Tips for a Negril Newbie???

Hey all! My hubby and I are coming to Negril on Oct. 20th to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We are staying at the Tree House Inn. We plan to visit Mayfield Falls, and are especially excited about stopping in at Tedd's. :D I also know we should stop in at Rick's for the cliff diving. Is there anything else you guys would suggest? My hubby and I really enjoy the party scene....but, we also enjoy nature and relaxing (who doesn't!). Where are the best reggae concerts? Is there a schedule somewhere so I can find dates for shows? Thanks, all!!!

Thursday nights at the Jungle are the busiest night, its the only real club in Negril. Might not be much live music in oct. besides Alfred,s.

Newbies ? ? ? Here is tip number 1 .............. Bring half the clothes and twice the money you originally planned on ............. your vacation will be perfect.

I've said this stuff before but here's my quick list for first-timers:

1. Bring small bills for your trip. Tips etc are easier. $1s and $5s.
2. Don't bother packing more than one pair of long pants. You won't even use the one pair you pack.
3. Familiarize yourself with the route taxi vs the regular taxis. Bigtime cash saver.
4. Make a local friend (security guard, or taxi driver guy) near your resort. He or she will help you a lot, escort you around, and best of all, keep most of the other higglers away. Lots of benefits in doing this.
5. Negotiate any and all prices up front. 60-70% of original asking price is a good target. Don't be greedy.
6. If you're staying at an all inclusive bring a travel mug. (: Beats 10-oz cups.
7. Don't stay at an all inclusive. Get off the resort. Go into the country!!!
8. Bring extra hats, shirt etc from your hometown...fav team etc. They make great giveaways to your new Jamaican friends!
I usually grab a few tees from clearance racks etc and give them away. I've found that a lot of the resort workers really appreciate having something from the US to wear...
9. Good place to hang after Ted's is Half Moon Beach. Small fee to chill on a "private" beach.

Restaurants I love:
1. Three Dives
2. Cosmos
3. Any of the guys with the jerk chicken barrels along beach road
4. Mi Yard (bar)
5. Roots Bamboo

I am DEFINITELY not the most experienced guy on the board. But I have been to Negril enough to know the advice above has helped me. No matter what, you've made an awesome choice. You will know once you go!

always pay in jamaican money, soon come

Dont miss the Boat Bar for some good, live, free reggae and delicious food and ice cold red stripes. And if you have time check out Dolphin Cove, where you can swim with dolphins.

If you go to Ricks cafe a good time to go is 4to 5 oclock, you can then walk a short way to Catcha Falling Star to have dinner at Ivan,s (resteraunt at Catcha)

Hi Purple....my advise is stay plugged into this board....it will give you sooo much information. We stayed at the Treehouse and it was wonderful....clean, nice beach, good breakfasts, and great staff. You will have a great time!

The beach is public access, meaning your quiet walk could be easily be interupted with offers you are not ready to hear or respond to.

If guy offers to show you his puppy, he is NOT talking about a baby dog. It's the dialect for something else:-(

Spend an afternoon on the cliff and enjoy an amazing sunset

Don't say NO THANK YOU, if you don't want something. Say NO and keeping walking because every word after NO could be interpretted to mean something else. Really, if the answer is NO, what are you thanking me for...lol!

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Originally Posted by Sweet_Dwata

If guy offers to show you his puppy, he is NOT talking about a baby dog. It's the dialect for something else:-(

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LOL!
I take it you never met the couple of men on the beach that really DO want to show you their puppies (actually baby dogs)...it's their 'gig'....lol!

Check out realnegril.com and find out when the webcasts are and go there! You will link up with great people - some boardies from here and more who will have more ideas and fun things to do than you will have time for!!!! (So, you'll have to go back!) In fact, tell your friends back home to log in and watch you wave to them and know they will be drooling on their keyboards, in total jealous mode! Canoe is a wonderful spot; the One Love Pub Crawl on Wednesdays is great fun and you will see a lot of the cliffs! If you can negotiate it, a trip to Blue Hole near Sav (Savanah-la-mar) on Roaring River is awesome! There are also some neat caves near there. Appleton Rum Tour is a good giggle and there is a palm reserve in Negril that really neat! Don't pack a full kit of make up - it will just melt off anyway, but plenty of conditioner (especially a leave in one) will be great for the many sea-to-pool-to-sea-again days!

There is a great little bar at the end of the cliffs (the Pub Crawl usually goes there) called (help me out, Boardies, I never get the name right ...) LSU, or LTU, - anyway, it's a fab place with great burgers (say hi to Aubie for me!). Personally, I would go to LTU or Catchafillingstar (Cliffs) over Rick's, which I find over-rated. Check Negril Escape for live reggae, but I'm not sure if the One Love Concert Series is on in October. Oh - yeah, there's a superfun little country bar (I know! C&W In Jam! Who knew!!). Ask anyone where the country and western bar on the cliffs is .... I will look through my pictures and get the name.

Bnewb ????? And the infamous Red Bar!!!????

See, the list is endless ..... once you go, you know!

You will have a great time! As far as good reggae shows--keep your eyes out for the signs along the road and on the beach advertising, they change the signage and keep it current. Roots, Alfred's, Boat Bar, Bourbon Beach and sometimes some other places have shows different days and times during the week. The Jungle is more of a dancehall, club vibe--and wasn't really my kind of thing as I prefer more roots reggae. That said, I did go on one of my trips and had fun checking out the scene. Explore the beach--stop at different spots, and don't sweat the vendors. Sure they can be aggressive at times, but for no thank you was all that was needed--or even just a shake of the head indicating no. They never bothered me--but maybe they can tell I am not made of money. And I have had some great conversations with some of them that had nothing to do with them trying to get me to buy anything--just talk and chit chat about life in Jamaica.

I wish I were in your shoes and going there in a few days time, how exciting!

M&G...the first bar you mention is the Love Nest also known as Firewater....not sure they're cooking food now or in the future...will have to check on that.
The Red Bar? Do you mean Red Dragon or the bar I always stupidly call the Little Red Bar (lol) which is the No Limit Bar.

http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...uide-to-Negril

The best advise I can give you, is to get to a webcast and hang out with Rob and Lisa. They know the ropes better than anyone down there.

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Originally Posted by Bnewb

M&G...the first bar you mention is the Love Nest also known as Firewater....not sure they're cooking food now or in the future...will have to check on that.
The Red Bar? Do you mean Red Dragon or the bar I always stupidly call the Little Red Bar (lol) which is the No Limit Bar.

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Yes! That's it!!! Love Nest aka Firewater that used to be LTU or LSU or something! Yes, that's it! No more Aubie-burgers? Bummer! But still, a spectacular view and fun little place! Oh, both! The No Limit Bar is the Little Red Bar I meant, but I totally fogot about Red Dragon and it's jerk pork!!!!! How could I forget that!

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Originally Posted by Kind View

The best advise I can give you, is to get to a webcast and hang out with Rob and Lisa. They know the ropes better than anyone down there.

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Agreed. They have even answered the same question numerous times for me as the short term memory is a little shot. ;)

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Originally Posted by Kind View

The best advise I can give you, is to get to a webcast and hang out with Rob and Lisa. They know the ropes better than anyone down there.

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Who is Rob and Lisa? Are they long time locals in the area running a business or tour. If so would be nice to know those from the good ole days of Negril.

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Originally Posted by Kind View

The best advise I can give you, is to get to a webcast and hang out with Rob and Lisa. They know the ropes better than anyone down there.

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Awww...geez...Kind View...thanks, but I'm still the newbie down here!!

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Originally Posted by Sweet_Dwata

Who is Rob and Lisa? Are they long time locals in the area running a business or tour. If so would be nice to know those from the good ole days of Negril.

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Rob owns Negril.com and Realnegril.com...he's been living in Negril full time since 1994/5...part time for quite a few years before that. Bnewb aka Lisa...that would be me!

Welcome to the board...Sweet_Dwata! What years did you live in Negril?

"Yes! That's it!!! Love Nest aka Firewater that used to be LTU or LSU or something! Yes, that's it! No more Aubie-burgers? "
LTU is very much still alive and kicking and not too far down the road from "Love Nest/Firewater". Don't know what an Aubie-Burger is but maybe you are thinking of Pickled Parrot? Gone a long time now...

I know Love Nest as Sir D's - that's how me and mine refer to it at least. Sweetest view of the sea on the West End for sure.

Aubie was running Love Nest/Firewater/Sir D's for short while this past spring/summer.
He was serving food which included burgers at that time.

Us dollar is prefered. Many travel and shop in Miami or ask family and friends to buy stuff where US$ would help. Also the black market for US$.

I make large purchases in JA$, better bang for the buck but do small purchases and tip in US$. I don't wish to have a ton of JA$ at the end of my trip so I limit my currency exchange.

While the us$ is preferred over many other countries currency since the us$ is more readily convertible into any currency someone may need, there is no real special "black market" value for the us$ exchange as there was years ago. You will receive nearly the exact same rate to exchange money from the cambio or bank as you would from some person asking you to exchange money on the street.

And please remember that there are many reasons not to ever exchange money on the street... from counterfeiters to scammers to con artists...

For any potential "benefit" you may think there might be for a better exchange rate, the axiom "if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is" should be foremost in your thoughts...

The BEST place to change your money is at a Cambio, Many Boardies have their favs (mine is the one inside HiLo). As Rob says changing money on the street isn't a good idea, also the rates at your hotel aren't always as good as you get at a Cambio, and my other usual word of caution check with your bank about any charges there maybe on debit and credit cards

Yes - check out the Blue Cave Castle while you are at Teddy's for food. Also, read Island Odyssey, a novel set in Negril during the early 1970s long before it
became the hot spot that is today - a nice glimpse into the roots of it all, just as Reggae was about to launch, etc. Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005TVG54A. Or hard print: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/francislynn

Francis Oliver Lynn