My wife and I are going to Negril in August and staying at Couples Swept Away. We will be there for 8 days. We don't want to spend the whole time laying on the beach, so I needed help on deciding which sites in Jamaica are worth leaving the resort to see.

Any info would be much appreciated.

I have heard great things about Mayfield Falls.

We are going in May & staying at Beaches Negril. There are quite a few things to do there. We have arranged a custom 1/2 day tour with Soloman Kerr of Talk of the Town Tours. He is highly recommended & is very reasonable. He & his wife have been great about answering our questions & making suggestions. We are going to do some sightseeing, shopping & wind up at Rick's to watch the cliff divers & the fabulous sunset.

A friend has been to the Appleton Rum tour & says the rum was good but the tour was only ok. If you are into reggae then maybe touring the Bob Marley house is good for you.

Try going to www.negril.com & checking their site. Also post on the board there. Many locals & repeat visitors post there.

Mayfields Falls, the Blue Hole Gardens at Roaring River (Esau's at the very end of the road),YS Falls (but only if you go real early/before 9am), a private boat/guide up the Black River/not the pontoon boats, gluttonizing on straw/baskets at wholesale prices at Mr.and Mrs.Chambers just outside Black River,a private spa session at Oasis Spa in Belmont (www.oasisspajamaica.com, horseback riding at Tony Clarke's/Paradise Point,MounTambrin Retreat in Caledonia. Check with SOLOMON, arguably, the best guide out of Negril or Carolyn Barrett
who also specializes in the Blue Mts--tho these too far away for you on just an 8 day stay...

Benj:
When this month are you going to Beaches? I want a full report, as we'll be there in August!!

We are going to Beaches May 25. I will post a trip report at www.tropictravelonline.com when we get back. Check there around the beginning of June. If there are any specific questions then you can let me know & I'll try to answer them. We had wanted to go to Swept Away but our 17 yr old was too young. Even though she would be 18 about 2 weeks after we were there they said no. I guess it is better since maybe it would be too much a romantic place rather than just laid back. But it still looked great. Next time when it isn't a family trip then I'll try Swept Away.

Thanks for the info. Very much appreciated.

Hi,

You will love Swept Away. Great spot. We also stayed 8 days.

When you arrive you can book space on the Catamaran cruise which, I believe, runs Wed and Sat. Although it is very mainstream and touristy, a trip to Rick's is fun to watch the kids jump off of the cliffs etc...and watch the sunset. Both of these things are part of the offering of Swept Away. They also offer transportation to shop in Negril - it's for a couple of hours. Not much to buy - but the experience is entertaining.

We traveled to Mayfield Falls and really enjoyed it. Worth the trip. We booked it through Swept Away.

The activity desk at Swept Away can also make recommendations on other activities when you arrive.

There's lots to do at Swept Away. You can try Scuba Diving and any water sport. The fitness centre is also great - tennis lessons and fitness trainers.

Make sure to make reservations at Feathers - it fills fast - it's a great atmosphere and we enjoyed the food.

Enjoy!!

Negril is fantastic and although on my first trip I only had a day there I realized quickly it is a place full of activity!! There is so much to do on the beach ifyou simply walk around - But if you want to explore more of the North part of the island as we did when we were there...obviously Dunns Falls, Blue Lagoon in Port Antonio, the Blue mountains for guided hiking....fun in Montego Bay - We actually rented a car and drove from Ocho Rios to Port Antonio and from Ocho to Mo-Bay we had no problems, were perfectly safe and really enoyed ourselves!!

have fun - Seven mile beach is Awesome!