Why Negril? And first impressions.

[Mandy]

My reason for visiting Negril (and in fact, Jamaica!) for the first time is quite lame. Seriously lame. BUT- it got me to Negril ten years ago and I have been going ever since!

I watched the movie Cocktail when I was 12. (*GROAN*) I know, I know. I wanted to go to Jamaica once I saw Tom Cruise and Elisabeth Shue in the waterfall scene. (*double groan!*) Give me a break, yall! I was 12!

So there I was at age 26 with a fabulous new husband and I had talked about wanting to go FOREVER- so he said research and book it.

After SO MUCH research- I found Nirvana! I knew it wasn't Cocktail, or How Stella Got her Groove Back- but decided Negril was the place. I immediately knew we didn't want all inclusive. I wanted to get the "culture" of the place! So once I read some reviews on trip advisor, I decided on Nirvana.

First Impression- I had only left the country once before. I went to Mexico for a couple weeks in high school. The first week of the trip was a guided tour of Mexico City, Taxco, and the country side. The last week was spring break in Acapulco. So.....that part doesn't even count!

We were SOOOO freaking out on the van ride from the airport- scary driving! I had extreme feelings of guilt for vacationing when so many were living in poverty in front of my eyes.

There is no vending at Nirvana. We didn't know about the Hi Lo- or even THINK to go get groceries that first day. We got in at dinner time. Walked down the beach to find a place to eat. (it was beginning of August-so off season) It looked like NO place was even open. We didn't see people eating. We saw someone washing off a table and stopped there. it was Marleys By The Sea. I looked at the menu- and about freaked. I don't like anything even close to being spicy. (taco bell is spicy to me!) I had NO IDEA what jerk chicken even was- asked if it was spicy and the server said no. Well....Lets just say- it was!

We struggled to find a place to buy soda- we were just in such culture shock that first evening! I seriously thought I had made a mistake by booking this trip. I thought I was going to STARVE and only have water from our room to drink! Ha!!

We were seriously SHOCKED about so many people trying to sell us ganja and everything else they could think of. There were a couple of guys that stopped and asked us to buy something- we said no, we are just trying to find a little store to buy some drinks. Well they said, "this way, we'll show you." and started leading us down the beach, then down an alleyway between two hotels. It was dark by this time. My husband and I both got scared and said- never mind! We just went back to our room. At the time we thought maybe they were going to try and rob us or something- but now, after going often ,we believe they really were just trying to help us out! We were SUCH rookies and totally unprepared for Negril for sure!!!

The next day- the Nirvana staff gave us pointers and got us to the Hi-Lo. By the last day of out trip we were standing in the sea together seriously contemplating trying to push our flight back and stay longer!

Since that time, we have been about 8 times (9 times in 30 days!).

So what brought you to Negril? When you first got there what were your very first impressions? Were you prepared and did you know what to expect or were you a greenhorn like I was?

[rocknrollfarmer]

A Family wedding in 2006. 48 people between the two families. It was good. My wife and I knew we'd be back {not with family though}. We've been to Negril 11 times. I could write a book! So, I guess based on what I just mentioned, that's a pretty good testimonial....huh? Yamon'. Since you like movies , get the documentary "Marley" There ya go Mandy, you must have more stories??? Go ahead, share 'em. Respect

[rjonsun]

Weed, man, weed!!! But of course that was over 40 years ago when I was a totaly different person. The few people on this board and in Negril that know me may even find this hard to believe.
Regards,
Bob

[Limo Mon]

Business about limo being built and shipped to Negril. Stayed on the cliffs then I found the beach and it keeps me coming back.

[Limo Mon]

[QUOTE=Mandy;138611]

There were a couple of guys that stopped and asked us to buy something- we said no, we are just trying to find a little store to buy some drinks. Well they said, "this way, we'll show you." and started leading us down the beach, then down an alleyway between two hotels. It was dark by this time. My husband and I both got scared and said- never mind! We just went back to our room. At the time we thought maybe they were going to try and rob us or something- but now, after going often ,we believe they really were just trying to help us out! We were SUCH rookies and totally unprepared for Negril for sure!!!



I think you made a good choice by not going down that dark alley if you would have you might have made it to the the store but properly with less cash or no cash.

[don+shelley]

I got hooked on dancehall my first trip some 20+ years ago...Yellowman + Patra at Samsora, then later same week, major concert at MX111 Beanieman, Tonto Metro ,Devonte, Shinehead, Ghost, Half Pint to name a few..Only a hand full of tourists in the crowd-locals were super welcoming-...Walked back to beach hotel about 3am with no bad vibes...Have been coming ever since..Used to go to the all night concerts in Sav, but getting too old now...No more all night stuff..

[Maryann]

In 1996 I went to Negril with my best friend. It was spontaneous and we had little time to prepare. No research was done in advance. Not sure this board or Tripadvisor even existed then (at least not in my world). My mom had just passed away and I was going through a divorce. Desperately needed to get away. Fell in love with the vibe, beach, cliffs, music, food and especially the people. Then I started taking my kids. Now they are grown and go to Jamaica on their own. Sometimes I go with friends but mostly go solo and totally enjoy it. My goal is to spend a couple months there every winter.

[booger]

Love the honesty Mandy. For me it was the music. Grew up on rock, reggae, ska, So Cal punk and had to do it. Funny thing is our first night ever in Negril I took my wife up to Seastar for the show. Before it was over we were walking down Seastar Lane and headed to LTU in the dark. Halfway down she said WTF are we doing. I told her no worries, we are good. Found our way there due to feedback on this forum with ease. 15 minutes into it Sexy Rexy walks in and I make the approach. Told him to take me deeper into the West End. Problem was I forgot my wife at LTU. An hour later we are back and she is not too happy.

After that nothing phases her and all is good. It wasn't really my plan, however it was a good way to get over any misconceptions real quick. Thanks to LTU for looking after the wifey while I went and explored......

[jsteil]

My mother is from the UK, but we have lived in the USA most of my life. When she found out I liked reggae music she took out her records from when she was a teenager and introduced me to each artist (Bob Marley, Culture, English Beat, Burning Spear, etc). I was getting married and told my wife we needed to go to Jamaica. My wife said okay, but it had to be a Sandals. Sandals wasn't my thing and so a couple years later she said we could go back. I wanted a cottage and Negril seemed like the perfect place. Booked a cottage for 10 days and my wife and I had an amazing time. Such an amazing time that I took my mother and father, who had not had a vacation in 15 years to Negril the next trip with everything paid. We are now working on our 5th trip and my father can't stop talking about patty's.

[Troublemaker_420]

I had an unlce who used to go to Jamaica regularly (and just started going again, actually). I used to work the overnight shift with him at a truck stop, and as time went on, more and more of his "Jamaica" stories got told, and each one intrigued me more than the last. When it came time to get married and plan a honeymoon, it wasn't hard to decide where to go for my first trip out of the country. While not exactly getting the true Jamaican experience, we did enjoy our week at Couples Negril, and did sneak off the resort a few times to get a feel for the place. We swore we'd be back, but somehow ten years passed, and it never happened. However, we decided there was nothing we'd rather do than celebrate our ten year wedding anniversary in Negril, and have the Seastar booked for a week in late sept/early oct, with our wedding anniversary falling right in the middle of our trip! If that wasn't enough excitement, my THIRD trip to Jamaica is already in the works, as my best friend is planning a wedding at Riu Negril for Oct of 2015, and being the best man, I suppose I'd better be there! September 30 seems sooo awfully far away.....but not NEARLY as far away as when I planned this trip in January!