Quigley,

A fair fare for a couple from the main road walking from the Point would around US$10. That would be 5 bucks a head one way.

For a route taxi, you would have to wait until a non-full taxi which are few and far between depending on the time of day since they are coming with passengers from as far as Lucea to get to their jobs in Negril on time. You would then simply flag it down. The taxi would have an RED PLATE, checkered striping and a yellow Taxi light on the vehicle. Very important is to READ THE ROUTE info on the side of the car BEFORE entering. It should have a Route showing some location north of Negril (Lucea, Green island, etc) to Negril on the side.

Example of writing on taxi:

Route Taxi
Green Island/Negril

Do NOT get in any "route taxi" that does not have a northern city to Negril painted on the side. This is critical.

Once you flag it down, you simply get in. You dont say anything like "how much to Xtabi?" because you have now began a negotiation that turns that route taxi into a charter taxi. The route driver assumes everyone in their taxi knows the system. Which they do....

The cost from the Point to the Bus Park which is past the Police Station is JA$130 per person. Try to have smaller bills as change is often an issue. At that point you would ask any of the drivers in the Bus Park "West End?" and someone will take you to the next available taxi. Once again, make sure the writing on the side of the vehicle says "West End". You will then wait until the driver gets enough passengers to fill the vehicle. The cost to Xtabi would be another JA$130 per person. When you near Xtabi, just let let driver know you want to stop at Xtabi.

So the cost for taking the route taxi system as designed would be Ja$520 (260x2). You dont tip a route taxi driver anymore than you would tip a bus driver in your town. You can say "keep the change and give a child a free ride" as has been suggested, but tipping is not expected.

If this seems like a bit of work to get to Xtabi, then just ask any Juta/JCal/Maxi taxi to take you to Xtabi for us$10. it is hassle free and door to door service. Linston, Michael's On Time and Steve Positive as well as others in our Transport section would be more than willing to help you out or secure a ride for you.

There will be some people who will suggest that you ask the route taxi driver to take you straight to Xtabi, but at that point you will need to pay more and negotiate while on the road, and possibly change the plans of the other passengers in the taxi expecting to go to the bus park.

As a visitor, the driver will probably take your offer and dump the other passengers off at another location, but you have now turned the route driver into a charter driver at the expense of the other passengers.

Do what you think is right. But please consider how much you paid to get to the airport, how much it costs to park your car at the airport, the cost of the airfare, the drinks on the plane or food at the airport as well as all the additional expenses such as taxes, fees, charges, etc that have been added to the airfare.

Yes, you can save about us$5 by taking a route taxi from the Point to Xtabi, but be considerate about the locals who depend on the route taxis to get to work or buy food for their families. The current minimum wage in Jamaica is JA$140 an hour. At the current exchange rate that is us$1.16 per hour. When was the last time you earned us$1.16 an hour?

Food for thought....