Blogs from Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Central America Caribbean

It's 11:30 AM on a Tuesday....have you had your first Lumumba of the day yet? Then you must not be in Jamaica, Mon! We spent 7 days at The Riu Ocho Rios with family and friends and had such a good time. We can highly recommend it if you think you will go. Almost a kilometre of palm tree lined beach (read: no fighting for beach chairs), great buffets, a Jerk Chicken hut, pools, gardens and fantastic staff. There was a coral reef 50 feet off shore (you could stand on a sandy bottom and look down at it) that we spent hours every day exploring with our snorkels. We only did one off-resort excursion. It started with a catamaran ride to a reef to do some snorkeling (snorkeling was actually better at our resort). Then ... read more

When we learned that we were stopping in Ocho Rios, we talked about not taking an excursion and instead just exploring a bit on our own, either on bike or in a cab. I got onto the Jamaica forum on couchsurfing and asked locals how it was to cycle around Ochi, and they didn't really recommend it. They said that some roads would accomodate it, but most wouldn't. Tempted by the opportunity to zipline in the jungle, we decided to sign up for an excursion, but it full. Instead we signed up to climb Dunn's River falls and ride a chairlift through the the jungle to the top of a mountain. When we first landed on beautiful Jamaica, we learned that, to climb the falls, we needed a certain type of shoes, which one could purchase ... read more

We arrived in the beautiful Caribbean island of Jamaica on Tuesday evening after a very swift and simple flight from Miami to Montego Bay. After a brief hold up at the understaffed immigration desk, we collected our luggage and were soon making our way along the dark coastal roads of northern Jamaica. With the windows down and the cooling sea breeze blowing in our faces we relaxed for the hour and a half journey to the villa. There wasn't much time left in the day or energy in our legs to do much more than have a quick look round and a drink before bed in somewhat nicer surroundings than the motels we have become accustomed to on our road trip in the U.S.A. Breakfast was a delicious platter of fresh, tropical fruit including pineapple, papaya, ... read more

We spent ten great days at Couples Tower Island. The resort had been closed for approximately one year after undergoing renovation and after having been going there several times over the last 20 some years, we were very curious to see what changes have been made. It has lost some of its old world Jamaica feel which has been replaced with a 50's Miami Beach ambiance. The revitalize room bathrooms, swimup bar and additional snack bar were greatly appreciated as well as the outstanding staff service and food! ... read more