JTL for Airport Transfers

[Mike_D]

Does anybody have any experience with JTL (Jamaica Tours LTD) for airport transfers? We booked our entire package through Amex Travel and round trip transfers with JTL was included at $40 each (which seemed like a good deal).

Once our trip was booked, I contacted Charlie at Home Sweet Home on another matter and he mentioned that Chris was available for our airport pick-up, if we needed him. Since the JTL transfers were already paid for, I declined. After reading positive feedback about Chris (from Guirigay and others), I kinda wish we went with him. JTL seems like a very professional operation, but it also appears that we may be riding on a big bus packed with a lot of folks staying at the big AIs. This is fine with me, but I have heard that the drivers often have to wait until the bus is completely full before they depart, and also that most of the AI guests have no interest in stopping at a roadside jerk barrel or grabbing a Red Stripe, and so it is often a quick non-stop trip to the resorts.

Does anybody have any personal experience with JTL to share? Not that it would make or break our vacation, but now I wish we had booked a driver that offers more personalized service.

[jasperpso]

I took it'll once.. about 20 people on bus. Stopped at 8 hotels, but did make a stop for jerk and red stripes about half way.. not bad for a single or even two people price wise.. but I can get a private ride for 60 each way, and I value a fast journey were I am free to enjoy myself and stop where I might want, I usually ho private.. if don't mind stopping at a slew of hotels and on budget, its not a bad way to go.

[Mike_D]

Thanks Jasperpso. That actually doesn't sound so bad.

[Angel]

Go for it Mike use JTL you have it booked. Maybe Chris can take you somewhere else while you are there.

[Mike_D]

Thanks Angel. I think that's going to be our plan. I am hoping that we can have Chris take us to Mayfield Falls or Pelican Bar, sometime during our reach.

On my last trip to Ochi - about 6 years ago - I took a similar transfer service, arranged by a travel agent. However, I was travelling solo at the time. Don't remember if it was JTL or not, but I didn't have any complaints. As jasperpso said, I think it's worth the few extra bucks for a private transfer (especially travelling as a couple), so we will definitely explore that option in the future.

[Mike_D]

I've been meaning to dig up this thread and post our experience with JTL's airport transfer.

To sum it up: Never again.

Well, to start off, we had a slightly delayed flight and by the time we landed in Mo Bay we had last eaten 6 hours earlier at PHL. Needless to say, we were a little cranky. I kept telling my wife, "Don't worry, we'll be stopping for jerk chicken and Red Stripes soon. Everything will be irie!". After we grabbed our luggage and cleared customs, we entered the transportation hall. As I watched guests of the AIs going to their respective lounges and others with private transfers meeting their drivers, I spotted the JTL Tours desk in the corner. We made our way over to the desk and proceeded to join a mob of people in line waiting to check-in for their transfer. 25 minutes later we were checked in and my wife and I received wristbands. We were then guided to a medium size bus that seated approx 25-30 people. We then sat on the bus for at least another 30 minutes, while we waited for additional passengers. Frustrated, I couldn't help thinking that if we had reserved a private transfer, we would be half way to Negril by now. Our driver is nowhere to be found and finally one women sticks her head out the window and yells to a JTL employee,"Go get our driver. We gotsta go!" Now, my wife is feeling fatigued, practically passed out in the bus seat, and it becomes apparent that we will not be stopping for jerk chicken, because 90% of the passengers are anxious to get to the Rius and Couples resorts. By now it is 3:30 and we sit through constant traffic until we get out of Mo Bay. Since we were staying on West End, we were the last ones to get dropped off. Although there was one other couple staying at the Rockhouse, they got dropped off before us because the driver said the bus would not fit in the Home Sweet Home driveway. After he turned around at the Rockhouse, he was able to pull over at the gates to HSH as we were now on the right side of the road. We finally arrived after an almost 3 hour drive.

At least our frustrations melted away once we checked-in and were able to grab some awesome curry chicken and a couple rum punches, just in time for our first sunset at HSH. The transfer back to airport was not nearly as bad. We were picked-up on time, the bus made the usual stops along the beach road and we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to kill. This part was relatively painless, or maybe that was due to the piece of Jenny Cake that we saved for the trip home.

In summary, the JTL transfer from airport was frustrating, to say the least. I can now see the value in hiring a private transfer, and will definitely be doing that on our next reach.

[Flipadelphia26]

We took JTL. We had a similar experience upon arrival. We waited for almost an hour on the bus before we left. Luckily our driver had some red stripes on the bus and some other goodies as well.

[Guirigay]

Did you use Chris at all, Mike? Just a great guy in my book. He and his brother Percy will get a lot of my business in the future.

[Mike_D]

Flipadelphia, that's awesome that they had beers waiting for you on the bus. At least that makes the wait bearable. I don't know why some JTL buses do that and some don't. Ours seemed very disorganized. There were various JTL employees consulting each other about my voucher because they weren't sure where HSH was.

Guirigay, we definitely used Chris a few times. He took us to the beach a couple days and we also arranged a day trip to YS falls. Chris was fantastic! On the way to and from YS he gave us a tour of Sav, Little London and Orange Hill; he also showed us Peter Tosh's grave and some land in the hills owned by Usain Bolt (the Jamaican government gave it to him). He even found me some jerk pork on a Sunday, when a lot of places outside of Negril were closed. We didn't get a chance to check out Percy's retreat, but that's on my list for next reach.

We are planning our next trip for October and will probably be staying at Home Sweet Home again. I am glad that we can rely Chris for our transfers and other transportation needs.

[Flipadelphia26]

What part of philly you in?