lets see - 2 hour drive from montego bay to ocho, usually no stop so make sure you use the restroom before you get on the bus and by a 6er at the airport.

Scotchies is known for amazing jerk chicken, i didnt bother to go but others in my party did.

others also went shopping in town, the trick is to go with the cab driver the hotel sets you up with. The drivers are required to bring you back or they get fired. Family had used repeat guys several times named Eggy and Michael. Make sure they go in the market with you. They can tell the locals to back-off.

James Bond Bauxite factory is right there as well if your a fan.

On all my trips I just stick to the resort though.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by parabellum:
I got married in Jamaica.

And I wore my Marathon GSAR on a trip to Jamaica, and still have both arms, BUT I wasn't on my honeymoon.

Since you ARE going to be on your honeymoon, I'd vote with the "leave your watch at home" crowd.

That way, when you are visiting Para's rooftop cabana you will have nothing to worry about.

You know...tan lines and all

Congratulations!!!

Be prepared to answer, "braid your hair, mon?"

We stayed at the Sandals in Ocho, you can't go wrong there. Like others have said keep your stuff near you, Sandals will get all your stuff at airport and you won't need to touch it again. Long drive to resort, someone else mentioned buying some beer, not a bad idea, you can get Red Stripe Light to watch your calories

We left the resort with a taxi driver so I could buy some shoes because they would not let me in wearing flip flops to the nicer restaurants. If I had to do it again I wouldn't have left the resort. I wore my Omega Seamaster without any problems. Be prepared for guys selling you stuff at the edge of the resorts, right off the property.

Oh and say hello to Bob and Mike (the painter) at the craft sale on Friday.

Edit: Forgot to mention, take a Hobie Cat sailing lesson, SO much fun. When you take off watch the reef sticking out of the water where you start at. Always start your sailing into the wind so coming back should be easier if a storm blows in.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
We stayed at Couples in Ocho.

They got a really nice roof.

Was there in 1992, for our 3 year delayed honeymoon, the tower was just being finished. We were the only guests on our floor.

I am sure it has changed a lot since then. But wife and I had a great time. Go visit a Rum planation, better than a winery!

Don't leave the resort.
Expect anyone you come in contact with is trying to get money off you somehow.
Don't accept anything somebody offers for free. It isn't free, just the come-on before the hook.
Practice, I don't want any ganja and my wife doesn't want her hair braided.
Don't trust anyone just because they appear to be in a police uniform.

It has been a while. Mrs. slosig and I went to Sandals Negril for our honeymoon 26 years ago. At that time, they (the resort) picked you up at the airport and loaded you in a smallish bus with a cooler full of Red Stripe. The stop halfway there at the roadside tourist junk shop / snack bar also doubled as a pit stop. Mostly followed the advice to stay on the resort, but did do a few of their excursions.

The biggest problem was after getting back - while it was totally freaky to have a nice meal, then just get up and leave without paying when we first got there, one can get accustomed. The first few times after getting home, I had to consciously think, "You're back in the real world, you gotta wait for the bill."

We went back a few years later and it was still a great time, though no cooler on the bus for the second trip.

If you just stay on the resort a great time can be had with no additional cash out of pocket. If you don't mind spending a little more, some of the sponsored excursions can be really nice.

Congrats! Have a FANTASTIC time!

You don't need no stinking watch, "No Problem", you'll be on "island time, mon"

have a great trip and watch your 6.

If you scuba dive, take your license.

If you don't scuba dive, get your license before you go.

Some of the all inclusive resorts offer free daily diving trips. Just be sure that is part of the deal.

My wife and I stayed at the Iberostar Rose Hall and never left the resort. Well, actually I got up early one morning and went to play golf at the White Witch course...but that was a short shuttle ride so no real risk there.

Scuba is a great idea!

Someone mentioned about getting reservations for some of the restaurants, definitely do this soon as you unpack, go see the concierge. It isn't required but some of them are more popular than others. Some have dress codes, some don't, I noted in my previous post I went to buy some shoes I wouldn't do that again. If they say you can't wear leather flip flops, just look around and find some girl that has some type of sandal and point at their feet

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Don't leave the resort.
Expect anyone you come in contact with is trying to get money off you somehow.
Don't accept anything somebody offers for free. It isn't free, just the come-on before the hook.
Practice, I don't want any ganja and my wife doesn't want her hair braided.
Don't trust anyone just because they appear to be in a police uniform.

lol...you sound just like me.

Thanks for the advice so far guys.


And, Para, I have had a long, balls to the wall, aggravating day to the point of wanting to choke a MFer. Thank you for making me laugh, I needed it.

All inclusive pro tip: pack a Bubba Cup to keep your drink cold/frozen and full.

When we went to Jamaica the popular frozen drink was called a Humingbird. Pretty tasty.

Chongo, no tips from me as I've never been there but I did want to jump in the thread to say how happy I am for you. Congrats on your marriage and best wishes, you deserve all the best. Enjoy the trip!

Para, stayed at "Couples" in 1988!! Love Jamaica from what I remember.......

Don't bother with Dunns River Falls, it's beyond touristy. If you want to do an excursion off the resort (arranged by Sandals) check out the Appleton Rum distillery tour. That was a great time for me and Mrs. 94hokie, at least the parts I remember.

Been in Negril last 2 years, going to make it three this June. Only vacation we take minus the kids and last two years have been great. Echo the Appleton Rum plantation tour, but also get out of the resort for a little while. We do bar crawls, have taken the bamboo rafts down the river, walked 7-mile beach, etc. Folks have always been great - but Negril is "sleepier" and a bit more rural than Ocho Rios.

Congrats on the wedding and impending honeymoon - you will have a great time.

Well, packing up tonight, 5 nights have FLOWN by! We've had a fantastic time. I've eaten entirely too much food, but it was the plan

Did the catamarans, snorkeling, couple massage...went off the resort on a shopping trip (meh...but it was an interesting experience), then for an ATV trip, that ended with some cliff jumping into a beautiful ocan spot. That was pretty sweet. The other off-resort trip we did was the Blue Hole falls today. That was absolutely kick ass.

We tried wind surfing. Holy shit that was hard. I spectaculary crashed and burned on that one.

Was offered pot at least 5 times. Watched it being smoked that many times too. Pot brownies were offered several times, as well.

I tried getting on the roof, but the security guard didn't share my sense of humor when I told her it was "No problem, just a situation". I did still have my clothes on tho...

We signed up for another trip, open ended date, as in one to ? years out... but an additional 12% off from what this one was. All they required was $250 down, and the reservation can be changed to any resort or date, keeping the discount.


Getting married to my bride was the smartest thing I've probably ever done. Last year at this time I could barely keep my head above the water. I posted in despair here talking about the situation (primarily due to over 1k a month in ye olde child support and associated travel, medical, childcare expenses--despite having them every day I possibly can), seeking advice. I got that, as well as direct assistance. I cant put into words how thankful i am. After thinking it all through, the obvious solution was for her to move in with me and share the expenses. Within a few months we were engaged.

Soon after, she got a job offer completely unexpected, potentially doubling her salary. 15k above her then base, plus annual bonus. I mean it was a phone call out of the blue from someone she used to work with, unsolicited. An amazing blessing. My life...our lives...truly turned around. Both of us are very thrifty by our nature. We have managed to walk away from the wedding and honeymoon with no associated debt, and our life long plan is to be as financially sound as possible. Contrast that to my prior marriage: a woman that refused to work and demanded I provide an unrealistic lifestyle for her or she'd take the kids. I did just that until one day I had enough and told her to just GTFO...yessir, I hit the jackpot with this one. Best woman I've ever known!!

P.S. Went with my Seiko Sports 5 on a NATO band as my watch. 100 meters WR without a screw down crown. I expected it to leak, went with it because I had no sentimental attachment to it in the event it was damaged or stolen. However, it survived multiple sailing trips, swims in both pools and ocean, snorkeling with 20+ ft free dives, and 6 or 7 cliff jumps from varying heights. Still within the same minute as when I set it after arriving (didn't check the seconds and it doesn't hack)! I'm impressed!

Sounds like big wins all around Chongo. Happy for you.

Congratulations! It keeps getting recommended that we stay at Hedonism II in Negril, seems like a crazy time from what I hear!