Montego Bay Excursion Help???

[bdaddyiii]

I have never been to Montego Bay but I have been to Jamaica. Ocho Rios is nice and everything was really close. I am going to be in Montego Bay in November and every excursion offered seems to require at least an hour in a van or bus. It seem that most of the comments left on the excursion site of the cruise line are negitive. Which excursion is worth spending that much time of your stay in the port in a van or bus.

 

We enjoy everything we do on our cruise and always go into it with an open mind so all suggestion are appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.:cool:

[HOUSTONVIP]

Read the last post from Houston VIP on Sunset Beach Resort. 3 minutes from teh pier, no local hassles

[breenw]

I just posted on another similar thread. We just got back from MoBay and when we return in September, we will either go to Doctors Cave Beach to snorkel, or go to Sunset Beach. The shopping area at the cruise terminal is okay but not much variety. Outside the terminal there is a small area where a few shops are open, but many, many vacancies in that area. They all carry the same merchandise. You can take a taxi for about $5 per person to the "Hip Strip" which is mainly a street with small shops that again all carry the same stuff. Margaritaville is located in this area.

 

Ocho Rios is a much better port for Jamaica and I think there are more excursions located on that side of the island. This is why the excursions you see listed through the ship all have a longer transport time. There just isn't that much to do around MoBay except the beaches. Hope this helps.

[bdaddyiii]

I just posted on another similar thread. We just got back from MoBay and when we return in September, we will either go to Doctors Cave Beach to snorkel, or go to Sunset Beach. The shopping area at the cruise terminal is okay but not much variety. Outside the terminal there is a small area where a few shops are open, but many, many vacancies in that area. They all carry the same merchandise. You can take a taxi for about $5 per person to the "Hip Strip" which is mainly a street with small shops that again all carry the same stuff. Margaritaville is located in this area.

 

Ocho Rios is a much better port for Jamaica and I think there are more excursions located on that side of the island. This is why the excursions you see listed through the ship all have a longer transport time. There just isn't that much to do around MoBay except the beaches. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the information. I was thinking that is what the problem was going to be with Mobay. Oh well, I we will be on a cruise so all will be fun. Thanks again for the information.

[2-laner]

I will put in a plug for Croydon Plantation. Yes, it was a hour plus bus ride up into the mountains. But, time went by pretty quick as the tour guide talked about local info and things we were seeing along the way. The plantation tour itself is at a casual pace, and the grounds are beautiful with good vista out over the 'mountains' (when you spend time in the Rockies and Cascades like we do, we called them the hills on steroids :)). They provided multiple samples of different varieties of pineapples. Plus, many other fruits grown on location. Yum!! After the tour, they provide a Jamaican lunch that included jerk chicken, Jamaican spinach, rice and beans and Blue Mountain coffee. Many people, including my mom and sister, slept on the way back to MoBay after all the eating and walking we did. (The late night on the ship the night before probably didn't help) So for them, the ride back went very quick. :p

[bdaddyiii]

Thanks for the information.

[SpokaneDan]

May I add Mayfield fall as an option. That was highlight our last cruise. It is meant for more active travelers - hiking upstream a beautiful river. The downside is that though it is only 30 miles from Mo Bay, it'd take 60 + minutes to get to b/c windy mountainous road (at times very rough), but driving through tiny villages, I felt I had a closer look at the "real" Jamaica. The cruise does not offer this excursion (due to poor road). We used A-Z Planners, and Tyler Hudin also offers this trip.

 

The Jerk chicken, pork and fried whole fish we had at Dr. Cave's were excellent, though our tour guide told us local restaurants offer same/better food at 1/2 price. The "Pork Pit" on hip trip is very famous. Next visit, I'd take time to eat at a local restaurant.

 

Finally, re Margaritaville, we got there about 2:45pm, it was not busy. The staff there were very relaxed about us using the slide and water toys without eating there. My kids loved the water toys.