Falmouth: excursion or not?

My husband and I are going on this cruise for our anniversary. We have never been on a cruise and this is probably a once in a lifetime thing for us. I have always--always--wanted to see Jamaica. It is the most important port to me and we booked this cruise just bc of Jamaica. My ideal situation would be where we spend the day eating the food, exploring the area, experiencing the culture, seeing the history. It would be laid back and we could just immerse ourselves in the culture for the day. I have absolutely no idea if this is possible or where to go. We were looking at the Bamboo Beach excursion, b/c of the food and safety aspect. Can you leave an excursion? Like could we go shopping in town or just take off and do whatever we want once we've "started" this excursion? I do not want to waste my one and only time in Jamaica on the beach and trapped in a situation we can't get out of. If we don't do an excursion, what are some suggestions to do there? Places to go? Things you have to see if you only go there once? Thanks for any help!

I just posted a review of Konoko Falls and Green Grotto Caves. I would recommend both, and I think these would be nice destinations for an anniversary couple, as barely anyone is at either place, and you will feel like you have the place to yourself.

I wouldn't just take off from an excursion in Jamaica. We did the Hampden Estates Rum Distillery Tour in Falmouth with Karandas Tours, booked through Excursions in Jamaica. The tour bus driver gave us a lot of information about Jamaica on the drive to the Estate, and the guide at the Estate also included a lot of information about the country in the tour of the distillery. We drank rum punch, had jerk chicken for lunch, tasted rum samples, and toured the distillery and parts of the grounds of the estate. My only complaint was that the roads around Falmouth are TERRIBLE! The van driver ended up swerving back and forth all over the road to avoid potholes, so it was kind of a scary drive. If you are prone to motion sickness, it would not be a good experience.

We just came back from Falmouth.

This was my first time to this Port. I loved it!:D

Hubby and I split up because I wanted to shop. I enjoyed walking around the port. There was live music being performed by 3 drummers and 3 dancers. I danced with one of the dancers. They were so much fun.

I browsed more shops and saw another gentleman in the Flea Market area. He was playing the guitar. Singing Bob Marley tunes and he was so good.

I bought Jamaican Spices, Rum Raisin Rum Creme (so good), 2 lovely cover ups, t shirts, etc.

Ran into hubby, who was now at some Rum Bar drinking. He bought a box of Cuban Cigars and was very happy. He was ready to go back on the ship. I was not.

I wanted to see the real Jamaica, so I took the Falmouth Historical Trolley Tour. It was $25. Lasted a little over an hour because the town of Falmouth is not that big.

Our tour guide discussed the history of Falmouth, we stopped at an old church built way back with a cemetery and goats were roaming around freely.

We stopped at a small beach with a gentleman selling coconuts. He had rum and it tasted so good with the coconut water.

She taught us some "Patway?" sayings, the Jamaican dialect.

It was enjoyable, and i was so glad I went outside the Port.

I would definitely book a Tour here and would not venture on my own.

Enjoy Falmouth! I did!

Hilton Rose Hall in Montego Bay is a beautiful place to go. We booked through resortforaday.com and they provide the transportation to & from, and AI tickets. Clean, beautiful, and you go get to see some of he Jamaican countryside on the way. We’ve been twice & never been disappointed. It is a wonderful way to spend your day in Jamaica.

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Hilton Rose Hall in Montego Bay is a beautiful place to go. We booked through resortforaday.com and they provide the transportation to & from, and AI tickets. Clean, beautiful, and you go get to see some of he Jamaican countryside on the way. We’ve been twice & never been disappointed. It is a wonderful way to spend your day in Jamaica.

 

 

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Can you expand a little more on what was specifically included? Did you arrange your pick up time and departure?

Resortforaday sent a modern, air conditioned bus to pick us up at an appointed time from the pier. About 30 people went from my ship. The professional driver told us he would be back at a certain time to pick us back up and he was. We returned to the dock with an hour to hour & a half before sailing. Specifically included was the pool w/swim up bar, water park with two (maybe three?) slides,lazy river with giant inner tubes & hotel lifeguard-type supervision, giant chessboard, restaurant (which was delicious and had excellent service) and was all-inclusive, the beach, and all inclusive bar—and the drinks were really good with decent (not spectacular) pours. Towels were provided as well.

It was maybe a 20-25 minute ride from Coxen Hole where we docked to Montego Bay.

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Resortforaday sent a modern, air conditioned bus to pick us up at an appointed time from the pier. About 30 people went from my ship. The professional driver told us he would be back at a certain time to pick us back up and he was. We returned to the dock with an hour to hour & a half before sailing. Specifically included was the pool w/swim up bar, water park with two (maybe three?) slides,lazy river with giant inner tubes & hotel lifeguard-type supervision, giant chessboard, restaurant (which was delicious and had excellent service) and was all-inclusive, the beach, and all inclusive bar—and the drinks were really good with decent (not spectacular) pours. Towels were provided as well.

 

It was maybe a 20-25 minute ride from Coxen Hole where we docked to Montego Bay.

Thanks so much!

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Thanks so much!

Thanks so much!

It is a very family-friendly place to go. We saw young couples, families with kids, teens, singles, older marrieds, grandparents...and one “grandma” turned us on to a drink called the “Bam Bam.” LOL.

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We just returned from our cruise and we loved our stop in Falmouth Jamaica. We hired a private guide/driver for the day. It was a great experience. He picked us up at the port and took us everywhere we wanted to go. We felt totally safe with him. And he stayed with us all day. I totally and completely recommend getting a private guide. We had an awesome day. We went over to Ocho Rios to Irie Blue Hole. I was fun but a really long drive. I loved getting to see things as we drove-but it is about 1.5 hours to get there. You may get to do more things if you head toward Montego Bay, which is only about 45 minutes away. For reference we did an activity, shopping at a grocery store, shopping at a touristy place, and lunch at a local place. We all loved Jamaica. We use Marvyn Tours but there are lots of tour companies that will provide a private guide. We just emailed and told them what we wanted to do (we also asked for suggestions) and they wrote right back with a price quote. We actually changed our plans at the last minute and the driver was very flexible.