Tell me all about river tubing please!

[psbfan01]

We will be visiting Jamaica for the first time next month. We're interested in doing river tubing and had a few questions...

 

Is this usually done only at one particular river or is there more than one river where you can do this? (if yes, which one is "the best"?)

 

Is there a weight limit? Any advice or recommendations for which tour package/guide to use? We'll be in Ocho Rios from 8am - 4pm. We'd be open to any suggestions on what to do that day. Were are two people in our late 20s.

 

We are thinking Dunns River Falls may be too crowded for us. Was considering Secret Falls but still not sure...

 

TIA

[brookeq]

We booked a private tour guide and did dunns river falls, then went river tubing, and lastly to a beach

 

The tubing was fun. Nothing too adventurous. Mostly Just floating with a guide. The water was very nice

 

We got to dunns river falls before the masses and asked for a guide to just take our group up so we didn't have to hold hands with a bunch of others. It cost extra but we were fine with that.

 

We didn't go to the beach because it poured down rain. So I can't comment in that.

 

We had a great time and it cost less the. The ships tour of just the falls.

[#1TravelMom]

Most people float on tubes down the White River. It is mostly a relaxing float with a few small "rapids" which make it really fun, but definitely not scary. You carry a tube down a long set of steps and place your tube in the water. The guide will hold it and you turn around and just set into it. The water is cold, but only for a minute - then it's refreshing in the heat. There are 2 guides per group. One stays in the front and one is the wrangler in the back - he helps if you get caught in still water or get too far behind. They sing and joke during the float - really entertaining. The entire float trip is about an hour, but goes very quickly.

 

We were with a group of 6 and joined another group of 6. This was a great group size. We laughed and had fun the whole time. As far as weight - our group ranged from 50 lbs. to 260 lbs. The water is shallow - only a few feet deep. I think one guy in our group was probably close to 300 lbs. and had no issues.

 

There is also another river with tubing that has faster water and more rapids. The White River was perfect for us.

 

We had a great driver pick us up from Falmouth. His name is Noel. It's really nice going with him because you decide where to stop and how long you'd like to stay. Where will your ship dock? If you dock in Ocho Rios - he could pick you up first thing in the morning an head straight to Dunn's River Falls and beat the tours. The falls are a must do - very impressive. The crowds definitely are massive once the tours start arriving.

[psbfan01]

Thanks for this. Do you happen to have any contact info for Noel, such as email address? Yes we'll be in Ocho Rios.

[#1TravelMom]

His email is noelsmith66@yahoo.com. On the island, he goes by Steve. No clue, how he went from Noel to Steve - but that's what everyone calls him. He is awesome.

 

You are very fortunate to be docking in Ocho Rios. You could arrange to have him meet you at the pier as soon as the ship docks and head straight to Dunn's River before the crowds. You would also have plenty of time to go to the Blue Hole(before it's commercialized) or White River tubing. Lots of people don't enjoy Jamaica, but if you have a great driver(no massive cruise ship excursion buses) and a good plan for the day - you can have a spectacular time there!

[psbfan01]

Great, thank you! I will email him and see what he says.