Trip Report - Bringing family and friends to Jamaica!

[Kiknback]

We had been planning for a year for this trip. We travel fairly regularly, many times to Jamaica, and decided that this was the trip to finally bring along friends and family. This timing was great... November has always been a great time for us, not too crowded, prices haven't gone up for the season. Oh, and my wife happened to be turning 40. Her actual birthday was on the 10th, but 11/11/11 had a nice ring to it. The plan was set.

At one point, it was looking absolutely crazy... everyone and their mother said they were coming. Gradually, people dropped off. People kept procrastinating on buying tickets, and when prices rose, many backed people backed out late. In the end, though, a decent group. About 16 people were coming, including both of our sets of parents, with the majority of the group having never been to Jamaica. But a nice, manageably sized group. I wrote up a guide for all of the newbies - http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...ighlight=guide - so that people would have an idea about having to get around and I wouldn't have to spend my vacation playing "Julie Your Cruise Director" all week. That worked out very well, with most people having a good idea about what to expect.

My wife and I have more vacation time than most, so it was perfect for us. We would spend 16 days in Negril, our longest trip. Most of the rest of the group spent around six days. This would allow us to arrive and get settled in to full vacation mode for a few days before all the craziness started. Maybe more importantly, a few days to relax after everyone went home.

Finally the day had arrived, and we were off to Negril. An easy direct flight from DC and we arrived in Negril around noon, met Clives, and were on the beach by about 2:00. Spent the first few days before everyone arrived primarily relaxing. Made a few party plans, ran a few errands, but mostly just chill out, enjoy the beach, and re-connect with old friends as well as making new ones. Stopped by our normal hang outs. Disappointed to hear that Kevin, Neil, and Leroy all were no longer at Sun Beach. Oh well, Miss Sofia treated us well in their place. Paul and Tony are always wonderful at White Sands. But an early night on our first day.

The next day, Saturday, started per Jamaica usual, with a stumble to the beach. We have talked about staying on the cliffs before, but the lure of the beach always keeps us there. We end up going to the cliffs for something almost every day, but the beach in the morning just calls me. After a relaxing day on the beach, it was officially drinking time. I had always been curious about The Caves. At over $500 a night, there is no way I am ever staying there. However, I had heard that they allow us lowlifes to check out the bar once a week, on Saturday's 4-7 PM. We took the route taxi there. Got strange reactions when we told them our destination. "You're going Where? And you wont hire a real taxi?" No, we are the cheap *******s just going for a quick visit. Anyway, we make it there, and really, not that impressed. It was nice, but I guess I was expecting a little more. Reminded me of Xtabi, but for 20 times the price.

We have our token Caves drink, and time to move on. Our next destination is C&D Bar, also known as 10 Square Feet of Texas. Absolutely one of my favorite places in Negril. Connie/Dawn (1 person, seems like everyone in Jamaica has 2 names) is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Great place to spend some time, enjoy her company, and have a drink or two. The cheapest rum punch in town (200J) also helps. We had a few drinks, and then called Seastar for a pickup. In a few minutes, the bus arrived, and we were off to see Luciano over at Seastar's reopening. Great venue, great music, wonderful time.

The next few days blend together, chilling at the beach, fruity drinks at little beach bars, just paradise. On Monday we finally manage to still be awake at 10:00, so we hit Roots Bamboo. We picked a bad night, it seems. It was a free party, but just a dj, and no live music, which was very disappointing. The free part, while seemingly a good thing, made things much worse. I have never been hassled like that ever in Negril. Hooker central, and they were very persistent, even while standing next to my wife. I would be groped and propositioned every time I went to the bathroom. At Alfred's later in the week, with a cover charge, there was none of that. I don't expect I will go back to any more "free" nights.