Top Tips for Negril, Jamaica
So you are heading to Jamacia. And better yet you are heading to Negril. These are some tips I recommend after visiting this incredible part of Jamaica. If you are traveling to Jamaica and trying to decide where to stay, please look no further than Negril. You’ll thank me later!
Negril, Jamaica
Negril, Jamacia is on the western side of Jamaica. It is about 1.5 hour drive from Montego Bay. The beaches here are the best with soft white sand and crystal blue water. This is a great place to spend your time in Jamaica because there are so many restaurants and bars along the way. There are also so many great day trips and things to do in this area.
top Tip for arriving to Jamaica
If visiting don’t forget to fill out your Electronic C5 Customs and Immigration form which is required for most international visitors- fill out the form HERE. After you get through customs there is a hall with various resorts and transportation options.
How to get to Negril
If you are staying at a resort, check out if they have special deals on direct transfers from the airports. If your resort doesn’t have this there are several options. You can hire a private transfer, join a shuttle bus or hire a taxi. I recommend having cash to pay and tip your drivers unless you pre-pay through your resort. We did a private transfer from Montego Bay (Hotel S) to Negril and from Negril to Montego Bay Airport with Luxurious Cab. It was the best price when I asked a few companies.
Top things to do in Negril
7 Mile Beach
Negril is known for its 7 mile beach which is a stretch of soft white sand with resorts/hotels, restaurants, bars and more. One day we opted to walk the length of the beach and it was a great day. You can see boats, horses, and many shops. It is very safe to walk along. When it got hot on the walk back we would just stop and jump in the water! On this walk we ate at Lilly’s Café and stopped at the infamous Margaritaville!
Enjoy the Jamaican food
There is nothing quite like the amazing flavors of Jamaican cuisine. The jerk spices are very lively and you can indulge with the classic jerk chicken or pork or try some more unusual foods such as oxtail and curried goat. If you are staying at an all inclusive resort you will likely to try some local foods as well as have several international foods to eat. Street foods such as patties and bammy are also great. There are vendors walking all over the 7 mile beach so just grab one if you want to try something! You have to try the local beer and rum as well! If you stay in a place that is not all inclusive that frees you up to try various restaurants. Also if you go on day tours they may provide food or bring you to some local spots!
Take a boat tour
While here you should definitely get out on the water. One of the best ways to do this is to take a tour. There are tons of options from glass bottom boats, catamarans and tiki bar boats. On a boat or catamaran you can get out to some amazing snorkel spots. It’s also a great way to see sunset. In Negril, there are several motor boats/glass bottom boats you can take out for snorkeling or to Booby Island. There are banana boats and fun raft pulling activities as well. Parasailing is also a great way to take in the water in Negril! While here, we did a catamaran tour that brought us snorkeling, cave snorkeling and to Rick’s Café.
Go Snorkeling
The best way to snorkel in Negril is to do a boat tour. The sands near the water are super soft and there isn’t a lot of coral right off the shore. There are small boats everywhere you can ask around prices to bring you out. There are tours to snorkel and Booby Cay Island. The snorkeling was incredible.
Rick’s Café
This is an institution in Jamaica. Here you can catch amazing music, food, drinks and either watch or partake in the famous cliff jumping. The lower cliff jumping is fairly easy while the higher jumps require you reading a waiver. Youll definitely feel the impact from the higher jumps. Also some workers can climb this insane high pole and jump from that- we were lucky to see that on our short stop there. Since we were there for just a bit we only got to do all the cliff jumping but alternatively you can spend a whole evening here eating, drinking and watching an epic sunset.
Caves
The rocky coastline of a big part of Negril is known for its little caves of water. On our catamaran cruise, one of the stops was to snorkel in one of these caves. It was really cool to get to do this. Joseph’s Cave is a tourist attraction that costs around $25 to enter but has a 4.9 and reviews say it is a great little experience if you want to catch a cave on your own. We didn’t get a chance to check it out.
Watch the sunset
Negril is an epic place to watch the sunset since it is on the western side of the island. Every night we went out to the beach to catch the sunset, and it was pretty amazing. The night we did the catamaran cruise we saw it from the boat.
Day Trips from Negril
There are some epic attractions close to Negril including YS Falls which is a 7-tiered waterfall with natural pools that costs about $22 to enter and water shoes are required. Black River Safari brings you through wetlands to see wildlife. Appleton Rum Estate is also a great distillery to visit and get some tasters. There are several tour companies that have a combination of some of the options above if you want to do it all in one day. I really wanted to check these out but we really needed one more day to make that happen. If you want to go to Dunn’s River Falls that is an option but it is a distance so prepare to be in traveling for several hours there and back so if you are going in and out of Montego Bay it may be worth it to take a tour from there which is what we did. Read more about my day tour to Dunn’s River Falls and Secret Falls HERE!
Top Tips for Packing for Jamaica
Absolute musts beyond the essentials include swimwear, sunscreen, sunglasses, snorkels, water shoes, waterproof camera or waterproof phone case, hat and sandals. You must also bring cash USD- new bills for tips so I recommend small bills.
Top Tips for Jamacia
You are going to absolutely love Jamaica! Whether it is for a quick trip or for over a week there is so much to do and enjoy. Check out my full one week itinerary or my top three destinations! Hope this inspires you to visit!
I hope you enjoy your trip to Jamaica. I hope this helps you prepare for your trip.
