We've only spent 1 day in Jamaica , we were on back to back cruises , so on our day there we went to Dunns River Falls , it was really good fun , nice to do something quite active and great scenery , all we needed were out scuba booties and swimwear , I don't know if its very different there now - we went 15 years ago but i remember the beach there being really nice and people very laid back and friendly .

Dunn's River is a must - well it was for me - and if you are physically able - you can climb it too, I sadly walked on the path along side it, but still got the majesty of it all.

Nine Mile - another definite for me too - heaps of fun/culture in a Bob Marley kind of way

Possibly going back again this year, in October - see what pennies and holiday times are available

we were there in February this year.
we stayed Ocho Rios, here is the trips we did.
Mystic Mountain-Bob Sledding, great fun and the skyride up the views were spectacular,there is also ziplining for the more adventurous
Bob Marley- Nine Mile on the Zion bus.
Martha Brae, bamboo rafting
horse riding, including horse ride/swim in the caribbean sea
Prospect Plantation- we went round the estate on a jitney and also a tour of the great house.
a couple of trips into Ocho Rios town
didnt do Dunns River but it was recommended by those we spoke to that did. as was The Blue Hole.
Beautiful country and people, will hopefully go back there some time in the future

son went a few weeks after we came back he did some of the same trips we did, but also went swimming with dolphins, he said it was amazing

we stayed at the riu ocho rios,and we done dunns falls which we booked at the hut on the beach which was part of the hotel.the trip included pick up on a catamaran,around 1 hour snorkeling,entrance into dunns falls then drinks and music back on the catamaran.was a great day.

we also went to a bar near to the hotel which had a live reggae band on,we booked with rep at hotel,cost around $12 per person,and included drinks for 5 hours.the band played for around 2 hours and was fantastic night.

Climbing Dunns River Falls is a must – I swim like a brick and am well into my 60’s – and yet I managed to climb it. The guide is amazing since he carries everyone’s cameras around his neck and takes photos for you all the way up.
Downhill mountain biking excursion in the Blue Mountains is quite gentle, very safe, and lots of fun.
Rafting is really good fun also, I did it way over in Port Antonio, where it’s not too busy and it’s a really good long journey down the river.
I would NOT recommend the trip to Kingston. It shows the truly horrible side of Jamaica, lots of razor wire, horrible slums, and most places you are not allowed to leave the coach because it simply is not safe for tourists.
A walk around Ocho Rios fills in a pleasant morning. If you go with a guide you will be sheparded into the tourist malls which have been built for Americans.
If you go by yourself you will see more and – I found – enjoy it more.
However DO read the guide books before you go walking around. Mine advised “Do NOT go south of the clock tower”. Foolishly I ignored this, and wandered around alone taking photos for a while – until I was surrounded by a gang of quite unpleasant youths who were quite threatening. Not a pleasant experience.

Beware the Jamaican drug culture. Just about everywhere you go you will be offered drugs – even in very public areas, even where there are police around! And don’t even think about buying – on your return to the UK almost every tourist from Jamaica is carefully checked with sniffer dogs.

Thanks for all the information so far, Dunns River Falls seems to be a must so far!

I like the sound of the downhill biking Bill, would never have thought of that

How did you all book you excursions? via the tour rep, through your hotel or from some other seller?

Being a coffee lover did anybody go on a coffee plantation tour and buy some Blue Mountain Coffee?

In general just how safe is it to go out and wander on your own, taking all the normal precautions of course?

We are staying at Lucea, is there much in this area?

Please keep the suggestions and any other general advice coming.

Cheers
Graham

Here's one of the Biking operators. I booked this at the tour desk in my hotel.

http://www.bmtoursja.com/

Thanks Bill, I just had a quick look, that looks like a good day out and I will certainly check that one when we are there

Graham

A long time ago that we were there but yes - Dunn's River Falls is a definite "must do" and we also did the downhill mountain bike ride. We were picked up at around 8am and got back at around 7.30pm so it's a long day. We had stops for breakfast and lunch along the way. The bikes are of the fixed wheel type where the brakes work on pushing the pedals backwards and just holding them there - gives you a bit of leg ache if you're on a long downhill stretch.
But - very little pedalling involved otherwise, it's pretty much downhill all the way! We went in early April and started above the cloud line.

Good fun and it was definitely what was needed for us as I was going totally stir crazy on the AI complex.

We had an idea that longhaul AI wasn't really our cup of tea and this holiday cemented it for us. Luckily, we went with some of my husbands' family and a few of my work colleagues (we got a special deal on it when I was at FC and at a cost of an extra 50 GBP per person me, hubby, his sister and brother-in-law switched from a week AI in Benidorm to a week in Jamaica for the B-I-Ls birthday surprise).

We stayed at the Club Caribbean on Runaway Bay not far out of Ocho Rios.

Thanks for that Shell, I did notice that the bike time pick up for us would be something like 6am with a 3.5hr drive then back to hotel for about 7pm

We are in Jamaica for a week after a cruise.

Graham

It is good fun..... just don't plan to be partying the same night!

Oh, and the company we used did supply helmets as well as knee and elbow pads. Didn't see anyone fall off! We even came home with a pack of Blue Mountain coffee

We even came home with a pack of Blue Mountain coffee

Well that has sold it for me

Another vote for Dunns Falls but also a tip that we took which worked very well. We hired a local taxi for the day and set off early to get to falls before the tour buses. Meant we had place to ourselves at first which was great for the climbing bit. Taxi later took us into Ochio Rios and did a tour around the local area. Much nicer than a tour bus and a lovely lady driver who chatted the whole time.

We hired a local taxi for the day and set off early to get to falls before the tour

Thats a good idea, we have done that before in Tunisia and it worked very well I might just do that, thanks

Really got a lot from these posts.

Wife and I are off to Falmouth, staying at Royalton White Sands on Monday 15th December

It's all inc.

How much spends should we take? I've exchanged £300 into Jamaican dollars and £500 into USD.

We've prebooked Dunns river and dolphin swimming.

sounds like dunns river falls will be our destination for the day before we sail in april )

Just wanted to say thanks for the advice in this thread.

Wife and I are back from our Xmas holiday in Jamaica. We enjoyed the holiday, but it isn't somewhere we would return to.

We found the Canadians so damn rude.

However, we would recommend it to friends.

We did;
Bob Marley House
Dunns Riverfalls
Dolphin Cove
Glowing river thing.

Just saw that about booking a taxi and tour buses...

That was our issue with Jamaica. We like to be spontaneous and just do stuff as and when we feel like it. Normally, we would jump on a local bus and make our own way to where we want to go but it was constantly rammed down our throats that everything had to be booked, even a taxi to get us off our AI complex!

You even had to book to do the glass bottom boat which ran from the hotels' private beach every hour and for the kayaks. We were totally cheesed off with it and did a few recces on foot around the local shops and bars. Not very nice and the liquor store opposite the hotel had bars up at the cashiers window which was a bit off-putting. Add that to being pestered to buy weed by the locals, it got to be a pain in the backside but at least we did get out of the complex!

We also went in a couple of bars in Ocho Rios one night during the week we were there and that was a better than where we were in Runaway Bay. But no, Jamaica is definitely off our list of places to re-visit and I certainly don't think we will be looking to book any longhaul AI packages at any time in the future!