Jamaica
 

I am planning a trip to Jamaica. I've never been there and I would love suggestion of a place and hotel. Any help would be great.

Are you looking for a resort? An all-inclusve? Or just a nice hotel? Do you want to stay in Montego Bay? Ocho Rios? Negril? What kind of price range?

My friends always stay at and enjoy Tensing Pen in Negril, but it's very low-key (no TV's no air con etc.) so perhaps too rustic for some. www.tensingpen.com

I do not want to discourage you planning your trip to Jamaica it is a beautiful island...however, the crime is really bad in certain places..My husband and I just returned from Ocho Rios last night and let me tell you what...that was an experience..jamaica is a very poor country..you get harassed alot...to put things in perspective...our tab at margaritaville was 9.90 us and it was 885.00 jamaican. There are children who dive for quarters out on the pier where the cruise ships come in. there were lots of people pushing drugs...watch your pockets. They will pickpocket and shove drugs in them...my husband had a local shake his hand and put a bag of "blow" in his hand and demand he purchase it or go to jail...they set you up for things like that their police are very corrupt. so be very careful...there are many armed robberies of americans...don't take anything valuble and carry little to no cash on you...watch your back. Negril and motego bay are not as bad as ocho rios but in certain areas can be dangerous....your best bet would be a resort that offers guided tours of the island and say close to the tourist areas. I reccomend checking out the us homeland security site it will tell you which areas to avoid. (I didn't do much homework before I left and I had a not so great time there.) I know for next time ! happy planning and I hope you have fun...stay safe!

Go to Negril. It is more gentle than MoBay, Ocho Rios, and certainly Kingston.

Just wonderding. Did he purchase the "blow" or go to jail? And, exactally where were you when it happened? We're booked for Ocho Rios next year. Have been to Negril.

Jamaica doesn't hold the monopoly on poverty and crime, unfortunately. There are areas in the U.S. that are crime-ridden and dirt poor as well.
My husband, our son and I took our first trip to Jamaica in "06. We stayed in Negril. It was a great trip, despite our major issue with the hotel. Does it have crime issues? I'm sure although we didn't experience any of it. Doing research and knowing what you like and don't like will help you avoid having a bad vacation.
I don't recommend staying at your resort. You'd miss seeing some great parts of Jamaica.
Here's my trip report and let me know if you have any specific questions. Good luck with your research and planning, wherever you choose to go.
http://www.nbptravel.com/Jamaica.html

My husband and son and I stayed for one week at Gran Bahia Principe in January 2009. As a result of my stress levels arriving on the island we did not get out of the resort. We thoroughly enjoyed the decadence (for a reasonable cost) of the hotel and we enjoyed a boat tour from the resort.

I have been to JA in previous years and spent a great deal of time off the resorts and also had magical trips. JA is a beautiful island with lovely people. They do, as many other countries frequented by tourists, have unique issues with crime and poverty. This is not in my opinion a reason to not visit the island as it is more than worth the trip...it is a reason to be knowledgeable and be safe - as you might in your own hometown. I live in a city in Canada and I am constantly aware of the growing crime issues...as a result of my job I am regularly in "high risk" neighborhoods and I just make every effort to be safe...a much more risky experience than a fabulour trip to JA but also a manageable situation.

I hope you go and find a place you love on the island and are able to return with great anticipation.

I get upset about fear mongering around JA as it wont do anyone any good to create negative stories (that may be true) that perpetuate isolation - so I apologize for so many words.

Thanks for all your help. Any suggestion would be helpful.

I have been to Jamaica at least 6 times over the last 15 years -with kids and without, Ocho Rios, MO and Negril. Have gone to Ocho Rios to sightsee and had other vacations where we just enjoyed the resort and never left it. Never had a problem, and are going for our trip #7 in Jan. I think Negril has the best beaches, and my husband and I love Couples Swept Away. It is the only resort that we have been to several times (usually we like to try new places all the time). It is romantic and classy and reasonably priced, recommend highly. I find allinclusiveoutlet.com has the best prices on it. Good luck!

Check out Moon San Villa at the Blue Lagoon in Port Antonio
www.moonsanvilla.com

Greg

There's no doubt that Jamaica has its share of problems- from terrible joblessness to extreme poverty. But so do many of the other Caribbean islands. That's why I think it would be a shame to scratch Jamaica off your list based on the isolated ( and I do think it's mostly isolated) near-crimes committed against a tourist in Ocho Rios.

My family has been visiting Jamaica since 1982, and we love it so much that we are going back again in January. While we did things years ago that we probably wouldn't do again ( like wandering around at night through some out of the way neighborhoods in Montego Bay), we have never experienced a single problem or felt unsafe.

What we have found is a gorgeous, lush, complicated country, with wonderful people,(!) beaches, food, and music. We really like Negril the best since it has a very long ( almost seven miles) beach, low-rise hotels, great nightlife, and lovely small restaurants, both on the beach and on the cliffs. But there are certainly other beautiful, interesting areas of the country to explore as well.

Now to answer your question!- for the last several years we've stayed at Coco La Palm, a very small hotel smack in the middle of Negrils' incredible beach. It's not a fancy place, but the rates are excellent for those who don't need too much luxury on vacation, and the rooms are simple but clean.

Have a wonderful time!

I hope that you have a fantastic time, and

I, too have been to Jamaica many times - twice a year for 2-week stays for last few years. Mainly to Negril - have found it the best, but once in Ocho Rios, and a couple days in Montego Bay. I have found the crime warnings about Jamaica VERY overstated.

Violent crime is pretty much limited to Kingston and I have read a couple local newspapers articles about robberies in MoBay - but not the big tourist areas like Negril, and Ochi, nor the more remote tourist areas like Port Antonio or Treasure Beach. Only if you call someone asking if you want to buy ganja a crime - then yes, crime is rampant - LOL. There is petty theft - but no worse than in U.S. cities - just use your tourist common sense.

To your question - Negril's 7-mile beach area is THE place for a first-timer. Hotels range from $30US/night cheap hotels to $$$$/night mega-resort AI's - with the sweet spot about $100US/night for small, clean, safe, locally owned hotels on non-AI plan. Negril also has a cliffs area, that is a more laid-back, local "vibe" than the party-area beach.

This site is good resource because has links to hotel sites, not just their prices: http://www.travel2negril.com/hotels.htm. But this one is good resource, too: http://www.negrilinfo.com. For hotel/resort advice - TripAdvisor.com has a great Negril forum. For a more repeat-visitor point of view on wide range of topics - http://www.negril.com/cgi-bin/discus.cgi is good forum.

kvr, shightower is a first time poster. will probably not be back...

Virginia, I just wanted to emphasize how idiotic their statment really was to people who are actually considering a vacation to Jamaica.

lol, we're both so subtle.