Self Drive vacation in Jamaica
Nov 20th, 2011, 09:33 PM
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Self Drive vacation in Jamaica
I made a rather late plan for my family (self, wife, 2 yr daughter) to visit Jamaica this New Year holidays for a week. Looking for thoughts on the itinerary below as well as ideas on where to stay and things to do. We will be renting a car.
Thurs: Arrive in MBJ. Drive to Negril.
Friday: Drive to Treasure Beach (Black River and Bamboo Lane enroute)
Saturday (12/31): Treasure Beach
Sunday: Drive to Kingston (this is only intended to break the journey from TB to PA)
Monday: Drive to Port Antonio through Blue Mountains (Rafting on Rio Grande in the afternoon)
Tuesday: Drive to Ocho Rios (visit Dunns Falls in afternoon)
Wednesday: Drive to Montego Bay. Stay night.
Thurs: Fly out of MBJ
One specific help I needed was on the best route between Treasure Beach and Port Antonio. Can it be done in a day without breaking the journey at Kingston and if so what is the route and time required. I know this is a little rushed but we are used to fairly active itineraries. And we wanted to visit both coasts since we will likely not be visiting the country again for some time to come.
Thurs: Arrive in MBJ. Drive to Negril.
Friday: Drive to Treasure Beach (Black River and Bamboo Lane enroute)
Saturday (12/31): Treasure Beach
Sunday: Drive to Kingston (this is only intended to break the journey from TB to PA)
Monday: Drive to Port Antonio through Blue Mountains (Rafting on Rio Grande in the afternoon)
Tuesday: Drive to Ocho Rios (visit Dunns Falls in afternoon)
Wednesday: Drive to Montego Bay. Stay night.
Thurs: Fly out of MBJ
One specific help I needed was on the best route between Treasure Beach and Port Antonio. Can it be done in a day without breaking the journey at Kingston and if so what is the route and time required. I know this is a little rushed but we are used to fairly active itineraries. And we wanted to visit both coasts since we will likely not be visiting the country again for some time to come.
Nov 21st, 2011, 01:41 AM
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www.mobay.com/maps.htm
When I did this last stayed in Trident Villas Port Antonio
then around the coast to Kingston then back up through
the Blue Mts to MoBay/Negril.
Fairly dodgy and not touristic in the south many Kingston
areas are dangerous druggy...
travel.state.gov Jamaica for a heads up... unless experienced
staying along the north coast probably wisest.
When I did this last stayed in Trident Villas Port Antonio
then around the coast to Kingston then back up through
the Blue Mts to MoBay/Negril.
Fairly dodgy and not touristic in the south many Kingston
areas are dangerous druggy...
travel.state.gov Jamaica for a heads up... unless experienced
staying along the north coast probably wisest.
Nov 21st, 2011, 04:44 AM
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Shoonye.....we did the same route in 2005. It was a wonderful journey with many memorable moments.
The drive from Treasure Beach to Kingston will take about 1.5 to 2 hours. We stopped at Bath before continuing on to the north coast. The drive from Bath to Port Antonio took quite a while so I would suggest planning to break your journey from TB to PA by spending a night somewhere in between.
I have prepared a trip report on our journey. Click on my name and you will get to my profile page. Trip reports are at the bottom of the page.
Have a great time. You will enjoy seeing the real Jamaica outside of the tourist areas.
The drive from Treasure Beach to Kingston will take about 1.5 to 2 hours. We stopped at Bath before continuing on to the north coast. The drive from Bath to Port Antonio took quite a while so I would suggest planning to break your journey from TB to PA by spending a night somewhere in between.
I have prepared a trip report on our journey. Click on my name and you will get to my profile page. Trip reports are at the bottom of the page.
Have a great time. You will enjoy seeing the real Jamaica outside of the tourist areas.
Dec 1st, 2011, 05:22 PM
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What a lot in a week. We did the island circle on our third Jamaican trip 6 years ago and had a great time but at a much leisurely pace (6 days Negril, 4 days Treasure beach and 5 days P.A.). My only advice would be to extend your holiday by 3 or 4 more days to give you more time in each stop. The distances seem short by North American standards but count on averaging 30 mph or less (especially Negril to T.B. and in and out of Port Antonio.
Dec 5th, 2011, 10:23 AM
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Have a wonderful time, but just a word of caution. My family rented a car last year and on the way back to the airport flying home, the local police pulled us (and a whole bunch of other cars) over for "speeding" and then after saying the fine was up to $250, he said he would let us go. After which he put his hand inside the driver's side window and asked my husband for "a little something for a drink". Yes, we got shook down by the local police. What else were we to do. we gave him money. we did't want to miss our flight. so just be careful...
Dec 12th, 2011, 07:08 PM
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Thanks everyone for responding. I got much harsher comments on another forum and after educating myself more on Jamaica here is my revised itinerary (the response below is what I posted on the other forum that i got chastised)
--
Thank you everyone for the responses. I should probably have given a little more information about our travel style and preferences in the absence of which the reactions above are understandable. We are very active (or rather restless) travelers. For example, lolling around on a beach at one place for more than 2 days is not something we can do very often. Further, we actually like driving and making halts along the way at quaint places. Our two year is a godsend; she is fully potty trained and an excellent traveler. She has been to 20+ countries in her little life so far including such places as Mongolia and Slovakia.
I was ignorant of Jamaican roads and driving conditions and based on my research today have adjusted our itinerary as follows. Our flights, hotels and cars are now booked as well. I would love if you can comment on this revised itinerary, particularly any experience with the properties and suggest any fun things to do
a) First three nights in Negril. Day-trip to Black River and Ys falls one of the days. Hotel booked: Sunset on the Beach resort.
b) Two nights in Ocho Rios. Hotel booked: Crystal Ripple Lodge (trip to Dunns Falls)
c) Two night in Montego Bay. Hotel booked: El Greco
We did not want to stay at an all inclusive resort or an expensive place (not to mention the rates are high for the holidays in any case) so we can focus on interacting more with the environs. Plus we are spending a good part of this week in the Mayan Riviera at a gigantic AI. A rarity in our travel schedule.
--
Thank you everyone for the responses. I should probably have given a little more information about our travel style and preferences in the absence of which the reactions above are understandable. We are very active (or rather restless) travelers. For example, lolling around on a beach at one place for more than 2 days is not something we can do very often. Further, we actually like driving and making halts along the way at quaint places. Our two year is a godsend; she is fully potty trained and an excellent traveler. She has been to 20+ countries in her little life so far including such places as Mongolia and Slovakia.
I was ignorant of Jamaican roads and driving conditions and based on my research today have adjusted our itinerary as follows. Our flights, hotels and cars are now booked as well. I would love if you can comment on this revised itinerary, particularly any experience with the properties and suggest any fun things to do
a) First three nights in Negril. Day-trip to Black River and Ys falls one of the days. Hotel booked: Sunset on the Beach resort.
b) Two nights in Ocho Rios. Hotel booked: Crystal Ripple Lodge (trip to Dunns Falls)
c) Two night in Montego Bay. Hotel booked: El Greco
We did not want to stay at an all inclusive resort or an expensive place (not to mention the rates are high for the holidays in any case) so we can focus on interacting more with the environs. Plus we are spending a good part of this week in the Mayan Riviera at a gigantic AI. A rarity in our travel schedule.
Dec 12th, 2011, 07:11 PM
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DaveJJ thanks for the trip report. Enjoyed reading it.
Spook, agreed. I've reduced travel time to fit within a week since i cannot add more days
Traveling, thanks for the note. The exact same thing happened to us in Mexico last week although we have driven in Mexico several times in the past and never encountered a problem with the local cops.
Spook, agreed. I've reduced travel time to fit within a week since i cannot add more days
Traveling, thanks for the note. The exact same thing happened to us in Mexico last week although we have driven in Mexico several times in the past and never encountered a problem with the local cops.
