Changes in Latitude

Hello Boardies!!

My wife and I visited the U.S. Virgin Islands on our honeymoon 30 years ago and have booked a trip to Negril to celebrate our anniversary on October 9th for our first island vacation since that fateful event in 1982. Needless to say we are extremely stoked about our first time experiencing Jamaica. We are staying five nights at Nirvana. I post this message with the hope of drawing upon the vast knowledge of everyone on this forum to help us make the most of our trip. Whatever ideas you would like to offer to us would be greatly appreciated.

I have a few topics about which I would enjoy hearing your opinions:
a.) What island music should I load onto my iPod? (besides Jimmy Buffett <snicker>)
b.) What words and phrases do we need to learn in order to make a good impression and communicate well?
c.) What is the best way to say "NO" to the higglers?
d.) What tourist traps should we definitely avoid?
e.) Should we use Nirvana's driver to transport us to/from the airport at $70 US per trip?
If not, please recommend a driver we can trust to pick us up at the airport and take us shopping
for J$, rum, beer, water, snacks, etc. on the way to Nirvana.
f.) Will I benefit by having a phone? If so, where should I buy a burner phone?

Please feel free to opine on any other topics that you feel may be of interest to us ... THANKS!

First WELCOME to the Board and congrats on your upcoming 30 YEAR anniversary. Negril is the perfect place for romance and fun.
I will try to give you some of my opinions below, however, I don't have any feedback on Nirvana to share (maybe others will).

a.) What island music should I load onto my iPod?
Depends on what you like but Bob Marley, Damian Marley, Ziggy Marley, old school Beres Hammand, Luciano, Dennis Brown, etc. I also love to listen to Sade, Michael Franti and Sean Paul. [Tip: Not for iPod but I always pick up mix CDs which are sold all around beach and town with current and older reggae/dancehall to play in my car when I get home]

b.) What words and phrases do we need to learn in order to make a good impression and communicate well?
No need to learn any phrases to make a good impression - a smile and respect will get you that. If someone is speaking patios very fast you can just ask to SAY AGAIN. You will hear lots of "No problem" and "Soon come" and "Respect" but you will be fine just being yourself and letting the locals share with you by conversations.

c.) What is the best way to say "NO" to the higglers?
Best way to say no is to say "No Thanks - I am good." But unless you want to get into a conversation I always keep walking and don't engage. Unless I am interested or looking for something or want to ck out their artwork for example. So many great things to try like fruit, patties, jewelry, juice, jerk pork, peanuts, aloe for sunburn, etc etc.

d.) What tourist traps should we definitely avoid?
I don't think there are any tourist traps in Negril. There is something for everyone. One of the more touristy places is Ricks Cafe for cliff diving and sunsets and sometimes live music - they food and drinks there are a bit high for my budget but they have a great pool and its something I would recommend cking out at least once. [Tip: if you get brave enough to jump remember "feet first with hands across your chest"]

e.) Should we use Nirvana's driver to transport us to/from the airport at $70 US per trip?
If not, please recommend a driver we can trust to pick us up at the airport and take us shopping
for J$, rum, beer, water, snacks, etc. on the way to Nirvana.
$70 per person one way is a bit high but if you want stops etc its not out of bounds. I use Clive's Transportation and you can ck his website for pricing - for a single person shared ride its $40 one way and I have asked the driver to stop and they have but you will want to make sure its cool with other riders. There is also JUTA and other private drivers that would likely be around $100 for two each way but others will chime in.


f.) Will I benefit by having a phone? If so, where should I buy a burner phone?
If you will only be in Negril five nights I don't think you need a phone - you can use route taxis to get around town and if you need to contact home - internet is the best and cheapest way.

Tip: there are live webcasts most nights where boardies meet up and we can chat and see the action - you could also go to one and have your family watch you wave to them www.realnegril.com

Try a few restaraunts, watch the sunset from the cliffs, ck out town, chill on the beach and enjoy your trip to the MAXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thanks for the WELCOME Sweetness.. and for the helpful tips! How will I know about the webcasts? Do I need to pack my laptop?

There is a schedule at their website www.realnegril.com - one of my favorite is Thurs. at Canoe which has a little beach and great food and steel drum music. Rob who moderates this board is the one who runs the webcasts and has a camera hooked up. You just tell your family to log on the website and watch for you. Another great one is at SeaStar on Sat. night w/a wonderful buffet dinner and lots of music including African drummers/dancers. Any other questions ask away.....we love to help because Negril and Jamaica is our favorite thing to talk about LOL.

You can bring your laptop but won't need it for the webcasts. There is a lot of places with wifi and if you want to leave it home - plenty places to check your emails/send some for a small fee.

ONE LOVE

Awesome reponse Sweetness, the perfect example of why Negrilites are regarded as the best Ambassadors of the travel industry

Check out Viator.com for roundtrip from MoBay to Negril hotels for $29.95 per person. Yeah, you read it right. ROUND TRIP. $29.95
When we used them this past May, it wasn't a bus either. It was Micheal driving a new air-conditioned car.