Negril Jamaica is a beach town that used to be considered a quiet and non-developed fishing village. In the 1960âs, hippies used to go to Negril to relax, hang out at nude beaches, and party. As Negrilâs reputation grew for its beauty, friendly people, and incredible beach, resort companies started to develop Negril. Today, Negril, this once hidden Jamaican paradise, is a very popular destination for tourists worldwide, and offers the best of both worlds.
Best of Both Worlds
No matter what you are looking for, Negril Jamaica has it all! Negril is located on Jamaica's famous stretch of 7 mile white sand beaches and crystal blue waters. I know this sounds very âConde Nest", but it really is true. I have seen a lot of beaches in my travels, but Negril ranks up there with the top 5 in the world that I have had the opportunity to experience. The water is turquoise blue and crystal clear, the sand is soft and white, and it looks just like what you would envision as a tropical paradise. Ok don't take my word for it. Check out our pics I took when our family went there this summer on my blog post. So if you want to just get away from it all and relax on a beautiful tropical beach, Negril is the perfect place for you! I know many great all-inclusive resorts that I can recommend that have a great beach in Negril. The Beaches all inclusive resort in Negril had one of the best beaches I have ever been to.
Shopping in Negril Jamaica
Of course, if you are looking for some great shopping or places to eat and visit, Negril has it all! I always like to see the "real" country when I visit somewhere, so we decided to check out some of the cool sights in town. Most resorts have tour companies that will take you on a tour of the sights that cost around $10.00-$20.00 per person. Island Routes, is the company at Sandals that provides the tours there. We were able to visit two "Craft Markets" or authentic shops that are outdoor markets. We found some very nice authentic Jamaican merchandise and coffee. Lou, my husband insisted on buying a hand carved sting ray, because it reminded him of the sting ray that followed us along the beach. Read About our Sting Ray adventure
Going into town
We enjoyed going into town, our driver even drove us up into the hills of Negril to get an aerial view of Negril. We actually were parked in a regular neighborhood that had breathtaking views. While parked there we met a nice Jamaican man and his son by their house, which also had bananas growing in their back yard.
Feeling Safe
I have to say that all throughout Jamaica, we always felt safe and the people there were very friendly and warm to us at all times, not just the people at the resort, but everywhere we went. I do think having a tour that goes through a licensed tour company, definitely keeps your experience safe and enjoyable.
Ricks Cafe, and the Cliff Divers!
After our experience sight-seeing in the hills, we headed to Ricks Cafe, one of the most famous bar/restaurants in the world. Started in the early 70's, Ricks has become famous for a great drinks, reggae music, and especially for its famous cliff diving. People love to come to Ricks and dive off of the cliffs there into the water. One fun excursion that a lot of people do is they take a sunset catamaran cruise from their resort and sail to Ricks Cafe. Then everyone swims to the cliff and climbs up the stairs to eat, drink or dive.
The Main Event
As I stated earlier, the two most popular things Ricks Cafe is known for is the diving off the cliffs, as well as the incredible sunsets that Negril is known for. Ricks in particular has a great view point for the sun sets, unfortunately, it was very cloudy the night we went, and we weren't able to see the sun set as we had hoped, but I do have some great sunset pictures to share later on. Even though we were disappointed, what we did see there more than made up for it. There was a Jamaican man, full of muscles I might add, who climbed up to the top of a tree about 50ft into the air. It is the highest point to jump at Ricks Cafe, and we never saw anyone attempt a dive from there until this man did. You really need to see it to believe it, so please watch this video.... It is amazing! It is on You Tube.
Don't Forget Margaretville
Another great place to get drinks and have a great time is Margaretville! Often there is a free shuttle that will come and pick you up at your hotel, take you to Margaretville and bring you back. On the night we were there, the shuttle was not running, so we took a cab. You can also take a tour from your hotel to Margaretville as well. One really fun thing Margaretville does is throw beach parties! Another great thing about Margaretville is that they have two large water trampolines behind the restaurant that anyone can swim out to and jump and have fun on. The kids and I had a great time jumping on them!
My next article will be on our two excursions that we took with Island Routes: The Black River Crocodile Tour, and the Y.S Falls
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