Newbie Trip Report - We WILL be back soon!!!

We just got back from our first trip to Jamaica. We stayed at Coco la Palm in Negril 7 Mile Beach for a week - my husband and me, along with our 2 young adult daughters. It was an absolutely fabulous trip - our family made memories that will last our lifetime! Well, we drank too much, ate too many patties, jerk chicken and pork, etc. etc. So, now we're on a diet and are drying out for awhile. Wouldn't have changed a thing! Gary of Kingsley's Taxi was waiting for us at the airport, drove us to Coco la Palm, giving a great guided tour. Gary was the best, and I'll give a loud shout out to Kingsley and Lloyd - they make a great team and couldn't have done better, and their prices were very reasonable! We will use them whenever we need a ride when we come back.

Coco was the best hotel on the beach in our opinion. The grounds are beautiful, and the beach is so large with trees everywhere for shade. Coco Villa #532 has a large patio, table & chairs with umbrella, loungers, right on the sand, looking onto the beach and the water. Some people would prefer the newer section, but we wouldn't have traded our location at the hotel or anywhere else on 7 Mile Beach. We prefer older with character over newness without. Every single person at the hotel was a pleasure! Kevan the lifeguard brought beef and cheese patties his mother made one day, the guards made sure everyone was safe and not bothered, the bar tenders, waiters, housekeepers, great! Daily fares: juice from the Juice Man, jerk pork from the Jerk Pork Man, fruit from the Fruit Lady with the basket on her head, patties from The Patty Man, etc. etc. Wifi stunk, to say the least. The pool water was unheated, but not bad. The sea was perfect, and the sand like powdered sugar. We walked the beach every day. We never wore our shoes while at the beach. Stopped at the Sunny Side bar to get Bloody Mary's from Marie. Live music at the Boat Bar, music at the Charela. The best reggae band right in front of CLP on Friday night, with about 50 people dancing on the beach, and we watched it from our patio until we just couldn't help it and had to dance, too. Can you tell, we'll be back?

We took a day trip with Gary one day. We went to Appleton Rum Factory, Jungle boats to see wildlife and alligators, and were supposed to go to the Pelican bar but it got windy, choppy and too late. The drive was way too long (2 hours each way), with plenty of driving in between). At least now we can say we've done the touristy thing but we won't do that again, because the most fun of all was just hanging out at the beach and around town. The rum factory was great, but not worth the ride. We went on Lembert's One Love Pub Crawl - it was THE BEST! We will do it when we go back, SO much fun! There were about 30-35 of us, and we became "best of friends" after about the 3rd of the 8 bars we visited.

We took a cab to Rick's Cafe one afternoon because the girls wanted to jump - and they both jumped more than once from the middle height (not the tower). Then on to dinner at Xtapi which was really nice, and into the caves which were crashing with waves. We walked next door to the 3 Dives for live music, but it was canceled. The water was more choppy than usual for a couple of days, and it rained more than usual. But, there was plenty of sunshine and calm waters for us despite the blip in the weather. We were going to take Garth's Red Stripe Catamaran for a sunset tour, but that was on the first day of wind and rough water, so it was canceled. Trying to get the $20 deposit back from Garth was not an easy chore. When the sun came out and the water became calm as glass, I got up on a paddle board and paddled around, then floated, then laid on the lounge, then walked the beach, then floated, than stood up on the board again, and on...

The beach vendors didn't bother us at all - we quickly earned about the "fist bump", and a cheery "yah mon, not right now", with a big smile. Well, I could go on, but that's enough for now. All of you boardies who I've been following on this site - now I know what you're talking about. Negril has a magical feel. We're so glad we stayed "in with the people" on the beach, in a non-inclusive hotel. We wouldn't have had the local experience and met people we will be back to visit has we done it differently. I would post some photos, but can't quite figure out how to upload. I'll work on it and post a few if I can figure it out.

Thank you so much for sharing your first experience. Excited to see the pictures and very glad you will be back!!!

Thanks for the report! Now you're hooked! :)

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Your trip sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing the photos. It was fun to see those taken on the One Love pub crawl because we'll be on the bus in just a couple weeks.

Glad you all had a great time. Kingsley is my go to as well and he and his team do a great job setting the vibe right. Slight correction, that is Maureen at Sunnyside who took such great care of you. She is a sweet lady always with a welcoming smile.

Nicely done!

"Once you go, you know"!!!!

VVHT

Nice fun trip report. I have stayed in 532 and I feel that you can't beat the patio and view.

Thanks for sharing! Great report and photo's!