Xmas & New Years travel questions

My wife & I have been travelling to Negril regularly since the mid 90's. We always travel during the slow season so we have never seen it busy in Negril. I'm excited that not only we will be in Negril during New Years & Xmas......I'm ecstatic that I will get to see Negril like I've never seen it before....extremely crowded and busy.

Because I've never seen it busy or traveled during the holidays it brings up questions that I'm certain y'all can offer me input on.

1) Are most the restaurants open on Xmas day or do many close for the holiday?
2) How crowded do the restaurants get? Its already slow service as expected....not sure how much slower it gets when the restaurants are busy.
3) Is it more difficult to rent a scooter due to limited availability because of the number of people? I normally pay $20 per day off season for a week. What would I expect to pay (I know I gotta negotiate) during the holiday? Do I need to try to reserve in advance?
4) I am bringing newbies that are considering a room without AC. Is it cool enough in late Dec/early Jan to go without AC? I've gone without AC in Oct/Nov several times....but am interested in others opinions.

Any input is greatly appreciated! This is gonna be one awesome trip!!!

Twister I am going to add to your questions:

5) What days during those weeks are the banks and cambios closed?

6) Is there a "not to miss" Xmas Party and/or NYE Party?

This will be our first visit over Christmas and New Years as well, looking forward to the answers to these questions.

Bank Holidays Dec 25th Xmas day (Tues) Dec 26th Boxing Day(Weds),2012 Jan 1st New Years Day(Tues).2013 I looked them up.

I remember someone saying not to wait until the last minute before the banks and cambios close to get your money because they run out.

Also remember, if Christmas and New Years fall on a Sunday they will be closed an additional day for each. As we learned last holidays.

I think it's more crowded in Feb. than over the holidays from my experiance.Christmas and New Years in Negril are some of my fondest memories plus you don't have to deal with family drama over the holidays.lol

always get a/c !!!! you dont have to use it but if you need it better to have

Well I learned the hard way last New years that I should have changed money at the airport. I never do it because of the exchange rate but I found that Cambio's were close A LOT and the ATM wasn't reliable. Now that there are 4 ATM's at Scotio Bank though it may not be an issue. But be prepared.

Scotia has 4 ATM's at the bank? Where are the other two? Or are you referring to the off site ATM's?

Buying tickets next week. I hope that prices do not go up.

Booger,

Scotia actually has 5 ATMs now - we featured it on our Negril Today pages a couple months back. Here is the link!

http://negril.com/nt/nt060512.htm

You can also see other locations by checking out our Things To Do section!

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Originally Posted by Biggs of the week

I think it's more crowded in Feb. than over the holidays from my experiance.Christmas and New Years in Negril are some of my fondest memories plus you don't have to deal with family drama over the holidays.lol

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It is much more crowded during the Christmas/New Years week than in February. It is so much more busy that a few properties even have higher rates during that time period.

But yes, there is no need to deal with the "over the river and through the woods" drama that tends to play out at this time of year...

As for a couple of the original poster's questions:

1) Are most the restaurants open on Xmas day or do many close for the holiday?

Virtually every place will be open during the time period - a very few of the smaller places may close for Boxing Day (the 26th) but still nothing to be concerned about...


2) How crowded do the restaurants get? Its already slow service as expected....not sure how much slower it gets when the restaurants are busy.

There many be some restaurants that you may have to wait in line, but you will notice that the service will be faster to handle the increased number of people dining.


3) Is it more difficult to rent a scooter due to limited availability because of the number of people? I normally pay $20 per day off season for a week. What would I expect to pay (I know I gotta negotiate) during the holiday? Do I need to try to reserve in advance?

Supply and demand will dictate that you will probably have to pay a bit more for the scooter - but as you noted, it will still be negotiable. Since most scooter places rent on a first come, first serve basis - I would not suggest to try to reserve in advance, unless you have a working relationship with that particular rental place.

This time of year is an absolutely wonderful time to be in Negril! The holiday cheer has gotten a hold of everyone! But remember, with the increase in people there is an increase in traffic - and the "cheer" aspect needs to be considered as well. Be very careful on the scooters, and wear your helmets!

See you around Christmas! Cheers!

Thank you all!!!

So whether I get there on December 24th or December 27th I will be fine with getting money from the ATMS and/or Cambio.

ATMs work everyday - now with Scotia having 4 machines outside (even when the bank itself is closed) there should be no problem getting money even on the actual holidays (25th, 26th and 1st) when the Cambios will be closed.

Thanks for the info Rob.

I was just checking my Bank Of America statement from my last trip. I got charged a $5 "International Fee" for using the ATM. Anyone know if this the standard fee imposed by the ATM or is this a Bank Of America fee?


Just my thinking but.....wouldn't it be better to exchange some money to get by a couple days at the airport Xmas day rather than pay the $5 "international fee"? I know the airport rates are bad but are they that much worse? ....Or I pay in USD for a couple days until the Cambio opens....

I use my BOA account in Jamaica because Scotia is somehow connected with BOA and I do not get charged to use their ATM's.

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Originally Posted by Mr. Twister

Thanks for the info Rob.

I was just checking my Bank Of America statement from my last trip. I got charged a $5 "International Fee" for using the ATM. Anyone know if this the standard fee imposed by the ATM or is this a Bank Of America fee?


Just my thinking but.....wouldn't it be better to exchange some money to get by a couple days at the airport Xmas day rather than pay the $5 "international fee"? I know the airport rates are bad but are they that much worse? ....Or I pay in USD for a couple days until the Cambio opens....

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Hey Twister,
Was this at Scotia? I used mine in July and received no such charge.

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Originally Posted by booger

Hey Twister,
Was this at Scotia? I used mine in July and received no such charge.

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It was the ATM in the little room next to the Hi-Lo. Not sure if that's a Scotia or not. I've got quite a few accounts with Bank Of America. I may check with them also prior to leaving ;-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr. Twister

It was the ATM in the little room next to the Hi-Lo. Not sure if that's a Scotia or not. I've got quite a few accounts with Bank Of America. I may check with them also prior to leaving ;-)

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That's NCB. use Scotia with you BOA account and you will not be charged anything.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mr. Twister

It was the ATM in the little room next to the Hi-Lo. Not sure if that's a Scotia or not. I've got quite a few accounts with Bank Of America. I may check with them also prior to leaving ;-)

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Mr.T,

We show a picture of that ATM in our Things To Do section - here is the direct link to that page!

http://negril.com/nt/nt071312.htm