First Trip Report from our Third Trip to Negril - 12 Days In Paradise

I’ve decided to write a trip report because I’ve been using this board for the past three years to prepare, learn and immerse myself in Negril. I feel that it’s only fair to share at least one of my trips with everyone here. And who knows, maybe I’ll really enjoy this trip report writing thing and it’ll make me want to write more :o Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences on here! This is a great tool for learning, planning and dreaming! Enjoy!

I have to start with some details about my husband and myself. This trip was our 4th to Jamaica together. Our first trip was in 1998 to Ocho Rios with my husband, his parents and his 19 & 17 year old brother and sister. I was only 22 and my husband (boyfriend at the time) was 25. You do the math to figure out our current ages :confused: We did a lot on our first trip, saw a lot of the country and learned that we LOVED Jamaica. Our plan was to come back and go to Negril someday because it sounded like our kind of place. Fast forward 16 years to 2014 when we finally took our first trip to Negril. This was after years of travelling around and taking many Caribbean cruises. We enjoyed many other Caribbean islands and Latin American countries that we travelled to, but Jamaica was always calling us back…

In 2014 we stayed for 4 nights at Kuyaba, then spent 3 nights in one of the Samsara treehouses on the cliffs. It was an amazing trip! The following year we stayed at White Sands for 6 nights and then in the Dolphin Bay Villa at Banana Shout on the cliffs for 3 nights. Once again, we had an awesome trip and were drooling to come back to Jamaica again! As you can see, each year we added a couple days onto our trip – 7 nights, 9 nights and this year we stayed in Jamaica for 12 nights! The last 5 of the 12 nights we spent there this year were in Treasure Beach, which is a whole other amazing story!
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February 24-28, 2016
I won’t get into the flight details, but we are fairly frequent travelers and I can say that I will think twice before flying AA again. Southwest is the best :) Anyway… After being delayed for over 6 hours, our wonderful driver, Michael Heath, of Michael’s On-Time Taxi, was standing outside waiting for us! He waited at the airport for our entire delay! It was such a relief because it was getting dark out and it was nice to see a familiar face waiting!

We stopped for jerk chicken, Red Stripes, overproof, juice and snacks and we arrived in Negril around 10:30pm. Much later than expected, but it could have been so much worse!

We stayed for the first 4 nights in the Penthouse at Chippewa Village. It is a beautiful property – very quiet with beautiful views, plants and trees. It’s definitely rustic, but clean and comfortable.

Sunrise over the Great Morass from the Penthouse
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Chippewa Village Entrance
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Canopy of Bamboo
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More Beauty
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Amazing pictures!!!:D

We love Michael Heath! One of the best.

Can't wait to read more!

Mon :o LOOK at these pictures

Here's a few more pictures of Chippewa Village -
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Princess the Sweet Guard Dog
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Fatastic opening photo of the sunrise.
Regards,
Bob

Great photos!

Thanks for the photo compliments everyone! I will continue on when I can...

Beautiful pictures!!!1

Yeah, that first picture is great.

Love your report. Love the pics.

Your pix are wonderful. Love the one of the "sweet" guard dog. The one at GS is "sweet" too unless you don't belong there - LOL

We really liked the location of Chippewa Village, especially having Best in the West at the end of the driveway – YUM! I can’t tell you how many times we ate their jerk chicken during our first 4 days! This was our first time not staying on the beach, but across the street from it. I think that for the low price we paid for the large room with small kitchen and AC (only needed first day), the value was great. The guard dog, Princess, was sweet to the guests, but definitely made sure the guys who shouldn’t be there didn’t come in as we witnessed twice.

Each morning we would cross the street to Charlera or Idle Awhile to have breakfast on the beach and use their beach chairs and maybe have a drink - or several :cool: We also checked out Coco La Palm’s beach and bar, which was really nice to hang out on too. My favorite dirty banana of the trip was from Coco.

Our first full day was spent walking up and down the beach. I don’t have many pictures because it was a bit overcast and windy. The weather was a little different than on previous trips. The water was pretty rough for Negril, but beautiful as always! And it rained more than usual, but no problem mon :D The Jamaicans were thankful for the rain, so we were happy for them. We did enjoy a gorgeous sunset –

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Our second day was the One Love Bus for our third time. It was a blast as always! It’s funny that we have run into some of the same people each year. Once we go we know – lol! There was a bit of a scary moment on one of our stops on the pub crawl. A woman passed out at our third (?) stop. We found out once this happened that the ambulance was broken down, which is a sad fact that happens here sometimes :( Of course, Lenbert saved the day by riding off on a motorcycle to his house and driving a car back for his wife to take her to a doctor to be checked out. Thankfully, she ended up being OK. And the crawl continued. Here’s a few from the pub crawl -

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We were beach bums again on our third day. We discovered Woodstock and ended up going back a couple times. It’s a great place to hang out on the beach, chat to bartenders, patrons, have drinks and enjoy!

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Siesta time mon ;)
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Mon your pictures are AMAZING!- Last picture is my new screen saver at work

Thanks Vince, SLP & Miss Honey!

Great pics, I hope there is more!

Anxiously awaiting more of this trip report and pictures,thanks for sharing so far!

Great Pics, Thanks for sharing!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by agregory

There was a bit of a scary moment on one of our stops on the pub crawl. A woman passed out at our third (?) stop. We found out once this happened that the ambulance was broken down, which is a sad fact that happens here sometimes :( Of course, Lenbert saved the day by riding off on a motorcycle to his house and driving a car back for his wife to take her to a doctor to be checked out. Thankfully, she ended up being OK.

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In Negril, Beth Ploof, RN operates Comforts of Home Nursing Services, LLC. She is an american Registered Nurse also licensed in Jamaica, on-call 24/7 for emergencies such as this. From the moment she gets the call she assesses the person's situation to determine what level and course of action/care may be needed. She has direct contact with local doctors, facilities and ambulances to get the person to the right care quickly, if needed.

JA 1 (876) 464-2894
USA 1 (651) 247-2984

Article/Jamaica Observer, and below, her website

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magaz...-care_19238063

http://elohimito.wix.com/comfortsofhome

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lola

In Negril, Beth Ploof, RN operates Comforts of Home Nursing Services, LLC. She is an american Registered Nurse also licensed in Jamaica, on-call 24/7 for emergencies such as this. From the moment she gets the call she assesses the person's situation to determine what level and course of action/care may be needed. She has direct contact with local doctors, facilities and ambulances to get the person to the right care quickly, if needed.

JA 1 (876) 464-2894
USA 1 (651) 247-2984

Article/Jamaica Observer, and below, her website

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magaz...-care_19238063

http://elohimito.wix.com/comfortsofhome

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Lola - Thanks for the info. I actually had to use her services last year when we visited. We had about 3 days left in our trip and I came down with an infection. I knew exactly what was wrong with me, but I didn't have the proper antibiotics with me for it. She came to our villa at Banana Shout, tested for the infection and treated me with antibiotics that a local doctor prescribed. I was so very thankful for her and how it all worked out. I was able to enjoy the last 3 days of our trip and since it was treated right away there was no harm to me! It was a great experience and I would recommend having her contact info on hand to anyone who is visiting the Negril area.

We have been able to buy medicine at the pharmacy without a prescription. My wife is a nurse, so she knew what we needed both times.
Regards,
Bob

lots of good info so far! Looking forward to more. We are thinking of making our 8 night trip in Sept. a 12 night curious to see how you felt about that long of a trip.

I love your pictures- great job, and looking forward to hearing more about your trip. Also, thanks to Lola for posting the information about the nurse, saving it for future reference should the need arise. I'm pretty sure I've said it before, I have to say it again- the people on this board are the best!

On this trip we decided to purchase a Jamaican flip phone, which was great to have throughout the trip. We ended up going to 3 separate cell stores because each one was out of the inexpensive flip phone we wanted. All of the stores were pretty close to each other, so it wasn’t a big deal. It was more like an adventure :) I think we ended up paying about $40 for the phone and more minutes than we need. It will be handy to have all of our drivers, restaurants and Jamaican friends all saved on the phone for our next trip!

Sunset on our last Negril beach day -
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February 28 - March 2, 2016
Today we are off to the cliffs on the West End. We’ve never been to Blue Cave Castle and are excited to check it out! For these 3 nights we’ve splurged and booked the penthouse :cool: It was totally worth it! Each place we stayed at on this trip had more stairs than the last. The penthouse at Chippewa Village had 2 flights of stairs, the penthouse at BCC had 39 (I think) up to the main level and then the home in Treasure Beach had 80! Higher and higher ;)

The Blue Cave Castle property is prettier than I expected. The penthouse was perfect for us! We felt like we were up in the sky with 360° views of the sea and Negril. When you first walk into the lower level of the penthouse area, there is a covered outdoor space with a large table and an uncovered area with lounge chairs. There is also a semi-outdoor shower on this level, which I used instead of the shower on the main level. I love getting out of the shower and having a view of the sea! There is also a separate toilet and sink on this level.
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Lower level of Penthouse & view -
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Looking from the main level down -
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Great pictures,thanks for sharing!

After exploring our new digs, we decided to walk to Canoe Bar. It rained for a little while once we arrived, so we decided to drink more dirty bananas and red stripes - always an easy decision. Our plan was to head over to Quality’s for dinner. As we sat at Canoe we watched several crabs digging and tossing sand. It was perfect entertainment –
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Quality’s was delicious, just like everyone on this board said it would be :D I had lion fish for the first time and it was delicious! And my husband loved the lobster which is always his favorite choice on any menu. Just as our dinner arrived, the power in Negril went out. So we ate by candlelight. We chatted with Quality as we sat in the dark and had some great conversation with him. We took advantage of their free ride back to your hotel (I think they do pick-up too) and it was his wife who drove us back to BCC. The power was still out so we were escorted up to our room and a lantern was lit and left for us to use. It was a fun and interesting way to spend the night with the city in darkness.

The next morning our friend and driver, Michael, picked us up. He took us to an elementary school in Scheffield that we’ve visited the past 2 trips. We have brought school supplies and stuff to donate for the past two years to this same school. We feel so fortunate to have everything we need and even everything we really want here and we feel good sharing it with others. There is a chain of Midwest stores (Menard’s anyone?) here that is known for having great sales and rebates on just about anything you can imagine. My husband frequents this store and “stock piles” supplies that cost us almost nothing for us to give away on our Jamaica trip. This past year we brought school supplies, plus at least 15 pairs of reading glasses, led reading lights and small led flashlights supplied with batteries. The teacher told her class that there would be an essay writing contest to earn a reading light. I can tell you that I would have never won an essay writing contest in school, so congrats to the winners! It’s a joy to see the children on these visits. The class we’ve been following is moving to high school (7th grade) next year so we will no longer see them. We will probably visit the youngest class next year and follow them through - as long as we are fortunate enough to keep making these annual trips! Fingers crossed ;)

After visiting the school, we went to Michael’s favorite restaurant in Scheffield, Weekend Sports Bar, Prince’s Kitchen – High Grade Cooking. And as usual, it was delicious! This trip I discovered that escovitch is my favorite way to have fish - LOVE IT! And I have become an expert at removing the fish from the bones and getting every morsel :)
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We returned to BCC early that afternoon and enjoyed our 4 levels of living –
View from our main level door -
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Rain on 7 Mile, sunshine on the West End -
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We called Murphy’s during the afternoon to make a reservation for dinner. Last year we ate at Murphy’s and it was wonderful so we had to do it again!
As we were laving BCC for Murphy's we discovered this cake. It was gone when we returned. Not sure if everyone who consumed it left or maybe they all went to bed :confused:
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Thanks to everyone for following along! If you know how I can rotate pictures on this forum, please share :) Sometimes the vertical pics show up correct, but sometimes not.

Great pictures and report! Stuff like this helps to make the days go by faster! December soon come. Thanks mon' IRIE!

Thanks for this number. I should have had in I my phone before this. I have a major thyroid issue and my hubs is a cliff jumper. You just never know when something is gonna happen. Where exactly is Woodstock bar. I have seen it but can't place it.

Thanks for all the compliments and for following along! I plan to finish the Negril portion of this report today and move onto Treasure Beach :cool:

RonMon - If you have the option to go for 12 days, go for it! I don't think we'll ever spend enough time in Jamaica and always leave wanting more!

The next morning, we woke to sunshine and a calm, beautiful sea. Today will be my chance to finally snorkel on the West End! My husband isn’t much of a swimmer, but I love to snorkel. Last year we went snorkeling out on the reef near Booby Cay with Captain Junior and we had a great time. But I have been wanting to snorkel off the cliffs for the past two years, and never had a good opportunity to do so. Now the sea is calm and BCC has a lifeguard to keep an eye on me as I really don’t want my husband to try saving me with his doggy paddling skills ;) But first, we must have breakfast at PeeWee’s.
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The snorkeling at BCC was good. I saw lots of beautiful fish, eels, coral and enjoyed the other world living in the sea. After snorkeling, we enjoyed the beauty and peacefulness from the multiple levels of our penthouse. It was wonderful and this table is my favorite place to be –
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We decided to take a taxi to Red Dragon to get some jerk pork for lunch. We picked it up and took it back to our room and I’m so very happy we did! It was delicious and I would definitely eat it again, but I have to share my scotch bonnet pepper experience with you. There were a few slices of scotch bonnets mixed in with the pork. So I decided to take a small bite of one of the peppers. This was a very small bite – crumb size - and at first it didn’t taste like much, so I took another small bite. By this time the first bite started heating up my mouth and I knew the second bite was a huge mistake! I’m not one of those people who enjoy really spicy peppers, so this was not an enjoyable experience. I started coughing, my head turned red and my nose and eyes were running like crazy and I couldn’t talk. I think my husband thought I was going to die because he looked scared at my reaction this pepper. Needless to say, I learned a lesson to NEVER take a bite of a scotch bonnet pepper. And thankfully, since we were in our hotel room, no one else had to witness it! Later on in our trip we told our Jamaican friend Michael about my scotch bonnet experience and right away he laughed and said, “I bet her face was pink!” – sounds like he’s witnessed this before. Now we both laugh at what happened and my “pink face” :mad:

After coming down from “pink face”, we enjoyed another beautiful afternoon and evening from our penthouse perch in the sky before heading to 3 Dives. Tonight is our last night in Negril – until next year - hopefully!
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We awoke to another beautiful morning! I had to snorkel again after breakfast in our room that husband picked up at Pee Wee’s :D
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I think this is Couple's Swept Away in the distance -
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This afternoon we head to Treasure Beach, which will be a whole new adventure for us! I'll share the link to the TB portion of this trip report here once it's posted. Thanks for following along :cool:

Thanks for the wonderful pictures. Looking forward to trip report from Treasure Beach :)

Great report and pictures,thanks for sharing and i look forward to the TB report!

You had some great pictures from the Blue Cave Castle!

thank you for sharing --- i enjoyed every morsel

Thanks to everyone for following along! And thanks for eveyone's posts on this forum over the years! As we know, this website is very helpful for anyone going to Negril or Jamaica :cool:

If you want to check out our Treasure Beach portion of the trip, here it is -
http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...223#post178223