Jamaica excursions

[CrazyCruisingCat]

My hubby and I and some good friends will cruising to Jamaica in February `08. We have in mind to do the Dunns River/tubing/reggae beach tour with Marva. We've heard a great deal of positive feedback about Marva so we are not too worried about her, but basically we are wondering if the excursion we picked will be a good one. We would appreciate any feedback we could get on this and other tours. Is this a good one, and what would you all reccommend if not this? Thanks!

[ATOTIGER]

We just returned from Ocho Rios and we used Mark Morris with Markstours. He was wonderful. He met us and he charged only $35.00/peson and took us to Dunn River Falls and toured us all around to Fern Gully and showed us everything. He took us to 2 great scenic locations for pictures He took us shopping at Sophies and stayed with us and then took us Hard Rock and for my daughter to get a t-shirt. He was with us from 10:00-3:30pm. He stopped to show us different vegetation and got us samples of sugar cane to try. Our family of four went and another couple and they added tubing in the river for $20.00 more dollars. We dropped them off and then went to pick them up at the finsh point. You can see his web sited at markstours.com http://markstours.com/home.html

We emailed him at mark@mark.tours.com

 

Enjoy!! We felt very safe. He had a very nice airconditioned van!!

Mark got us to the Falls before it became real crowded.

[lawoman]

We took a tour with Marva did not go to falls, but may this next cruise, We had a full bus, all of which was in our group. We went to eat with the locals, some jerk chicken and pork, went to toured Rose Hill and White Witch golf club.She tried to take us to Johnny Cashs' house but family was there, there was a Reggae Festival going on, so we couldn't tour it. She took us shopping, we went to the beach and on to Margaritaville, they stayed with us, we had a great time, met some locals and she gave us lots of history about Jamaica, it was an awesome experience. She picked us up at the port and dropped us back off. Great tour guide.

[twystyd]

My best friend, her husband (their newlyweds, we were in Jamaica for their wedding), one other couple and myself did a custom tour with Marva which included the Dunns River Falls Tour & Reggae Beach with KnowJamaica Tours (Marva) and it was fabulous. The Dunns River Falls is a remarkable experience, not only is it beautiful but more exhilirating than any man made water park ever. It's great because you can go with a guide or on your own, we chose to go on our own and just follow the local kids who climb the falls like spiderman! It's fun because everyone tries to help each other pick the best routes up the falls, there is this instant bonding to take it on together. :) There is a beach at the bottom that you can just chill if any one of you gets cold feet. And there are beautiful pools throughout the falls that you can catch your breath, just chill, enjoy the water, and the beauty. Dunn's River was truly an amazing experience; I typically like to avoid the touristy stuff but Dunns River Falls was a MUST EXPERIENCE.

 

Reggae Beach is magically serene. We were staying at Beaches Boscobel which is pretty close to Reggae Beach and being an all inclusive resort could feel congested and so commercial with all the lawn chairs, the massage station, etc. Reggae Beach was a nice "get away" from the resort scene. The newlyweds and their son and myself packed a lunch from the resort and spent a beautiful relaxing afternoon at Reggae Beach. We ate under a canopy of trees providing the perfect shade over the picnic table as we looked out to the beautiful sea. By the way there is a small restaurant on the beach, we got some grub there also later in the afternoon and it was good. It felt like our own private beach, there was one other family there and two other individuals sun bathing and hanging out. It was like a story book it was so peaceful, beautiful and natural. Reggae Beach is a truly authentic Jamaican beach, simple, serene, beautiful & relaxing. If you are looking to truly "GET AWAY" from it all, Reggae Beach is the way to go!

 

I didn't go tubing so unfortunately, I can't give you any feedback.

 

Like I said I like to go off the beaten path and really experience the land and the culture when I do travel. So we went to "The River" a beautiful, warm, clear river where the locals go to cool off during the day. Different from the ocean this water was a lot clearer, warmer and softer; I've never felt water like that, it was amazing. Also very peaceful like Reggae Beach. We also went to Juicy Beef, for some local cuisine. This is the place where all the Jamaicans go for Beef, Chicken, Veggie patties and it was sooooooooo delicious. My friend's live in NY and they said the patties they've had from Jamaican Restaurants there are pathetic compared to what we experienced in Jamaica. If you want to experience some real Jamaican food you have to try a pattie.

 

Anyway, KnowJamaica Tours were very good to us, they were always punctual and really put together a tour that gave us the True Jamaican experience we desired. Going to the The River and Juicy Beef was a request we made on a whim and they accommodated us with "No Problem". I know there may be some concerns about safety when travelling abroad and going off the beaten path, with KnowJamaica Tours I felt as safe as being in Disneyland. :)

 

That's probably way more information than you wanted but I just returned so I'm still high off of the experience and can't stop talking about it!

 

Enjoy Jamaica!!!

 

 

 

My hubby and I and some good friends will cruising to Jamaica in February `08. We have in mind to do the Dunns River/tubing/reggae beach tour with Marva. We've heard a great deal of positive feedback about Marva so we are not too worried about her, but basically we are wondering if the excursion we picked will be a good one. We would appreciate any feedback we could get on this and other tours. Is this a good one, and what would you all reccommend if not this? Thanks!