How safe is Negril to stay in a NON AI??

[SimonB1964]

Lots of receomended places here and on other sites. My research took me to White Sands on the beach which is a family run small Non AI resort. The other is Blue Cave Castle on the cliffs.

Banana Shout or Catcha Falling Star are bothh on the cliffs and are highly recommended by others, each for unique reasons. Banana Shout is A "Jamaican" experience and the one I would personally choose but to each their own. Catcha gets rave reviews also but for other reasons. I settled on the quite highly receomended Blue Cave Castle when Banana Shout was not available.

thanks Craig!!
So, we have kinda narrowed it down to :
White sands.
Rooms on the Beach.
Oasis.
Rondell.
Seastar.

So my question now would be.......would it be better to stay on/near the beach, or somewhere up in the cliff area?
After all the responses ( some sidetracked but thats OK), We truly believe we would have a great time in Negril.
Travel dates wise we have narrowed it down to April 6th-13th, or 13th -20th.
The first week is Easter, would that be a good or bad thing?? IE, would places be closed for celebrating Easter?
Sorry for the silly questions but we are ready to book ASAP!!
Cheers,
Simon and Cindy.

[Homebrewer]

thanks Craig!!
So, we have kinda narrowed it down to :
White sands.
Rooms on the Beach.
Oasis.
Rondell.
Seastar.

So my question now would be.......would it be better to stay on/near the beach, or somewhere up in the cliff area?
After all the responses ( some sidetracked but thats OK), We truly believe we would have a great time in Negril.
Travel dates wise we have narrowed it down to April 6th-13th, or 13th -20th.
The first week is Easter, would that be a good or bad thing?? IE, would places be closed for celebrating Easter?
Sorry for the silly questions but we are ready to book ASAP!!
Cheers,
Simon and Cindy.

we have stayed at Rondell & Country Country and found we really prefer CC to Rondell. Rondells beach outside of the wall is cramped and looking at Negrilonestop we found CC cheaper since their price already includes the 20% tax/fees that everyone collects

4th consecutive CC visit in February. We split our stays with Blue Cave Castle but have found we do enjoy the beach much more. LOL we seem to spend the day on the beach and have dinner on the cliffs practically ever day.

[Marko]

As for pricing, including flights, the Oasis seems rather cheap and has some good reviews?
The tree house also looks very nice but is around $300 each more!! Simon and Cindy.

both excellent choices.........
but book your flights and resort separately......
you'll get to stay at places for about the same dollars and not have to be locked into a Travel site only listing

you really aren't comparing oranges against oranges with these two places though........
Treehouse is direct beach waterfront........
and Oasis is on the other side of the road of the Cliffs......

Oasis is the newly remodeled Thrills with a great pool and even has tennis courts!
Treehouse is on a great section of the beach and has a superb breakfast buffet every morning.......

if you need to be da wata on da Cliffs cause you guys like to swim and snorkel......
nuthin wrong with Blue Cave Castle, Xtabi, Moonlight Villas and Home Sweet Home
check out NegrilOneStop.com for deals and steals in Negril.......
Bob and Susan will take care of you......

Cool Runnings, Marko

[SimonB1964]

thanks again Irieworld and Marko, boy, this planning is so exciting!!
I guess we have to do a little more research regarding your suggestions....I am thinking without looking further 9which we will tonight/tomorrow) that the Seastar Inn is becoming the favourite, considering, price, location. BUT, we will check out Negrilonestop.com and see what they have there!!
thanks again everyone, this is fun!!
Simon and Cindy.

[irieworld]

Hey Simon, welcome! I have traveled solo to Negril a dozen times, never AI, and I always felt safe. I didn't walk alone late at night and never carried much of value with me. For the most part, locals looked out for my well being and security at the hotels was good. The beach is wonderful (I am a beach lover) and I would walk it for hours each day with my ipod and camera--no worries.

As far as the "no" tangent, I never say just "no" but always say "no thanks" or just shake my head and rarely have had sellers persist after that--there are some that are more aggressive than others though. After they became familiar with me I really wasn't bothered much and enjoyed some great conversations with some vendors that did not have anything to do with items being sold. So based solely on my experiences over the years, in Negril "thanks" in not an invitation or a promise--it is the same courtesy I use everywhere I go. It is an individual's choice as to how to react to vendors, and for me "no thanks" works just fine.

[Eco]

@ Craig, from my experience it's better to be perceived as a polite person that does not buy anything than a rude person. Most of the vendors talk to each other and that is why most people that don't buy notice a drop off in the requests over a few days or a week. Give me a day in Negril and almost nobody hits me up after I crossed their path or that of their friends. Flip that around and watch the trip reports of those that buy buy buy...give give give and watch their mileage. Heck, some of my best vacation friends are vendors/hustlers/pimps/d_ug dealers/s_x workers....cause I didn't buy but treated them with respect. On the flip side...the rude a holes that treat people in a rude manner might have interesting stories to tell if they explore remote places or even in town after dark.

IMHO the best defense for the higglers is selling them something. They have played the game 100-100,000 times but it ruins their game if you try to sell them whatever you don't need....in some cases they will actually buy it. In other cases you might break down their offensive exterior and learn a bunch about why they do what they do and get a few good laughs with them. In the end, they are trying to put food on their table (excluding the crackheads) and we are trying to relax on a vacation.

@Bnewb, I'll agree about most speaking English but a good share of my time on the island is far away from tourist areas and they don't speak English. While these places can be a challenge at times, the joy of meeting kids that have never seen a white person is sooooo cute and rewarding!

[NKY]

IMHO the best defense for the higglers is selling them something. They have played the game 100-100,000 times but it ruins their game if you try to sell them whatever you don't need....in some cases they will actually buy it. In other cases you might break down their offensive exterior and learn a bunch about why they do what they do and get a few good laughs with them.

Did this one year with all of our leftover food, snacks, packs of gum, brownies, etc. It was our last night and we loaded up a backpack with everything we weren't taking home and started walking up the beach toward Alfred's. I found that I got the biggest surprised reaction from the people who were trying to get "money for food" when I would pull a hand full of snacks/food out of my bag and offer it to them.

And not to hijack the thread, Negril is as safe as you make it. As long as you listen to all the good advise here and use common sense you should be just fine. Have a great trip!

[shellyk]

Can I just say SMH while reading this thread? I am very offended for some of my friends.
Where to start: I can only use myself experience as knowledge being it the only first hand I have. I readily admit I do not use good judgement as far as safety and precautions while in Jamaica. That being said I walk the streets and back streets and west end in all hours of the night, go clubbing alone and go in anywhere invited by locals solo.
OMG this part blows my mind it ha sto be addressed but I absolutely absolutely use kind and polite manners ( No thank you) at all times aside from a little sarcasm mixed in ( Mi Nah need nah big bamboo mi got batteries) to all Jamaicans even the pushy ones as I am a visitor in their country, yes I am giving my tourism dollars but they could get those just as easy by robbing me. All tourists have to remember they are allowing us safe travels there this is a privilege. I make friends with the drug dealers and pimps and hustlers and honestly these are the best friends to have because characters that see you are in with other less than savory folks are really going to leave you alone if they have any undesirable thoughts because they are afraid of what harm will come to them if they harm you, as Jamaicans do not like other Jamaicans who commit crimes on tourists. Check youtube and see what happens to Jamaicans seen robbing other ones plenty of tourists have videotaped what they have seen in disbelief.
There are far more good folks than bad. I have never had a single moment I questioned my safety in Negril other than once with a US tourist and a few Jamaicans present for that offered to handle it.
Ofcourse if I were to give good judgement safety advice it would be; Stay at a hotel with good security ( get recommendations or ask on this same board). Do take taxi's on west end at night as the roads themselves are unsafe to walk on in dark. Do not flash easily grabbable items or lots of cash( would you leave cheese on livingroom floor if you had seen even 1 mouse by front door earlier). Do not carry more cash then necessary if you run out cab fare is very cheap easy to go back to room and get more from safe.
NEVER walk unlit beach areas with small groups in the middle of night, take the road. You are only asking for trouble. Feel free to stroll in front of your hotel or even further if it's lit and there is security but there are many vacant properties along main beach and this is where the unsavory folks would be at this time of day.

[Marblehead]

No AI will ever provide the experience you get from staying at a non-AI property. Get out and know your neighborhood! In 28 years in Negril, I've never stayed at an AI and I've never had a bad experience. Plenty of adventures and fond memories though! April is end of peak season and even more laid back. --Marblehead

[mamade11]

My first two trips were AI, and now I like to try different places each time. We realized that we were out and about more than we stayed at the hotel. I have
never had a problem, but I do use caution. I would never walk the beach at night. You will be surprised with all the little spots you can find.