Ann

Hello,<BR>Could anyone offer some insight into taking the buses around Jamaica? Are the minibuses the same as the public buses? I'm interested in taking one from Mobay to Port Antonio, is this easy to arrange at the airport? And then back all the way to Negril stopping in Ochee. Fyi, I will miss the last plane to PA from Mobay, and I find the private taxis (200 usd from mobay to pa) too expensive.<BR>Thanks!

Paul

Do not take the public &quot;buses&quot; in Jamaica. They are death traps. A charter &quot;tour bus&quot; would be fine.

bus

Ann,<BR><BR>The minibuses are private ventures and usually are just local, from the outlying areas into town for workers, people going to market, etc. Sometimes called route taxis.<BR>There are private bus lines which run from town to town, as well as government run busses. I've been told the private ones are more relaiable and cheaper, but have no more info than that.<BR>Regardless of what the above two posters imply, there have been no tourist fatalaties in either types of bus in the last 5 years.<BR>Maybe tivertonhouse can supply more info on this issue.<BR>Oh, and Ann, you need to understand that 'sniper' searches this board just looking for a Jamaica post to rush in with some anti-Jamaica diatribe. Ignore it.

tivertonhouse

Either fly or hire a JUTA driver;it's an arduous, long trip from MoBay to Porty(5-6 hours) AND far longer by bus or minibus/van with all the stops en route.You'd do better for Porty to come in via Kingston with only a 2 hour drive ahead of you.Or a quick flight. Ditto your way back to Negril,even longer.US$200 is fair price for the transfer,btw.M and P. You will be very very cranky and dispirited if you do the bus. IF time is money, don't pinch<BR>pennies on this one...

andrea

I have to agree with Tivertonhouse...who always dispenses solid information. <BR><BR>Having done many regions in Jamaica myself, here's my advice. Avoid the public busses at all costs (this is coming from a New Yorker who rides the subway every day)unless you want to be jammed up against people like sardines in a can...no pun intended.<BR><BR>If you are interested in Port Antonio, travel from Ocho Rios is feasible Forget about going from MoBay, and good heavens not Negril!<BR><BR>The last time I went to Port Antonio I flew into Mobay Airport, traveled to Ocho Rios and spent 4 days there, then took a private car to Port Antonio and spent 6 days there, then departed for NYC from Kingston Int'l airport. Keep in mind that using separate airports will cost more, but for me it was worth it just to visit Port Antonio again (can't resist the place, I must raft the Rio Grande everytime I visit Jamaica). On another trip I did a 3-way split between Negril, Ocho Rios and Port Antonio.<BR><BR>Depending on the length of your vacation you can split your trip between 2 towns, which is what I always do when I visit the island. Personally, each town in Jamaica is interesting enough to warrant staying over in each.

Anne

Hi everyone - thanks very much for your good advice! I only have 5 days in Jamaica and not a big budget, so it may be best for me to spend most of that time in Negril with a day trip to MoBay and Ocho Rios. Is it a crime to miss Port Antonio or worth it to catch a flight half way into my 5 day trip just to spend the last 2 days there? thanks!

tivertonhouse

Based in Negril for only 5 days,trampoosing over to Ochee and MoBay<BR>will again eat up too much of your time with too little the reward. Instead,<BR>hire a private guide/not a taximan or hotel tourist tout and explore Black River, YS Falls and Font Hill. Go EARLY<BR>in morning and arrive at YS before 9--it's 2 hours from Negril--to get the place more to yourself without crowds.<BR>Stop at the Pepper Shrimp ladies en route back to Black River for a snack with a Red Stripe. Or lunch at Riverside, a really superb Chinese-Jamaican restaurant near the market. Across the river, go to Charlie Swaby for a pontoon trip up river -- or go by private boat if you've got a guide doing logistics. Snorkel at Font Hill.<BR>Straw/basket wholesale place in Black River with community of terracotta potters as well up in hills. Have dinner at Culloden Cafe in Whitehouse en route back. It'll be a full day of exploring and about as much as you can see -- leaving you a couple of relaxation days before departure. Go slow on island, learn to enjoy the rhythm of the runnins---nothing works on timetables here--and don't attempt too much. Your earlier itinerary would have had you literallly 24/7 on buses for 5 days.