Jamaica From Your Cruise Ship

Dunn's River Falls is the famous waterfall near Ocho Rios, Jamaica. The falls run down from the rain forrest and empty's into the sea.

The waterfalls are an amazing 600 feet stairway of fun and beauty. There are several small lagoons areas between each set of falls where you are able to rest or take pictures.

But climbing waterfalls is why you and a million others go! Most of the people you will run into are on the tours from the cruise ships.  But it is not exclusively for them, as you can climb the falls with the help of tour guides from the park.

The park is beautiful, green and lush. The side of the falls is covered with green vegitation that help shade the area from the sun. The falls can be walked up with some ease if you are in average shape.

Our cruise shipped hit port early in morning and we were able to get off the ship by 9:00 am. We did not sign up for the cruise tour of Dunn's River Falls, instead we opted to do it ourselves. Great move!

Upon exiting the ship we grabbed a cab inside the port area. The cabs in the port are registered, have a set price and are safe. It's a $10 cab ride and in our case our driver (Bernard) was more than eager to come back and get us at the set time. He knew how long it would take and when we finished he was there waiting for us.

We get to the park early as it is about to open.  We wait a few minutes with Bernard and then when it opened, he had us follow him in as he took us inside the park to get our water shoes and over to the lockers. Did I mention Bernard was awesome? He then hooked us up with a tour guide in the park. You tip them at the end.

We went right to the falls, and rather than going down to the beach where the hike up starts, we entered the falls while we were still in the park.  To get to the beach you must walk down A LOT of stair and through a small underpass.  We opted not to waste the time because we had the place to ourselves.  The cruise ships weren't due there for an hour.

So I ask you...who would you rather be, the long chain of humanity or the woman posing for pics by herself wherever she wanted?  Us too.

 1. Bring extra clothes to change into.  They have lockers.  $7...you get $2 back when you turn the lock in.

2. Rent water shoes, unless you own them?  You can do it in tennis shoes, but seriously don't be a dope...rent the shoes.  $7

3. The shoes will be REALLY tight when you put them on.  That's PERFECT!  Trust me again...when you get into the water they loosen up a lot.  So barely tight is almost not good.

4. Don't waste your time with an underwater camera.  They are usually junk.  Your guide can carry your camera along the side and take pics of you.  WAY better!

5. Tip the guide at least $20.  We did $30

I'm 50 yrs old and had a quad bi pass. I am in reasonable shape. . .I did well. Not great...well.

But if that isn't enough...check out this picture.

• 5 people in front. Guy, two women and two kids. The guy and the teen can do it. The others probably not. They should do he human chain.
• Next three are okay...though the older guy, depends upon how in shape he is. He looks pretty good.
• The guy without his shirt and his son...both okay.
• Teens? Yep.
• Little girl you barely see? NO.
• Couple behind? Yes.
• Lady in flower/black one piece. No. She should do the human chain.

We didn't start the hike from the beach. I would recommend not doing it from the beach. The rocks are very slippery, the water cold...but not freezing. Definitely doable for the biggest of babies that get cold easily. :)

We stayed about an hour and half, two hours. Once you are there stay NO LESS than two hours.  If you have a driver as we did, let him know two hours.  Otherwise you can catch a cab back easily. 

The shops there are a hassle, avoid them at all cost unless you feel like negotiating forever.

So the trip cost about $20 for the cab (tip), $15 each for the park, $5 for the locker, $7 for shoes (wife had her own) and about $30 for the tour guide. It was literally our park for the entire time we were there. The cruise ship tours were just arriving as we finished the hike.