Dunn's falls without a tour

[swala]

We would like to go to Dunns Falls, but on our own time and without a tour or guide. Would this be foolish? I was thinking of either a taxi or perhaps the yacht that is advertised for $15. Thanks for any opinions.

[jjaa404]

Too funny I just answered this question for another thread. It was a Dunn Falls question but may help you.

 

 

We are just off FOS 6/21 sailing. Jamaica was one of my favorite stops but admittedly we stuck to the tourist spots. We did not do a ship excursion because we wanted to squeeze in more in a day than waiting around for a excursion would allow. We (family of 4, two adults 2 preteens) hooked up with a private driver. Luckily, Horace Taylor put us in touch with Devon Williams. Anyway, he took us everywhere we wanted to go and picked us up when we were done. We just estimated how long we would be there and he was back to take us to the next place. His coach was one of those 10-12 passenger vans (even though he only took US when we needed him) Very clean and airconditioned. We got in just outside the gate but many drivers met their parties inside the gate. We never encountered "vendors" or locals this way.

 

But I digress. We did not use a guide at Dunn Falls and boy am I glad. All those lines of people holding hands having to wait for everyone in the group to get up did not look like fun. And slow! If you are reasonably fit (I'm 46 and 30 lbs overweight, DH is 52) you can climb them on your own. Took 35-45 depending on climb spend. Just use common sense when choosing your steps. As a matter of fact my DH and I climbed it twice that day! The only drawback, you won't have a guide stopping the whole group to take their pictures or video all the way up. No loss. We took our own.

 

My DH had one of those lightweight sport backpacks (the modern version of a fanny pack LOL) on his back and it never got soaking wet. Splashed yes. So ziplocks inside did their job. Well fitting Watershoes are a good idea. The pools you may cross have pebble bottoms so you may be stopping to empty pebbles out of your shoes. I am so glad we did the Falls on our own!

 

BTY, we did Mystic mountain as our other stop. Actually, it was our first stop and we went straight there off the ship and were about the first there. Didn't have to wait for anything. By the time we were ready to leave, the excursion buses were pouring in. Kids loved bobsled & zipline (FOS said my son was to young to book, he's 11, but you did have to be 46 in tall). Again FOS didn't even offer this combo (bob & zip) as an option but you can do it all once you get to MM. $124 Tranopy tour. Even bought 5 extra bobsled rides for $40.

 

Point, no one bothered us. They called out to you but if you say no thank you and keep walking, no one was aggressive. Do the Falls if you have never seen them. They were lovely!

 

Terry...we had plenty of time. It was a full day getting back to FOS but we got back about 1 hr before boarding time (not depart time...boarding time which is about 45 min before depart time). Doing it on your own, you are not waiting around for groups of people! Enjoy

[CruiseVacationQueen]

 

~Luckily, Horace Taylor put us in touch with Devon Williams

 

~he's 11, but you did have to be 46 in tall

 

~It was a full day getting back to FOS but we got back about 1 hr before boarding time (not depart time...boarding time which is about 45 min before depart time)

 

 

jjaa404: Thanks for posting this info ~ it was just what I was looking for. We want to do MM and DR Falls (we're cruising on Carnival Liberty next month). I was just on the MM and DRF websites and was wondering how we could go to both of these places on our own. Did you make the driver arrangements ahead of time? What did he charge for the day? Our son is 11 also. He was disappointed that the MM web-site said min age of 12. I guess they are more concerned about height, then? Our son is very tall for his age. What hours were you in port that day? How long would you estimate you spent at MM and then the DR Falls? Did you go anywhere else or stop anywhere to eat lunch? The MM website mentioned something about an infinity pool and water slide ~ did you do these? Would there be enough time to go to the beach also? Lastly ~ my DF is 68 yo and we're not sure if he could do zipline and DRF (???). Sorry for so many questions!!! LOL!!! Thank you in advance for planning my family's day in Jamaica! :)

[jjaa404]

Glad the info helped. Here's a little more. We were on RCI Freedom and our port time was 9-5. I think the same as Liberty. I assume you are docking at Ocho Rios because if you are coming from Mont Bay there's a lot more travel involved. MM and DRF are really close to the port in Ocho Rios. Not walking close but drive time close. (20 mins tops if I remember). We were off the ship by 9:15 or so. Had a really good breakfast first. We did not pre arrange a driver because we were going to try to catch the shuttle to DRF. But I must have had that look on my face because Horace Taylor approached and asked if we needed transportation. I told him exactly our plan to do MM and DRF. I recognized his name from these boards so was reasonably sure he'd get us set up. Now when I say private driver, they aren't driving their own vans/buses. They drive for a coach/bus company. Devon drove for Maxi but I assume when you request a driver by name, the driver is glad to be assured a fare. We paid $20 pp. But I am not a haggler so I'm not sure if we could have done better. Also we were his only four and I had heard the more in the coach the less per person. No worries, he was at our disposal and I was glad about that.

 

We went to MM first and got there about 9:45 give or take 10. The greeter helped us determine how long "doing" MM would take. She said 2 hours. We told Devon to be back about 12:30 (2 1/2 to be safe). So pretty there! Bought tickets at the bottom for Tranopy because we knew we were going to do it all. You get a wristband. You take a tram (ski lift) up. About 15 mins and very peaceful. Great views. If you're doing it all, the bob sled run will bring you back to the top. If you zip first, you end half way down the tram run, have to take it down and ride it back up if you want to get to the top again. You may want to, but again it's another 25 min ride. We loved the bobsled and since it wasn't busy, we bought additional runs. DH and I did it twice, DD and DS did it 3 times in all. DS is 11 but tall also. They did not question his age, you just had to be 46' tall.

 

DH swam in the pool and did the water slide while the kids did the bob sled one more time. About then I realized we were taking longer (2+ hrs) so we had the gift shop attendant call Devon to come at 1:00. There was a resturant but too soon for us to eat after a big breakfast. But I could see how you could spend more time there if you ate and swam more than we did. Zipped down with two guides (helpers) very nice guys. The zips are easy and require very little physical effort. No steering with fingers like some zips. I think your DF would enjoy it if he is fairly adventuresome and has no physical issues. You squat at one end then land with your feet at the other. Very easy. The guides catch you if need be. Fun! So about 3 hours there total.

 

Devon was there and off to DRF. Now there were two ships in Jamaica that day. One in Ocho Rios and the other in MB, so the falls were considered busy when we got there. Devon called a person over in the parking lot and we bought tickets ($15pp) from her (group leader?) so we were able to walk in without waiting in ticket line. Once in the park you head to the falls. Everyone was bottlenecked up on the path. There were greeters calling out tour/bus numbers and a guide was taking them down the steps. You had to wait until another guide got there before she called the next group (excursion I presume) We didn't use a guide so we just walked up the side of all the waiting people and went down the steps. The climb took about 30-40 mins without a guide. With a guide, it would take much longer because you are waiting for eveyone in the group and lots of photo ops for the group so you are constantly waiting for pictures to be taken etc. If you are a big group, I could see where that would be fun. But it was just us 4 and my impatient 11 yr old flew up those falls like a monkey. Now we had told Devon 1 1/2 hours so we actually had time to go back to the bottom and climb it again. Devon was right on time and we headed back to the ship. I was afraid of cutting the 4:15 boarding time to close. But I think we were back on by 3:45 or so and went straight to the cafe. Starving by then.

 

Didn't do a beach. Never really saw a nice one and knew GC and Cozumel were coming up. I loved our day there and I hope my story helps you. Sorry it turned into a book. Enjoy your cruise!

[jjaa404]

You'd think with all that I wouldn't have forgotten. For DF of 68...Falls do take some effort. Again depends how fit he's feeling. The bottom is the hardest. But there is a dry path (stairs) along the side of the falls with exit points and enterance points if need be. He can skip the hard parts and enter where it is more calm. You are not trapped on the falls if you feel like you can't do it anymore. (Except the bottom) Look up DRF on youtube. There are a lot of vids of people doing the falls. Might help your DF decide.

[#1mommy]

We took the Dunns River Shuttle to the Falls - $15 round trip per person with a stop at Island Village for shopping. Just realized from jjaa404 that the shuttle is run by Horace Taylor. He's the one we spoke to and he organized everything for us. Completely agree with jjaa404 - Horace was professional and reliable and we were happy that we went off on our own rather than on a tour.

[CruiseVacationQueen]

I loved our day there and I hope my story helps you. Sorry it turned into a book. Enjoy your cruise!

 

You have helped me tremendously, and I really like the book format! LOL!!! From your post and the next one after, it sounds like Horace is the "main man" for coordinating transportation. :) So, no worries about paying the driver for a round-trip and him not showing up? (I assume you paid him in advance). Can't wait to go!!! Thank you!!!

 

Leah

[jjaa404]

So, no worries about paying the driver for a round-trip and him not showing up? (I assume you paid him in advance). Can't wait to go!!! Thank you!!!

 

Leah

 

We did pay in advance and he gave us a contact number to reach him if we needed. We went on faith for that one. But no problems.