caribtraveler

My husband, our 4-year-old son and I just came back from a trip to Jamaica (7/30-8/7/06). We had one MAJOR issue with our hotel but the trip itself was GREAT. I've included photos in this report.

First of all, THANK YOU to all the Jamaica lovers on this board. I read most, if not all your posts (gotta love that search box!). I must single out 3 people. A BIG thank you to CaribbeanSoul whose last trip report resulted in me booking this trip. His obvious love of Jamaica always brings a smile to my face. A HUGE thank you to Alya for saving me from big hair (I'll explain later). And last but certainly not least, the BIGGEST thank you to Tivertonhouse. If you've been a Fodorite as long as I've been, then you know who the experts are when it comes to certain islands. For Jamaica, it's without a doubt Tivertonhouse. His replies to various posts helped shape a major part of our vacation, and that part was ALL GOOD. 8-)

THE AIRPORT IN MONTEGO BAY:
Sangster International is a fairly big aiport that is very well organized. Upon landing, we had a long walk to immigration where we had to wait in line for about 25 minutes. The lines moved well due to a good number of agents (thank goodness since several planes landed at about the same time). After we picked up our bags, we had to go through customs. That was quick. No headaches whatsoever to report about the airport regarding our arrival and departure.

I booked "Talk of the Town Tours" ( www.talkofthetownnegril.com ) for our airport pick-up and drop-off for no other reason than ease. I chose them for our excursions and thought it would just be easier to book them for everything. I'm making that point so you're aware that I did not shop around for the cheapest way to get to Negril, so there could very well be one. The drive to and from Negril is about 1 hour 20 minutes. Final cost for the airport transfers for 2 adults: $110 (our son was free).

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My apologies for the LONG rant on the hotel but I had to explain what our problem was. I promise the trip got better!

WHERE WE STAYED:
I originally planned on splitting our stay between Montego Bay and Negril but after some research, I came to the conclusion that our place in Negril was IT (I couldn't find a hotel in Montego Bay that appealed to me as much as the one we picked in Negril).

HOTEL: It did NOT turn out to be IT . We stayed at a boutique hotel called Idle Awhile ( www.idleawhile.com ). The whole concept of the hotel is a good one. Small, cute and intimate place nestled in gardens right on the gorgeous 7-mile beach. The hotel reminded us but fell short of one our favorite places in Mexico, the Hacienda Chichen Resort near the Chichen Itza ruins.

OUR ROOM: is the only reason why it turned out not be IT. This is a really affordable hotel, so I had originally planned on booking a suite for the space. However, I noticed that several Trip Advisor reviewers complained that there was no AC in the living room area, so one couldn't really enjoy sitting there as it would get too hot/humid (there's AC in the bedroom and FANS in the living room). The fact that we were going in August meant that the living room area would probably be unbearable, therefore a true waste of money. So I went with a regular room, gardenview.
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And let the rant begin. We ended up in room 101 which is on the first floor and next to the main walkway that goes from the entrance to the beach. What's wrong with that, you say? Well, you should see the windows in EVERY room of this hotel. There's a screen to keep the bugs out, and then wooden shutters. That's it.
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So guess what? Sound is NOT blocked off. You can hear EVERY person talking and walking down the path (who knew so many people didn't pick up their feet when they walked?!).
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At about 6pm, the cicadas/crickets/whatever would start singing and wouldn't stop till early morning. And they were LOUD (we did get used to them after a couple of days). My husband had an suggested I drink 2 rum punches at night to knock me out. Don't laugh. I tried it I was so desperate for sleep! I could only drink one and I kinda/sorta slept better.

To add to this, we ended up in Jamaica during a couple of national holidays and the equivalent of spring break. So on the weekends (just the weekends - we got there on a Sunday and were there the entire following weekend), there were parties further down the beach and the main road in Negril was packed with cars. On the whole, not a big deal to us except again at nights. We could hear the base from whatever party happening. Girls from rich Jamaican families would come stay those weekends at hotels in Negril (including ours) to go to those parties. Like any 'self-respecting' 18, 19 or 20-year-old, they couldn't have cared less about anyone else staying at the hotel, as they were LOUDLY coming in and out of their rooms at all hours of the night.

To top it all off, on our first night, the power went out during the middle of the night so the generator kicked in. I swear that thing felt like it was right outside our window. This happened one more time during our stay.

I don't believe in telling people to stay away from a hotel because we all have different likes, dislikes and levels of tolerance. What can be my nightmare can be someone else's paradise, and vice-versa. We admittedly go to bed early (around 9pm/10pm). We weren't looking to party. We wake up early. Sleep is very important to us as we get little of it back home (due to work and other issues that I won't get into). So to go on vacation looking for relaxation and rest and not get the latter was unacceptable to us.

After our first night there, we tried to switch rooms but there were none available. I don't know that it would have made a difference because we talked to a family from California who was staying in an oceanview one-bedroom suite and they told us they also thought it was noisy and that on top of that, they could hear the kitchen activities first thing in the morning! Yikes! We seriously looked into staying at another hotel. At that point, we didn't care if we lost our money. We couldn't find any available rooms at any of the hotels we tried. Unfreakinbelievable. We ended up leaving Jamaica a day early so we could get two good nights of sleep instead of one before going back to work. :'(

Despite the great staff and the great beach, we can't in good conscience recommend this hotel to anybody . But maybe our needs aren't like yours. If that's the case, here's the rest of the hotel review and some advice for you if you do decide to stay there.

GARDENVIEW ROOM: It's just okay. We don't think there's anything really special about it. We had a king bed with a very firm mattress. Closet space with hangers and shelves (no doors to the closet). Tiled floor.
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Small safe (too small to put our son's portable DVD player in it so we ended up stashing it in our suitcase - no problem). Empty mini-fridge. Small TV with network and cable channels and the BBC, but NO ESPN to my husband's horror! There's AC and a ceiling fan. Here's another mini-rant about those windows. What a WASTE of energy when you have the AC on. The cold air goes right out the window! I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend bringing bug spray for flying insects. Mosquitoes and others would get into our room EVERY day.

You know how you're unhappy about a place and you start nitpicking?? Here I go: NO iron/ironing board. The clock wasn't working properly, we had to constantly adjust the time. Same for the lamp. Phone died as we were trying to find another hotel (not kidding). The umbrella provided in the room was broken. Okay, I'm done nitpicking and back to the regular review.

The bathroom was very unappealing...very basic and motel-like. Not one outlet in the bathroom! Unbelievable! (Am I nitpicking again?) And this is the part where I profusely thank (again) fellow Fodorite Alya. Before our trip, she alerted me to the fact that this hotel does NOT have blowdryers! With the noise issue, finding that out on arrival would have put me over the edge! I shudder just thinking about what could have been since big hair is not my thing . Whether she likes it or not, Alya is my new Fodorite best friend!
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The terrace is really nice, spacious, well shaded with a ceiling fan. Please know that due to the shade, it takes a couple of days for clothes to dry. So bring 3 bathing suits if you can. Also, protect yourself from mosquitoes if they love you. My son and I got some serious bites while sitting outside.
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We did take a sneak peak at a one-bedroom suite and it looked really nice. We didn't see the bathroom so we don't know if it's like ours or not.

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BEACH: We had NO idea Negril's beach was this BEAUTIFUL. Calm, clear water with soft sand. Shallow for quite awhile so perfect for little ones. The pictures tell it all.

Our son in the water:
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To the left of the hotel:
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To the right of the hotel:
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More beach:
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Look how far out we are and it's still shallow:
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View of the beach from the restaurant:
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View of the hotel from the beach (you don't really see it):
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As our stay progressed, we noticed the alga getting worse. Yuk! There appeared to be less of it on our last 2 days. Here's a picture when the alga was at its worse:
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THE 'DREADED' BEACH VENDORS: They were just fine. A firm, polite 'no thank you' did the trick. My husband did get offered marijuana several times. Again, a polite 'no thank you' worked fine. The hotel security guy also made sure they were not persistent. We truly did not think they were an issue. An Iddle Awhile guest who's not saying 'no thank you':
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POOL: There isn't one and that's really okay. The sea in front of the hotel is like a giant pool.

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RESTAURANT/FOOD: There's only restaurant and it's called "Chill Awhile". It's outdoor, very casual, small with maybe 9 tables and a bar. Very cute and laid back with great, relaxing views of the beach. We ate breakfast and most of our lunches at the hotel and we thought those meals were good. We had dinner there one night and were not impressed with our grilled chicken breast served in Jamaican sauce.
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Our son chilling in one of the 2 hamacs by the restaurant:
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Some prices:
--3 pancakes $5
--Omelette with cheese and tomato $6.50
--Most sandwiches with fries are $6-$7
--Jerked Chicken $9.50
--Garlic snapper with tartar sauce $10.50
--Curried lobster $19.50
--Coffee $1.50
--Juices $2.00
--Coke $1.50
--Strawberry Daiquiri (with rum) $4.00

STAFF: Very nice. Jamaicans really do say "Yea Mon". LOVE it! One of the plusses of staying in a boutique hotel is that the staff ends up knowing you and vice-versa. Usually that means great, personalized service. One example: We had left our stuff (towels, son's toys) at the beach to go eat lunch elsewhere. Meantime, it poured. So after lunch, we went straight to our room. The beach employee brought us back our stuff at the end of the day. How nice is that? You'd never get that in a big resort because they'd have no idea who the stuff belongs to.
Our son chatting with one of the employees:
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MOST IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION: If you do decide to stay at Idle Awhile, request a room on the 2nd floor and away from the walkway. Those rooms have got to be somewhat better in terms of the noise. I read a lot of reviews about this hotel before booking it and I did not see one mention about the windows/noise. I really don't get it.

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WEATHER: We sure were feelin' HOT HOT HOT! The is powerful so protect yourself well. My husband who's...hmmm...how should I say this diplomatically...ah heck... My husband who's really white bought for the very first time a UV shirt and that worked great for him.
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Thank goodness our son takes from me and does well in the sun. We both got really dark, really fast. There were several showers during our stay but they were usually in the afternoon after we had already put in some 5 hours on the beach (remember we get up early). So we didn't feel cheated at all. Also we lucked out during our excursions, the weather was GREAT on those days.

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS:
--We did a glass bottom boat ride with "Mike Glass Bottom Boat" for about an hour or more. His boat is near Idle Awhile. It was $20/adult (no charge for our son). He took us by a reef near Booby Cay island (we didn't snorkel). We saw a sea turtle, lots of starfish and colorful fish. Looks like it'd be a good snorkeling experience for anyone.
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--There's a lovely gift shop right across from the street from Idle Awhile called "Jamaica Jane Gift Shop". It is affiliated with the hotel. It sells a variety of items from art work to clothes (everything is classy). I bought a beautiful ceramic bowl and 2 paintings from a local artist. You must check it out if you're in the area.

--We didn't change any money upon arriving in Jamaica. We had no problems using currency wherever we went. Sometimes we'd get change back in Jamaican dollars.

caribtraveler

RESTAURANTS:
We actually did not go to a lot of them. We found that our 2 best meals were at VERY CASUAL Jamaican places compared to the more upscale international restaurants. Also, since Jamaica is such a laid back destination, it's okay to go to dinner in flip-flops. I LOVED that!

THE PORK PIT: We stopped for lunch at this Jamaican place during our visit of Montego Bay. It's sort of a fast-food place near Walter Fletcher Beach. We ate the BEST jerk pork ever! =D>

BEST OF THE WEST: This little place is right across from Idle Awhile. The guy cooks lobster, chicken, etc... on 2 grills right outside. You tell him what you want and he'll get if off the grill and wrap it in tin foil for you to go. We had the jerk chicken and it was DELICIOUS!
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KUYABA ON THE BEACH: This casual place is located at the Hotel Kuyaba in Negril. It's on a wooden deck with a huge palapa for a roof right on 7-mile beach with views of the sea (the beach in that area is very narrow by the way). We had lunch there and sat on the most uncomfortable chairs I've ever sat on. I had a cheeseburger with fries. I did NOT like it. Whatever they use to marinate the meat is not good. My husband had the grilled chicken breast filet burger with fries and said it was adequate. For 2 cheeseburgers + 1 chicken burger + 2 cokes + 1 fruit punch, lunch came to $38.82 (tip not included). Waiting for the rain to stop:
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NORMA'S: This International/Jamaican restaurant is located at the Sea Splash Resort in Negril. It's also on a wooden deck right on 7-mile beach with views of the sea. I had the jerk chicken with rice which was just okay and a bit on the dry side. My husband had the grilled filet of red snapper with potatoes. He said it was very good. For dessert, we had chocolate cake. Very rich! With 1 white wine and 1 coke, the total cost of dinner came to $56.93 (tip not included). We had taken a taxi to this place but decided to walk back via the beach after dinner. It was really nice.
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By the way, we had considered moving to this resort when we were trying to get out of Idle Awhile. I'm so glad we didn't, the beach here is also narrow. On the surface, the hotel does not look as appealing as Idle Awhile and there was this unattractive small house right next to it.

LE VENDOME: This Jamaican/French restaurant is located at the Charela Inn hotel in Negril (right next to Idle Awhile). You can eat indoor or outdoor with views of the beach/sea. Indoor still feels like outdoor because of the big open arches. We sat on the terrace outside. Our food was good but not great. I had the filet mignon ($35). The gravy was really tasty but the meat itself was just okay. My husband had the pork chops caribbean style ($16). He said it was good, not great. For dessert, I had the banana flambe which was yummy! ($3.80) and my husband had the chocolate mousse which was good ($4.50). With 1 bowl of white rice (for the difficult eater aka 4-year-old child) + 1 red wine + 1 fruit punch + 1 pepsi, total for dinner came to $78.64 (tip not included).
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caribtraveler

WHAT WE DID:

The following was the HIGHLIGHT of our trip.

We put aside 3 days to see parts of the island. Whenever we travel, we usually rent a car to sightsee. I planned to do that until I saw a Fodor's post where everyone was advising a person to go with a driver because the Jamaican drivers were aggressive, the roads were bad and had no signs, etc... I said to myself "ugh, so many wimps!" (yes I did), until the 5th or so reply from "the voice of God" aka Tivertonhouse who said a driver would be best because etc... Anyway, his response made me think about it. Since I'm always the driver on trips (my husband is in charge of the directions), I thought it would be nice for once to be able to look at the scenery without worrying about driving us into a ditch. I guess I'm part of the "wimp" crowd now! quot;>

I booked our tours via e-mail with a company that Tivertonhouse recommends: Talk of the Town Tours ( www.talkofthetownnegril.com ). Before our trip, I had a back-and-forth e-mail conversation with Sienna who was just lovely as can be while helping us plan our excursions.

This company does NOT take credit cards so you have to wire them the deposit, which is $50 for each excursion day and $50 for the airport pick-up/drop-off. Sienna will let you know which online company they use and it's all a very easy process. At the end of each excursion, you have to pay the remaining balance for that particular excursion in cash or in traveler's checks. We left the money in our room safe and would go get it when they'd drop us off. The cost of the excursions may seem a bit high (they did to us at first), but they really aren't when you realize what you're getting (vehicle, guide and no worries for an ENTIRE day). You can tell them that you're willing to share the excursion with other people. I assume the price would then go down. We chose not to share so we'd have the flexibility to make slight changes or cut things short if needed (better to do that when you have a 4-year-old in tow).

EXCURSION #1: BLACK RIVER SAFARI AND YS FALLS

Our driver/guide on this trip was David. After picking us up at 9am, he asked if we minded if he brought along his two teenaged kids (12 & 14). We didn't mind at all. Turned out they were the most well-behaved, lovely teens we'd ever met with an obviously great relationship with their father. The boy was a bit shy but the girl was a little more outgoing and took to our son right away. It was very cute to see.

We enjoyed the drive to the southern coast with David pointing out things of interest. We went though the fishing villages of Bluefields and Belmont and the town of Whitehouse, passed sugarcane and papaya fields.
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Loved this sign:
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BLACK RIVER SAFARI/BOAT TOUR: What a GREAT 45-minute tour this is. We got on a boat to tour the Black River, saw several crocodiles (they all have names) and the beautiful Mangrove Avenue. Talk of the Town Tours uses a boat captain named Cornell who is simply FANTASTIC. He is so informative and entertaining at the same time.
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Old Margaret chillin' in the sun:
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Captain Cornell having a little fun with the croc - I think this one's name was Tom:
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Mangrove Avenue:
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Loved this sign:
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After Black River, we stopped for lunch at a nearby place called the Bridge House Inn. We had some really good chicken, beef stew, yams and rice and beans. YUMMY!

YS FALLS: They are located in a beautiful area of Jamaica: very green/lush, mountains, horses, etc...
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You can't drive straight to the falls. You park your car at the entrance and then you get on this tractor ride that will take you to them.
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This was lots of fun and the falls...WOW..they are BEAUTIFUL. There's a pool there too which the kids can enjoy if the falls are a bit too much for them. Both my husband and I did the rope swing thing. That was FUN! But the water there is COOOLD!! Bring water shoes for this one and a life jacket for little ones.
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Our son with David's daughter:
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On the way back, David drove through the famous Bamboo Avenue. It was not as beautiful as I've seen in pictures. David did tell us the trees suffered from the last hurricane, and that last year there were huge protests over rising gas prices and people marched along that road destroying some of those trees. Too bad.
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Total cost: $280 (includes entrance fees to Black River and YS Falls)

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EXCURSION #2: FALMOUTH + ROSE HALL GREAT HOUSE + MONTEGO BAY

Pick-up time: 9am. Our guides on this day were Solomon and Sienna (married to each other - and David is Solomon's uncle). Let's me say right away that this tour is not for everyone. It's more interesting and educational than 'fun'. It's only for people who enjoy a bit of history and want to explore what's under the surface to find out more about a country and its people.

FALMOUTH: This is an old Georgian town (built in the 1700s) located on the north coast of Jamaica. We parked the van in the town's center and proceeded to walk around to view some of the buildings. Solomon and Sienna knew a little bit about the town but not the details. That wasn't a problem for us because I had my guidebook with details of the town. Oh wait! I left the guidebook at the hotel! Anyway, it was fine. We did see what we wanted to see and enjoyed the tour despite the HEAT!

St. Peter's Anglican Church built in 1795, 2nd oldest church on the island:
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Falmouth Courthouse, dated 1815 but a fire destroyed it in 1926. This is a reconstruction:
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ROSE HALL GREAT HOUSE: This is about a 45-minute tour. Its history is interesting and creepy to say the least!
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After Rose Hall, we stopped for lunch at the Pork Pit which I mentioned under my restaurant reviews. In case I didn't say this already, the BEST jerk pork ever!

MONTEGO BAY: We originally wanted to walk around downtown MoBay to get a feel of it but we were tired and it was HOT. So we asked Solomon and Sienna to just drive through it and we'd take a few pictures here and there. Traffic was HORRENDOUS, as bad if not worse than NYC! But I'm a people watcher so I didn't care and enjoyed watching a slice of Jamaican life unfolding before my eyes.
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Sam Sharpe Square:
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Total cost: $270 (includes entrance fee to Rose Hall)

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EXCURSION #3: DOLPHIN SEARCH + PELICAN BAR

Pick-up time: 8am. Solomon and Sienna were our guides again. Bring water shoes and a life jacket for littles ones for this tour. The drive to Treasure Beach to catch Captain Dennis' boat took about 2 hours. We saw Jake's, which looked like a pretty interesting/funky place to stay at. The area of Treasure Beach is very unique. If you want to get away from it all, this would be a good place to be. We liked it.
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DOLPHIN SEARCH: Captain Dennis was waiting for us (sidebar ladies and let's not tell our husbands: Captain Dennis is cute! with the most beautiful light brown eyes a la Marcus Allen ). On a serious note, he's really a great guy . Anyhoo, there were about 12 other people on the boat with us, and off we went to find dolphins. It was not a long search. We saw several of them fairly quickly. WOW! There is nothing better than seeing animals in their natural environment, let me tell you.
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PELICAN BAR: After the dolphins, Captain Dennis took us to the Pelican Bar. I didn't have my watch but it felt like a 20 to 30-minute boat ride to the bar. ANOTHER WOW! What a COOL place!! We it! The bar looks rickety but it is definitely well built. The area all around it is shallow so we were able to hang out for about 1 hour 1/2. Our son LOVED it as well.
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Where the bar owner keeps his supplies:
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Us at the Pelican Bar:
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Views from the Pelican Bar:
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Sea urchins found nearby:
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Captain Dennis:
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I think this was our FAVORITE tour. You can't go to Jamaica and not do this!

Total cost: $285 (includes boat captain's fee).

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I am SO GLAD we didn't rent a car. The driving in Jamaica is a little out there and the roads are not great. The excursions with Talk of the Town Tours MADE our trip. We had a FANTASTIC time with David, Solomon and Sienna. We have nothing but GREAT things to say about them and would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone and everyone . So thank you thank you thank you to Tivertonhouse for your recommendation.

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CONCLUSION: My husband and I basically came out of this trip astounded at the bad reputation Jamaica gets. The country is beautiful, the people are warm. There is poverty and we know there's crime but like any other major country, you just need to be careful about where you go and who you deal with. Watch any local newscasts here at home and you'd think the U.S. is all about robberies, rapes, murders and child sex offenders. Wouldn't you roll your eyes if someone told you they'd never come to the U.S. due to our crime problems? If you're not comfortable venturing out on your own, go with a tour company like we did. They know where to take you and not to take you. You'll be able to enjoy Jamaica like it should be enjoyed.

We'd love to go back, but we'd want to see the other side of the island. The Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios looks lovely. If we do go back to Negril, it'd be for our annual "hot date" trip (aka anniversary trip with no cutie pie in tow). We'd stay at the Rockhouse which we have been eyeing for a very long time.

So many places, so little time. Sigh...

We're now looking forward to this year's "hot date" trip (aka anniversary trip): Turks & Caicos in 7 weeks! Happy travels everyone and hope you enjoy your travels as much as we do!

ejcrowe

Fantastic trip report! I'm just sorry that you didn't have a better experience with Idle Awhile--maybe it's a fluke, or maybe they're resting on their laurels. Who can say?

I didn't have time right now to check out your photos, but I will certainly do so tomorrow when I'm more wide awake. I love that you post "illustrated" reports like this.

Don't you just love the Pelican Bar? Is it not one of the most surreal experiences you've had while traveling? Just pulling up in a boat to a place that looks like it's barely standing...then hauling yourself up to feel that no, it's quite sturdy. To picking out a comfortable spot and letting an hour or three pass by while you're contemplating everything and nothing at all.

Thanks again for the entertaining read. And you officially have the record for fastest trip report!

MarionCK

What a WONDERFUL trip report ! Thank you for the detail.

I haven't looked at your photos...but plan on a relaxing hour or two with some kind of Jamaican drink in hand to enjoy them ;-)

There are many *Jamaican obsessed* on this board...and you earn that title only if you get out and explore the real Jamaica ! Tiverton is the leader of the pack and helps us all enjoy and celebrate the REAL Jamaica that lives is his soul

Thanks again for the time and effort that went into your report !

Marion

liza

WONDERFUL report!! I couldn't agree more about TOT, and I love Dennis, we did the dolphin-Pelican-Black River otur with him then a year later did it again, with our kids, and if we go to TB in December we'll do it a third time, I love it so

Your picture of Jake's beach in TB is my new wallpaper

liza

Did you not get to the cliffs at all?

CaribbeanSoul

Thanks Caribtraveler! What an OUTSTANDING contribution! I am so glad you had a great trip despite your hotel experience. I must say, it is the first negative experience I have read of pertaining to IA. Sounds like timing had something to do with it as this time of year, it is normally VERY quiet. That is why we like to travel there in the "off-season".

Your photos are outstanding and really capture the detail you are writing about! Enjoy your Turks & Caicos trip in 7 weeks....I can't wait for THAT trip report!

alya

Aw Shucks, Carib

Hair dryers can make or break your vacation can't they? Well they can mine I'm glad you took the advice.

We stayed in room 102 for 2 nights before being moved to 101 and found it much louder than 101, 102 has the drain pipes and plumbing from IA and Coco La Palm outside - I was in and out of the bathroom so much, but running water has that effect on me

I think that CS is correct and that it is just infortunate for you that it was the wrong time of year; we went late April and had no real issue with noise, although I do agree that first thing in the morning especially as the staff were arriving and greeting each other it did get a little noisy - luckily I can sleep on a washing line so I just turned over and went to sleep again.

Loved the pictures (no big hair ) and your son is so cute - a wonderful trip report, I haven't finished my Aruba part of our trip in June and here you are a day after you return posting yours =D>

Also can't wait for the T&C trip report -where are you staying?

tivertonhouse

Caribtraveler: Good to see you're now
'addicted'. Marion and many others can vouch for Jamaica Inn -- and you could use it next trip for explorations as far as Porty. But that's next trip. Happy reflections of this one -- more
trampoosing soon come

ejcrowe

caribtraveler, I just finished going through your pics--how fun! Your pictures of the dolphin search and the Pelican Bar turned out much nicer than ours, as the strong wind when we were there made the water very cloudy and brown--the wind had whipped up silt from the Black River and swept it out. Dennis really IS a cutie! But he must have a bigger boat, as the one we went out in never could have fit 15 people. Well, maybe 15 folks the size of your son, but not adults!

I really do like the way you put your trip reports together--very organized with accompanying photos. Well done. Now I'm looking forward to seeing the highlights from your T&C trip. You've got a September anniversary, right?

jacketwatch

This is the best by far trip report I have ever seen on any travel forum. Yah mon.

caribtraveler

Glad everyone is enjoying the trip report. I finally have some down time now and am about to read other people's trip reports (mainly ejcrowe's and MarionCK's).

Liza: Nope, we didn't make it to the cliffs. hmmm...good reason to go back, don't you think?

Alya: We're staying at the Grace Bay Club in T&C. And yikes! re: room 102!

CaribbeanSoul: I agree with you that it was bad timing (too many raving reviews on Trip Advisor not to be)...although the way the windows are built don't do anything to help.

ejcrowe: We had such great weather during our excursions. Sienna told us sometimes there's high tide at the Pelican Bar so not all is as nice as it was that day. We lucked out I guess. Patrick had a ball there. We leave for T&C Sept. 28th (our anniversary is Oct. 1).

liza

Dennis did get a new (larger) boat about a year ago.

brenandg

Thanks caribtraveler, you trip report and photos were great! You make a very nice looking family. If we return to Jamaica, that Pelican Bar/Dolphin search excursion will definitely be on the adgenda. Thanks for taking the time to entertain us.

christiegr

caribtraveler,
I just now got the chance to read your trip report.I love how detailed your reports are and the pictures!It looks like your son had a wonderful time.
(along with you and DH)

We wanted to stay at Idle Awhile when we HAD planned on going this month.(until we decided to move..which is why I have not had the time to be on much lately..packing sucks!)

Anyways...thank you for the wonderful,informative report.

Christie

ejcrowe

Christie, I thought you said the move to AZ was cancelled. is it back on again? or are you moving somewhere else?

<puzzled> and unable to do the little icon thingy...

ej

caribtraveler

Thanks Christie and Brenandg.

Christie: I also thought the same thing than ejcrowe. Didn't you say your husband went to AZ and didn't like it? Did he change his mind? When are you guys moving then? Good luck with everything.

christiegr

ej and Brenda,
No...we are not moving to Arizona BUT we are moving to a larger home about 3 miles away from our current one.(no place like home! )

We are moving tomorrow, so I will be really busy and probably off the net for a little bit.

To anyone traveling in the near future..have a nice time!

Christie

christiegr

Oops..that was meant to be for ej and Caribtraveler..I must be very tired.

Christie