Which part of Jamaica is the best?
Jan 6th, 2004 | 08:26 AM
#3
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,268
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My favorite area is not on your list - Portland is the parish and Port Antonio is the largest city in it.
Portland is on the northeast coast, about 2 hours past Ocho Rios. It's got the sea on one side (with numerous beaches, coves, small bays...all different, some a mile long lined with palms, some tiny with a blue lagoon...all lovely) and the blue mountians on the other side. The Blues are huge, rainforest-lush and hide many waterfalls, caves and rivers.
I think it's by far the most beautiful area and some of the hotels there are drop-dead gorgeous, lots of beautiful villas also.
Treasure Beach is another favorite of mine, for being a laid back, no hassle, few tourists fishing village...though that is changing now with more people discovering it (and am I helping now, I ask myself...).
St. Mary is also lovely, it's between Ocho Rios and Portland, and has even fewer tourists and is also very lush.
However, for "a nice beach with people and restaurants nearby" I'd have to say Negril. Lots of tourist and local-friendly nightlife as well. The beach is 7 miles long and is lined with bars, restaurants and small hotels and villas. It's very walker-friendly and there are taxis all over as well.
The only negative is that like MoBay and Ochi, it's got lots of tourists so do expect to be approached to buy stuff regularly, but "no thanks" while walking on generally does the trick.
Portland is on the northeast coast, about 2 hours past Ocho Rios. It's got the sea on one side (with numerous beaches, coves, small bays...all different, some a mile long lined with palms, some tiny with a blue lagoon...all lovely) and the blue mountians on the other side. The Blues are huge, rainforest-lush and hide many waterfalls, caves and rivers.
I think it's by far the most beautiful area and some of the hotels there are drop-dead gorgeous, lots of beautiful villas also.
Treasure Beach is another favorite of mine, for being a laid back, no hassle, few tourists fishing village...though that is changing now with more people discovering it (and am I helping now, I ask myself...).
St. Mary is also lovely, it's between Ocho Rios and Portland, and has even fewer tourists and is also very lush.
However, for "a nice beach with people and restaurants nearby" I'd have to say Negril. Lots of tourist and local-friendly nightlife as well. The beach is 7 miles long and is lined with bars, restaurants and small hotels and villas. It's very walker-friendly and there are taxis all over as well.
The only negative is that like MoBay and Ochi, it's got lots of tourists so do expect to be approached to buy stuff regularly, but "no thanks" while walking on generally does the trick.
Jan 6th, 2004 | 08:47 PM
#5
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 383
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If this is your first trip to Jamaica, I would recommend Negril. The beach is great; there are excellent and reasonably priced restaurants, good bars, friendly people. You can spend all day strolling along the beach, people watching, snorkelling, eating, drinking, dancing, figuring out where you want to stay on your next trip.
Jan 7th, 2004 | 07:14 AM
#7
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 140
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Liza, I find it funny that many folks who haven't explored most of the island find 1 particular place (generally Negril) to be the best. Negril has the best beach and very good night life...that's about it.
For sheer beauty, Portland, Port Maria, St. Mary/Oracabessa areas cannot be beat. With the exception of Kingston, the rest of the island is much lusher than the town of Negril.
Marg, as a first-timer, I would suggest you do Negril for the beach and nightlife. Negril is very convenient for the first-timer. If you have more that a week's time on the island, you could look into splitting your stay between Negril & Ocho Rios. Ochi and surrounding areas are a lot lusher than Negril. I always split my stay in Jamaica between Portland and another part of the island. Manuvering Portland is difficult since it's not close to major airports and ground transport can be costly to get there. For me it's absolutely impossible to visit the island without a trip or stayover in Portland....but then again that' just me
I'm not a fan of Mobay at all.
For sheer beauty, Portland, Port Maria, St. Mary/Oracabessa areas cannot be beat. With the exception of Kingston, the rest of the island is much lusher than the town of Negril.
Marg, as a first-timer, I would suggest you do Negril for the beach and nightlife. Negril is very convenient for the first-timer. If you have more that a week's time on the island, you could look into splitting your stay between Negril & Ocho Rios. Ochi and surrounding areas are a lot lusher than Negril. I always split my stay in Jamaica between Portland and another part of the island. Manuvering Portland is difficult since it's not close to major airports and ground transport can be costly to get there. For me it's absolutely impossible to visit the island without a trip or stayover in Portland....but then again that' just me
I'm not a fan of Mobay at all.
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Jan 7th, 2004 | 12:35 PM
#8
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,268
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Up until this last trip, I would have said Negril too
Portland is a bit harder to get to but that's part of what's so nice about it...not so many tourists are willing to ride the extra couple of hours to get there so beaches and waterfalls and such aren't crowded...also the relative lack of tourists keeps the hustlers busy elsewhere
Portland is a bit harder to get to but that's part of what's so nice about it...not so many tourists are willing to ride the extra couple of hours to get there so beaches and waterfalls and such aren't crowded...also the relative lack of tourists keeps the hustlers busy elsewhere
