a waterfall or mountain biking on the beaches to the south of Negril, taking a boat trip anywhere (lots are unlimited red stripe and rum punch), heading up the Black River to see crocs. I'm sure your spring break company will offer some of htese but you can also hire a taxi and go on your own - use one your hotle recommends or one you check out online first.

The new updated edition of The ROUGH GUIDE TO JAMAICA is just out and it's by far the most current of guides to Jamaica's 'back country', the South Coast, as well as Negril. It'll answer
every one of your questions -- and provoke lots of discoveries (go to The Blue Hole Gardens/Esau's at Roaring River for the day, for one...)

Tiv, are you familiar with Benji's, also near Roaring River and if so, can you compare to Esau's? I'm not familiar with Esau's.

Liz:There's a cluster of little places up at Roaring River below and beyond Esau's tho the road ends there. Esau's tends to be more peaceful, the gardens bigger and Joy at the little ital snackbar is real sweet. Lots of day trip guests get swept up in the palpable sense of nature/spiritual here. And the local guides less grasping, more real. Esau also has a hand in the ital herb and spice gardens and is now producing/exporting his jerk sauce, spice mixtures and Love Potion.
This April, rawchefs.com is doing a 3-5 day workshop/symposium with major leaders of the 'raw food' movement with him at both the Blue Hole and Horizon down on the shore at Bluefields Bay/Belmont (you checked it out already..) so this is beyond roots and Rasta

Liz: There's also a 'Benji' who runs a small guesthouse on the road from Whithorn to Petersfield/Frome/Roaring River...nuttin special.

This Benji has land that includes a nice swimming hole/river area...he and his wife (who I think is AMerican) cook for guests but they bill it as a rasta/nature experience. I know a few people who have gone up there and brought back good stories and photos of the place, was wondering if you'd been there specifically.

We may check it out this year as my kids have already done Mayfield, YS, etc and we'll be in Negril and TB.

(We are doing Negril because we got a cheap cheap package - less than air alone - but I need a little TB in there as well.....)

Liza: Thanks -- don't know him or wife.
We've 3 new places in TB, btw.,and a country cottage in St.Elizabeth not yet up on site. Let me know when you going down and I'll let you know availabilities/current pix,etc. New pix being taken by a shooter 21 March...
Axel and Andrea say hello and invite you to drop back over again and try their new 'Sorrel Cosmo' ;)