How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

where in Jamaica did you visit? Is it as bad and scary as everybody says until you get to the resort? We are trying to plan our one year anniversary vacation and originally wanted to go back to Mexico, but with the way the Hurricanes were this year and the disaster we had with Hurricane Emily on our HM, I am hesitant to go back.

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

Well, I have heard good and bad things. I went there on a cruise and I will never go back.

It was beautiful, but the people were poor and the stress factor of constantly being asked for money or FORCED into little huts to buy teeshirts and other junk at Dunn's River Falls was too much for me. And I grew up in the city and worked in Jamaica, Queens for a while!

I was scared there. Maybe at a resort, it would be OK, but I have no desire to go back. Part of our tour was canceled, we were supposed to go to this open air market thing and the guide said "something bad happened there" and that we would be skipping that stop.

No problem, man. Don't want to get out of the bus anyway!

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

I heard that if you stay at a resort...to stay in it and dont go out of it.
My friends went to Dunns River and LOVED it.

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

We took a cruise and on the way to Dunns there was a shooting that the bus passed by.

Message edited 11/8/2005 8:04:04 PM.

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

We were there for part of our HM in Negril. I could not believe the poverty on our drive from the airport to the resort-- I mean- you hear about it- but you just don;t know how people live-- on the flip side-- you could also see beautiful mansions...

Anyway- we chose to go this particular resort for some reasons- and were disappointed with that-- I don't think all-inclusives are our style... we said after we left- we'd never go back to Jamaica..

Next summer-- SIL is getting married. In Jamaica. This will be in Montego Bay-- so, that is where the airport is-- and the resort is a little different than where we went-- so, it will be a different view of Jamaica.

I have to say-- aside from the pushy people there who try to sell you shite-- the hotel and resort workers are so gracious and wonderful.

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

I was there almost a decade ago & I'm sure it's changed since then. We rarely left the compound ( it was me & a girlfriend). We did have the most spectacular 12 hour (8pm - 8am) layover in Memphis where we rented a car, drove to BB Kings, other nightclubs, Graceland, etc.

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

We went to Montego Bay and our resort was beautiful, there are some scary areas but I didn't see them. There is definite poverty outside the resorts walls but you see that in most Carribean countries.

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

We went to an all inclusive in Negril and LOVED it. No one was pushy at all, and at no point was I scared (and we went on an off-site shopping excursion). We didn't go to any clubs or anything alone, but I didn't feel too safe doing that in Cancun during spring break either. There were people offering pot, jewelry, etc., but they were never threatening. We LOVED the resort and I would definitely go back. I liked it much better than Mexico, and in Mexico I had water and food issues, but was fine in Jamaica. I would like to try St. Lucia, Aruba, and the Bahamas as well though.

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

we went to Jamaica few years ago... stayed at San Souci in Ocho Rios, great hotel, great staff and yummy food... maybe it didnt look too safe when you drove around through villages but we went on couple of sightseeing trips and honestly we never ever felt unsafe... we had an amazing time...

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

We are going to Ocho Rios and staying at the Riu for our 2 year anniversary. It's brand new, just opened this week. Go to trip advisor.com for reviews. It sounds wonderful!

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

I've been to Jamaica and yes, there are some scary parts...but, we pretty much stayed at our resort.

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

Dominican Republic was the same way. We mostly stayed at the resort.

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

We went to Sandals Dunns River in August. The resort was gorgeous but I would not have ventured off the resort alone. The island is poor and there are tons of people selling things to make money.
We went with the mindset that we wanted to relax sit on the beach and do minimal sightseeing. The only thing we did while there that was off the resort was we took a catamaran to Dunns River Falls which was great! We also took a bus the the Sandals Ocho Rios resort.

I would totally go again and I would stay at Sandals again!

Re: How many of you have been to Jamaica and . . .

It is beautiful but YES VERY FREAKIN SCARY!!!! we stayed in Ocho Rios, yes its extremely poor and yes they beg for money they will ask you for a tip BUT if you stay in the resort youre fine AND if you get a local ( the resort should be able to help you, we did this) to take you and drive you around to show you the beauty you MUST do it!!!! It cost us 5 dollars for 2 hours for this wonderful man named Hope to show us the island and OMG how beautiful and hidden treasures there are. We couldnt believe how unbelievable cheap it was and he took us wherever we wanted like I wanted to go into a store and see what its like, we went to a hidden outdoor restaurant with these beautiful cascading waterfalls, wanted to see the school, the city, etc. get the full view of what jamaica is like, we also had a local take us fishing right outside the resort and that was amazing, you can see straight down over 100 feet into the water, it is so clear and the fish WOW. It really is a BEAUTIFUL place BUT do NOT go out at NIGHT!!!! I thank god I am still alive!!!!! Do not risk going to an outside night club- very very scary!!!!!!!

and Dunns River Falls is GREAT!!!

really the beggin is NO different than when you go to mexico like the cancun area flea market. just watch your pockets, b/c when we were there 1 american dollar equalled 33 jamaica dollars this was in 98, so that is why they want to help you as much as possible for those tips.