Dunnes River Falls???

[l_josiah]

Just wanted to know if anyone had ever done the Dunnes River Falls in Ochos Rios, Jamaica. If so, is this excursion something that needs to be booked through the ship or can you do this on your own? I've heard that

it only takes about half-an-hour to climb and some of the excursions seem over priced for such a short time-:rolleyes:

 

Also, has anyone gone to Sunset Beach using a day pass? I checked it out and it sounds like a good idea!

 

Thanks in advance for any comments!!;)

[Chicagomom]

We did Dunn's River Falls a few years ago and you certainly do not need to book through the cruise line. There are many independent companies that will do the same and more for less money.

 

We used http://www.a-zjamaicaplanners.com (sorry I don't know how to make this a link), and they were fantastic--took us to all the places we wanted to go--got us to Dunn's River Falls before the crowds, etc.

 

You can also just grab a cab and go there. But whatever you do, you have to go at least once!

[gkrebs]

In Ocho Rios, contact Pete Taylor. Lots of posts around with his email. Cost is 30 per person, that includes entrance fee to Falls. You will be there earlier then most people that are on ship excursions. He takes you around and shows you the sights. and will take you anyplace else that you want to go and come back and pick you up. Best deal there IMHO.

[takeavacation]

We used Phil Lafayette and pre-arranged our tour before leaving home. It was about $45 per person - but, including both the falls climb and river tubing and a tour around. He was great. Some in the group just did 1 or the other activity -- and they paid less.

 

Good Luck and have fun -- the climb took us about 45 minutes!

[wolfganghowell]

We did a ship excursion and were very pleased. Our guides at the Falls were very good. Be aware - you need to be in good physical condition to climb and definitely have water shoes. It's a great deal of fun but it is rough going in places. We did the Reggae Baby.

[CruiseCrAzieS]

We booked our tour with Peat Taylor and he was awesome!! He took us on a tour of the island, took us to Dunn's River Falls and took us to Island Village so we could enjoy Margaritaville. Peat will accommodate you to ensure that your visit to Ocho Rios is a great one!! :D

http://www.peattaylor.com/index.html

[i-m-ed]

Unfortunately pax from 4 cruise ships were climbing the falls at the same time we were, it was just too crowded. The falls would be a lot of fun if it weren't so crowded. With that said I would book through a private person and request that he / she get me to the falls at an off peak time if I were to go again.

 

Click here for a couple of quick videos of our DR falls climb

[mozfoz]

We just got our own taxi to the falls from the port. Once at the falls, you can get a guide or just "follow the crowd" for free or next to nothing. No tour package is really needed. Climbing the falls can be a work out and challenging. Holding hands with a group is not always the best way to climb. There are intermidate points along the falls if you want to quit. All the more reason not to pay for a guide or a tour. Tours, guides, or doing it yourself, you are all mixed up after the first few yards. Do not give your camera to a guide for a picture, or you'll have to tip to get it back. Also, wear some type of footwear! Skip the beggars, eh, market at the end. Have fun.:D

[trvldog]

We booked via Phil Lafayette and did the falls and tubbing- was just awesome! Well worth the trip!

[shipshape sam]

We have done Dunn's river falls twice and it is worth doing once. Our second time, it was very crowded and basically you stood in line till the person above moved and you took another 2-3 steps and then stood around again.

 

Sounds to me that if you can go and see how many ships are in port on the same day you are to potentially avoid crowding. Also, we went on a Satuday and had locals also. Finally, ships from Ochos Rios have excursions to Dunns River Falls, but so does Montego Bay. We were on Freedom in November last year and it was listed as an excurison when we docked in Montego Bay.

 

 

Again, I would recommend it to anyone never having done it as long as you are fairly fit. :)

[KelJ]

We just got our own taxi to the falls from the port. Once at the falls, you can get a guide or just "follow the crowd" for free or next to nothing. No tour package is really needed. Climbing the falls can be a work out and challenging. Holding hands with a group is not always the best way to climb. There are intermidate points along the falls if you want to quit. All the more reason not to pay for a guide or a tour. Tours, guides, or doing it yourself, you are all mixed up after the first few yards. Do not give your camera to a guide for a picture, or you'll have to tip to get it back. Also, wear some type of footwear! Skip the beggars, eh, market at the end. Have fun.:D

 

We were a group of six, and we took a ship's tour (SanSan). We had water cameras and NEVER had to tip anybody to get our cameras back. The guides were wonderful and took tons of pictures with our cameras.

Climbing the falls was a blast! It took us more than half an hour, probably at least 45 minutes. They keep you moving at a pretty good pace.

We did tip our guide once we made it to the top.

[Sciphack]

I have done both Dunns River Falls and Sunset Beach Both are worth the money You should be in pretty good shape hard climb Also guides are always bugging you to take pictures Sunset Beach resort is very nice we paid 25 each for all day pass and it was all food and drink and use of resort really nice.

[pugmommy]

We also used Peat Taylor and LOVED LOVED LOVED him. He was a great guide and took us to so many neat places. (a small school, white river rafting, a "local" hang out for lunch and a beer) The falls are a must visit in my opinion--even if there are a ton of others there on the same day.

 

 

Vistit Peat Taylor if you are interested at http://www.peattaylor.com--You will not be sorry.

 

PugMommy

[flsun]

Peat Taylor was terrific! We did the Falls, an island tour, the rain forest, then he took us back to the ship for lunch (which we requested). He returned to take us shopping, and we hadn't even paid him yet!

 

btw - The crowds are a factor when the port is busy. We were in on Explorer and were the only ship in that day. Check the cruise calendar before booking too many things. http://www.cruisecal.info/portal/

[SusanMelody]

Just wanted to know if anyone had ever done the Dunnes River Falls in Ochos Rios, Jamaica. If so, is this excursion something that needs to be booked through the ship or can you do this on your own? I've heard that

it only takes about half-an-hour to climb and some of the excursions seem over priced for such a short time-:rolleyes:

 

Also, has anyone gone to Sunset Beach using a day pass? I checked it out and it sounds like a good idea!

 

Thanks in advance for any comments!!;)

Dunns River Falls is a fantastic experience. Yes, it can be a little slow depending on the person in front of you. Basically, you form a human chain and climb up the falls stepping on the rocks on the left side of the falls. The guides will happily take pictures for you, and a tip is always appreciated.

 

Sunset Beach is a beautiful resort. The day pass is well worth the money.

 

They are two different experiences, however Dunns River Falls is unique, and a charming excursion native to Jamaica.

[buzzro]

Ditch the human chain. I've only been once but it was crowded and they wanted you to hold hands and form a human chain. We could see this was going to take forever because they kept stopping to take individual pictures of people so they could try to sell them later. We stayed in this line for about 5 min. and were not moving, so we finally let go and walk around the crowd and went up ourselves. There were 6 of us and we had a great time. We took our time enjoying different spots and taking pictures with no one around. We only finished a little before the group because we spent so much time playing around. Do yourself a favor and ditch the group!

[Demongear]

Dunns River Falls is a great tour, however I strongly advise you to stay OUT of the market at the top of the falls. I likened it to "leading the lambs to slaughter" lol

[TrishOB]

What would be an "appropriate" tip for the guides if they take your picture?

[l_josiah]

I have done both Dunns River Falls and Sunset Beach Both are worth the money You should be in pretty good shape hard climb Also guides are always bugging you to take pictures Sunset Beach resort is very nice we paid 25 each for all day pass and it was all food and drink and use of resort really nice.

 

I was actually considering doing these two events on the same day. Relaxing at Sunset Beach for a few hours and then going on to the the Falls. Do you mean that a family can't enjoy both events on the same day? Is it either/or??? I was told that climbing the Falls does'nt take up too much time, thats why I am considering both- What do you think??

Is this impossible??? :rolleyes:

[KelJ]

What would be an "appropriate" tip for the guides if they take your picture?

 

We had the same guide the whole way. His name was Noel. He was taking pictures of everyone in our group, handing everyone's cameras back and forth. He not once acted as though he wanted tipped each time he took a picture. There really wouldn't even be time for that and he's often waist deep in water.

Once to the top, of course he lingered around everybody. This is how he makes his living, and we were happy to tip him because he was a great guide. In fact, we called him my mom's new best friend because he held her hand the entire time and NEVER let go except for pictures. I think he was worried about her, and she was happy to have his assistance (she was 64 at the time). :)

We are a group of four and gave him either $10 or $20 (I just can't remember). My parents also gave him whatever amount we did.

[snausman]

Last time we were there, we got a taxi , we left the ship when we got in, had him drive us to the falls. We got there as the Falls were opening. Waited a few minutes for a couple more people to show up. THey came by taxi too, (no tour group). So we went up the falls with about 10 people total, we were the first group of the day. What a great time. Just make sure after the falls, as you leave DO NOT GO THRU THE MARKET AREA. Just head out the same way you came in, if they stop you to go the other way just say you need the bathrooms by the enterance.

 

Have a good time.

 

Laura

[addictedinflorida]

I agree with the others about avoiding the market if you are not looking for anything. I was looking for a peice that I hadnt been able to find in some of the other ports, so I walked through to find it and its ridiculous how pushy these people are. I actually think the people in this market at the falls were more pushy than those on other islands and Labadee.

 

In any case, the falls is a GREAT excursion and well worth it. However, the one that told you to avoid the chains and climb yourself may be bad advice. There were a few people climbing near us that got cut off from their chain and were trying to reach their group and they were yelled at and pretty scorned by the tour guides and made to join another chain. Maybe during slow times it would be fine, however there were about 4-5 chains going up at the same time that we were and small groups that decide to try on their own trying to get past the others only cause more problems with "traffic" and possible dangerous conditions for others.

 

Theres really not any sense in trying to climb the fastest because your bus wont leave until everyone is up anyway. So just take your time with the others and enjoy it. You will get the same priveleges as the rest of your chain with having pics taken and such.