ohliz

April, check your e-mail re: my sister.<BR><BR>Re: MoBay, I wouldn't say you need to travel in a group, with a ten year old that might be a drag as you're stuck on the gorup schedule. A private driver/guide works really well for us (we travel with kids also, 7 and 4 this last trip). Then you can do what you want when you want and still have someone who knows where everything is and how it works.<BR><BR>You have 3 waterfalls about the same distance from you: Dunn's - most crowded with tourists, right on the coast, very steep, lovely. YS Falls, inland, also lovely, less crowded, requires little/no hiking, and Mayfield, least crowded, also inland, does involve some hiking though my then 6 and 3 year old handled it (the guide helped with the 3 year old).<BR><BR Liz

Trish

Go for it! At the age of 10, your daughter has already learned that the world is not always an enchanting place. You do need to be careful about walking around on your own. The good part of the the all-inclusive is that you don't need to leave to go to restaurants to eat. We found Jamaica to be an almost magically beautiful place, and ventured out during the day, but never at night. The staff at our all-inclusive knew us by name, asked us about our day, etc. We enjoyed good entertainment at the resort as well as good wine and every dish we chose to eat was creatively done. So, go and have fun!

chazz

April -<BR><BR>I believe Sea Castles is about 12 miles east of Montego Bay. We stayed with our 11-year-old at the Wyndham, which is just west of Sea Castles. Doctor's Cave Beach is in the city of Montego Bay - you can take a taxi there, or your hotel may have a shuttle of some kind, or perhaps the "Soon Come Shuttle" is still running between MoBay and the hotels.<BR><BR>Doctor's Cave is in a somewhat urban setting, but the beach itself is gorgeous - white sand, clear water, and snorkeling just a short distance from shore. The water tends to be rough at places like the Wyndham and Sea Castles, on the unprotected north shore, but Montego Bay is protected and calmer.<BR><BR>Our son loved Jamaica and its culture and it was a very memorable trip for him. He especially liked the Dunn's River Falls trip. Try to get into the inland areas, such as on one of the so-called "plantation tours." Rose Hall Great House (near the Wyndham) is also worth a visit.<BR><BR><BR>

April

Our e-mail isn't working right now Liz, but I'll read your message as soon as I can get it. Don't be offended if it takes awhile. The system has been down since before Christmas--welcome to the world of non-profit organizations!!<BR><BR>Anyway...Thanks for the info everyone. Everything sounds good. We'll just be cautious, as we would be in any other large city. We got lost on the south side of London last year. If we survived that, we can get through any thing.<BR><BR>I had heard or read somewhere that there were quite a few hawkers at Doctor's Cave Beach. Is this the case?<BR>Sounds like it would still be worth going if the beach is better than the one at the hotel.<BR><BR>Still need tips on the water activities. Ideas on great places to go on the island.<BR><BR>Also, does anyone know more about the day trips to Cuba? Where we could find a boat ride over, etc? Kind of interested and thought it might be something fun to do if we get bored.

chazz

The "hawkers" are on the street outside the entrance to Doctor's Cave Beach.<BR>You have to go through a gatehouse (and pay money) to get into the beach.<BR>Once inside, we encountered no higglers.<BR>There are a couple of other beaches in MoBay (Cornwall; Fletcher; others), but I think DC is the best.<BR>

ohliz

No higglers on that beach.<BR><BR>Here are a couple of ttrip reports I wrote, they include some of our favorite day trips:<BR><BR>www.alink/com/personal/liz/negril/ - start there, then there are reports for Nov 200 and 2001 linked from that one, those last two trips we took our kids.<BR><BR>Waterfalls! We loved YS Falls and Mayfield Falls, so did our kids.<BR><BR>We snorkeled with manatees on the south coast this year, very neat experience.<BR><BR>There are boats that go out to snorkel and/or for sunset, ask at your hotel. Glass bottom boats go out from Doctor's Cave too, just ask.<BR><BR Liz

Lynn & Andy

Hi April:<BR>We just booked a last minute to Seacastles -- leaving Feb 1st. We've never been to Jamaica, but try a different island every year. We'll give you a report when we return, if you're interested.<BR>

Shawnie

April, <BR><BR>I too am trying to decide on going to Jamaica in July for my Honeymoon. I hope folks here can help me decide if Runaway Bay is a good choice. I am getting the honeymoon as a gift from a relative as a time-share, so my options are somewhat limited. <BR><BR>I have been in the caribbean at all-inclusive resorts & YOU CANNOT BEAT IT!! Food everywhere, whenever you want & no need to worry about money or where to eat. You & your daughter will LOVE it! Have a great time. Just do be careful, as always, & keep her close~ make sure she knows that. Nothing to "fear," but you want her in sight & vice versa. <BR><BR>Take Care,<BR>Shawnie

chazz

One piece of misc. advice to those of you who will be staying in the MoBay or Runaway Bay or Ocho areas and are considering a trip to Dunn's River Falls:<BR>We took an escorted trip there (van with about 20 people) and had a great time. However, our tour did not allow us to spend any time on the beautiful BEACH which is located at the foot of the falls, where the water flows into the ocean.<BR>If you go, see if you can arrange to have some beach time, as well as the ever-popular "climbing the falls" bit.<BR>You might also want to try to schedule this excursion when there are fewer cruise ships in port (oops, I guess that's a second piece of advice).<BR><BR><BR>

ohliz

Good advice chazz. In my opinion, the only way to go to Dunn's (or naywhere but Dunn's in particular) is with a private driver/guide. Then you don't have to hold hands with 100 other people, you can stop and relax in the pools on the way up/down, and you can hang out on the beach. <BR><BR>In short, you can do whatever you want, for as long as you like.<BR><BR Liz

julie

Hey, have a great trip! We can share notes in April since my husband and my 2 year old son and I are going to Wyndam Rose Hall on March 18th. I've gotten mostly rave reviews from friends who have gone, although they all suggest caution about going off on your own out of the resorts.<BR><BR>You got a lot of great advice!<BR><BR>Take care,<BR><BR>Julie

april

Thanks, Julie. I'm really excited to go. Been waiting for a long time. <BR><BR>I did get a lot of great advice. I feel comfortable about going to the island now. I am extra happy about the fact that my daughter will get to see another side of life. She is an only child and is a little spoiled (tells me she HAS to have a palm pilot) so this should be a great experience for her.<BR><BR>I've heard both good and bad reviews of Jamaica from people I know who have gone, but mostly it's been positve reports. Like I have said before---it seems you either love or hate Jamaica. It must leave a very strong impression.

april

Well, we have returned from vacation!!<BR><BR>Our hotel got swiched at the last minute since SeaCastles is closed right now. We ended up at the Starfish Trelawny. It was okay. I have read some of the comments others have made and can see their point. <BR><BR>The food wasn't all that great, but edible.<BR>The rooms were not very nice, but liveable. <BR>There were lots of different things to do, but after a few days we got bored. The beach seemed great to us, since we don't have one here at home.<BR><BR>I really was enjoying myself until I got a raging sunburn on my back. Then I pretty much just wanted to go home and get some prescription medicine. Which is what I did----visited the doctor and received FOUR prescriptions!!<BR>It was a serious sunburn!<BR><BR>Would I go back? Probably not. It's not a reflection on Jamaica---the people there were so completely wonderful and friendly---but there are plenty of other places in the world to visit that also have nice beaches and beautiful mountains. Places where I wouldn't be afraid to leave the resort on my own.<BR><BR>All in all, it was an okay trip. We relaxed and when I went to my doctor, my blood pressure was the lowest it's been in a long time. But, I still wish we would have gone to Europe instead...

Diana

I absolutely love Jamaica. My friends and I are going the end of June. This will be our third trip and I can't wait. We have never stayed in the resorts or hotels, but always rent a villa for the week. To me that is the only way to go if you're going with a group. They come with a full staff, so to me that is the ultimate vacation- I don't have to lift a finger. We never have any problems with crime, ganja or anything else. Maybe though, it because they are our people.

chacoms

Traveling to Montego Bay on May 4th and staying at the Wyndham there. Would appreciate any comments, good or bad in addition to what has been said. Mostly concerned about beach at the Wyndham. Is the water calm or rough there? Not a great swimmer but love to just float in the water. What about quality of drinks and food? Have done 8 cruises but never just stayed on an island for a week. Would appreciate any feedback. <BR><BR>April: if you have already went on your trip to Jamaica, I would like some feedback from you. thank you.

Sharon

We have traveled to Jamaica twice before and stayed at Grand Lido Braco. We and a couple from Germany toured the south coast of Jamaica with a driver/van -- saw the beautiful Y.S. Falls and took the black river cruise. The drive through the mountains was beautiful but I did not feel completely safe all the time. We were solicited many times but no one bothered us once we said no thank you firmly. In these days and times no matter where one travels one must be more vigilant. I think the best policy is to use common sense no matter where you go and display politeness when merited. We had many friendly conversations with the employees of the resort where we stayed and found out a lot about the Jamaican people--and how they loved to talk about their country. Have a great time.

april

We have already taken our trip to Jamaica and returned last month. I posted a message on April 5th that talks about what we did and how well we liked our stay. <BR><BR>One thing I did not mention in my previous post is that my daughter and I went on the Luminous Lagoon ride. It was probably one of my favorite things we did. I still have flashbacks of riding on the water, watching the fish dart away from the boat and listening to our tour guide sing Jamaican songs in the moonlight. Very nice experience.<BR><BR>Again, we won't likely go back, but we have a few nice memories to reflect on.<BR><BR>By the way, my back is much better now!

colin

i am going to starfish trelawny resort in jamaica oct 2002. previous reports not very good anyone stayed there.

Bud

My wife and I are going to Negril in May. We are staying at "Couples/ Swept Away" Can anybody that has stayed there give us a review and what would you reccomend doing outside the resort? Did you find it safe to travel into town alone or would we need a tour guide?<BR><BR>Thanks in advance for your advice.

hollie

my husband (then boyfriend) went to negril, jamaica in 1998. we were on a tight budget so we stayed in a dump but we LOVED negril. we felt safe everywhere we went. we went parasailing, went to YS falls, and went on a day sail trip. we had a great time in negril. we were constantly offered drugs but we felt safe nonetheles. we walked around at night by ourselves and never felt threatened. the beach is beautiful and you can walk all over. you cannot walk from the beach to the cliffs as it is too far of a walk. there is a small grocery store in between the beach and the cliffs. we bought a lot of groceries and ate in our room a lot (due to our budget). we spent a few nights at the pickeled parrot watching the sun set. we snorkeled at the cliffs and the water was CLEAR all the way to the ocean floor. you can swing off a rope swing into the water off the cliffs. all in all we loved jamaica and we have now been to many all inclusives and our budget vacation ranks up there!!