Our the bars we will stop at priced in JA or USA?
Our the bars we will stop at priced in JA or USA?
We always pay in US dollars. & pub crawls so far. #8 and #9 scheduled for April
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I paid in US and it was ok. If I had J I would have used it just the same. Probably better pricing. I paid about $4 plus a $1 tip per red stripe, times about 6 or 7 stops.
$4 a beer is stiff. I would use Jamaican money and you surely will do better than that. Outside of Ivan's I have not seen a beer price close to that. Some businesses do raise the price with the One Love bus comes along, so that might have something to do with it. They get charged per head, therefore it is passed on to the consumer.Originally Posted by LivinInThe603
$4 seemed average, but most of the beer I purchased was at night at bourbon beach or Alfred's, or drifters, so I expected it was high. I know there are cheaper places along the beach. You might get better pricing with J, but honestly, everywhere I went was kind of a tourist place and everything was quoted in us, fueling the us v. J debate.
Just bringing Ja this trip and already know my go to places.Thanks for the info.!
When we were there I found that if they priced on their boards/menus in USD, they would convert the USD in real time (calculated the current exchange) to JAD if you paid in JAD; if they posted JAD prices on the boards or menus, the smaller places would do a 1:1 USD:JAD conversion (as in USD4 or JAD400). The bigger places brought out the calculators regardless. Guess it depends on how they are financed.
The economy sucks, and as the USD strengthens, all the rest of us are going to pay more for everything. Even at USD4 per Red Stripe, it's still cheaper than a freaking green pepper here ($6.15), and beer's more fun than a green pepper. Before we left on vacation, I was at a business function in a downtown hotel. I had a small-by-Jamaican standards rum and coke and it was $11.93 - without the tip. I only had 1 (found out after the boss was paying!) DRAT!!!! $4 a Red Stripe and $5.50 a rum punch looked mighty good to me PLUS they came with an ocean view and temps well above freezing. It's a trade off. Walk the beach and "plan" the happy hours! I think Yellow Bird starts the earliest.
It's still cheaper than home for us, so we were good! Plus the view and weather. It's nice to go for a drink or 6 without having to huddle into down parka. That's worth every penny!
And don't cheap out - tip the driver, the charming Lenbert! (The Love Bus itself is free! Can't beat that for a designated driver in Paradise!)
Last edited by M&G Montreal; 03-01-2016 at 09:43 PM. Reason: Made a boo-boo!
Most of the bars are local type joints to JA is always a good bet. No one will turn USD down, but you may receive JA in change or may pay an extra buck as some places do just convert 1:1.
Does Lenbert get that increased amount? If so, we are tipping the establishment on Lenbert's payment and then tipping Lenbert also?
It's not really an increased amount... The posted price was $4-5 us. So that's what I paid, just about everywhere I went. Some places were $3. I ow you can get cheaper beers elsewhere, but on the crawl that's what I paid.
Lenbert does pretty well, the pictures of his new house are amazing. Most people tip about $10 per person, give or take. I do t think he gets anything back from the bars. He seems pretty genuine in wanting to support his community. He's done quite a bit for Negril.
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