Leaving for the 1st trip on Saturday! Safety?

Hello everyone! Reading these threads has made me so excited/prepared for my 1st trip to Negril with my boyfriend on Saturday. We are going for a week and staying at the Club Riu, I just have one last nagging question I need answered.....We like to really get a taste of the city we are in, example, when we were in Cabo San Lucas we left the resort and went out almost every night to get a taste of local restaurants and bars

Do we have anything to worry about in Negril? Will it be safe to take taxis and experience the local flavor? Thanks for all your help!!

ABSOLUTELY!!!! Don't worry! Make sure you take a red plate taxi... that is all you have to worry about! RED PLATE!!!! They are insured! RED PLATE!!!!!

Please for the love of everything reggae....Enjoy Negril they way it should be!!!

Negril is safe. Obviously, you don't want to put yourself in the position of becoming something of a target by flashing expensive jewlery or becoming overly intoxicated. But this advice holds true for any city in any country. Negril is no different. Remember that you are a guest and treat your hosts with respect.

And, besides insurance, you simply DO NOT GET INTO A WHITE PLATE CAR. RED PLATE TAXIS ONLY.

Taxis with redplates (did anyone mention that already ;) ) LOL

Use discretion when walking on beach at night....might be best to walk on the road instead to get from place to plac
Mind your $ and valuables. Make use of a safe and only take with you what you need for the day/night/whatev....

Locals will often ask you questions like "Is this your first time? Where are you staying?". Although they may mean no harm, go ahead and evade the questions or be vague and NO this is not your first time! LOLOL

That's the only advice I can give, but I am relatively new to Negril myself. As a general rule...use common sense and you'll be fine ...I really can't remember at any point feeling like I was in danger in Negril.

Be sure and have a BLAST. Ask drivers about cool places to go and good places to eat/drink and you will find great local spots. Jump off cliffs!! Enjoy the culture and the people....they are beautiful. :)

Have a great time!

Anybody have a link to "NEGRIL 101" that was on the old board. It had excellent advice for newcomers.

Enjoy,

VVHT

Found it:

http://www.negril.com/discus/messages/9472/51312.html

Thanks everyone!!!!! I will be sure to post when we return after the 28th!

You'll probably only need a taxi to get to the first spot. Then can walk from one to the other, at the beach anyway - even safe at night.
On the Cliffs, the road has no sidewalk, and many places very little room off the roadside - I would not walk many areas at night for that reason. Even daytime is sketchy in a few narrow, curvy, spots.

If going out during the day, suggest you use the Route Taxi's - very easy and very cheap. Many threads here already on that topic, so just do a search to get all info you need. But they are rare to find after dark - so you will need a "private" taxi to get back to your hotel. There will be many outside any of the active nightspots - just be sure to settle on the price BEFORE you get in. Easiest is to just tell them where you are going and suggest a price.

Like if at the Jungle, or Alfred's or Bourbon Beach (not too far from Riu) - "can you do $500J for 2 of us to the Riu?" They may come back with $1000J, then you haggle and settle at say, $750J.
If you are farther away, like Rick's out on the Cliffs (aka West End) - it will be higher, so far that double is fair. If the first driver won't haggle to a price you think fair - no problem, another one will. MAKE SURE THEY ARE RED PLATE.

Or there is a thread here with known reliable drivers - jot down their phone numbers and call them about 10min before you are ready to leave.
You'll have a blast - plus have lots of great stories to tell the other AI'ers to scared to get out. LOL

if you are going to be doing a lot of off resort stuff, scoop up a cheap local cell phone. then, as you meet drivers- and you will meet a ton - store their numbers in your phone. if you are going to be heading out a lot it's a good practice to start to work with the same driver or small set of drivers, as you can make arrangements that might be more cost effective over the long haul.

You will be in paradise in Negril.IMO-I would get a private driver,get his cell number and say we would like to go out every envening about this time,will you be avaiable and can we depend on you at this.JMO-get one driver haggle a price and stick to it everyday,.Maybe you can get out to YS Falls,Ricks anywhere sightseeing.JMO~Bless,safe travels