OK, we have invited just about everyone we know out to Negril for my wife's birthday. To help all of these Negril newbies, I have written a guide for everything they will need to know for the trip. Hopefully it will keep me from having to play tour guide the entire trip and enjoy myself. We are staying at White Sands, so this guide will reflect that.

I figure some other people may get some value out of this, so I have gone ahead and posted it here. Any additional info/tips/things I got wrong would be appreciated! Let me know if there is anything I need to add that might be helpful. Any other suggestions to recommend would certainly be helpful!

Everything you need to know about Negril!

The Trip:

Well, as I am sure most of you are aware, we plan on celebrating My Wife's 40th Birthday in Negril. We would like to have a nice fun crowd, some close friends and family as well as random hangers on that we may not see as much, to come and join us to help celebrate and generally have a good time on a tropical beach. Friends of friends as well, if you are a fun person looking to have a great time, we would love to see you. We will have a few general plans, which I will detail, but a lot of simply going with the flow and seeing what turns up. Aside from the set plans, most everyone will be on their own as to what to do. Service in Jamaica is notoriously slow ("soon come" is the standard refrain, with "soon" meaning anything from a few minutes to a few hours) so traveling as a group for all meals and such will simply not be practical. Break out into small groups and explore on your own, and meet up later at the beach will usually be the plan.

I would recommend for most people a 5 night trip, arriving Wednesday and leaving Monday. Enough for the basics and enough time to relax a bit. Of course, you are more than welcome to stay longer, if you would like, or make it a shorter trip if that is all that is available. Three nights, either Thursday-Sunday or Friday-Monday would probably be the minimum stay to make it be worth the effort. We are lucky and have much more leave than most, so we will be in Negril for close to 2 weeks, it is looking like. We are planning group dinners/activities from Thursday through Sunday, with Friday being the day of the party.

Thursday - Wife's actual birthday. We plan going out to have a nice dinner on the cliffs at The Rockhouse, a nice restaurant located on the cliffs. It has a beautiful view overlooking the cliffs, as well as very good food at a reasonable price. Sunset at this time of year is very early, around 5:30 PM, so we will want to start the evening fairly early to take advantage of the wonderful view. We plan to arrange a ride to pick up people at about 4:45 in order to get there and settled in time to enjoy the sunset views.

Friday - The Party. This is the big event that I hope everyone will be able to attend. We plan to essentially take over our favorite beach bar/restaurant (Sun Beach) for the evening. It is a short walk away from White Sands located directly on the beach. Again, it will start early, about 5:00 PM, with cocktails on the beach at sunset. Followed by dinner, with good food served at tables set up directly on the beach. There will certainly be some live music, we will either hire a full band or a few beach musicians. Generally a fun night of good food, drink, and music, as well as great company.

Saturday - We plan on spending the afternoon at Rick's Cafe. This is the big "Must see/Tourist Trap" in Negril. It gets completely packed and crazy at Sunset. However, I found that is is much more enjoyable in the afternoon before the crowds arrive. There is cliff diving, which you can try for yourself or simply watch the professionals (tips are encouraged). There are several levels of cliffs to try. I enjoyed the lower/mid level jumps last trip, and may get up the courage to try the higher jump this trip. Most likely it will depend on my sobriety - a few beers to give me courage, but not too drunk to do anything stupid. There is also a small pool, great views, and generally a nice way to spend an afternoon. You can have lunch there - it is expensive for Negril, but decent - or stop and eat somewhere on the way or before you arrive. We plan to get there early afternoon, around 1:00. The crowds arrive later, getting crowded late afternoon and packed by sunset, and I probably plan on leaving once the masses start to arrive, although you are more than welcome to stay as long as you would like. If you are still in the area at sunset, the LTU pub next door has the same beautiful sunset without the crowds.

Later that evening, we plan on heading to Seastar, located on the Cliffs road. They offer a pretty good deal, and we had a nice time last trip. For $18 they offer an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner, live entertainment with a reggae band as well as traditional drummers, as well as free transportation to and from the show. Though there was not a huge selection, the food was good, as was the show. Lasting from 7 PM - midnight, simply give them a call (876-957-0553) and let them know what time you would like to be picked up. At any time you can let them know and they will give you a free ride back to the hotel.

Sunday - Excursion Day. This will be the day to see a bit of the country. We plan to arrange a trip out to see YS Falls and the Pelican Bar. It is about 2 hours away, so be prepared for a bit of a drive, but the falls are absolutely beautiful. Actually a series of several connecting falls, with a small path next to it with stairs to make your way to the top. At the top, you can go for a swim under the largest falls. Great scenery, and fun to be able to swim directly under the falls. A bit downstream, there is another swimming area with a rope swing if you are interested. Still further downstream, there is more places to explore and a calm natural swimming pool area. Or you can simply enjoy the view. For an additional charge, $30 I believe, there is also a zipline that you can ride if interested and brave. From there, we will have lunch, most likely at the small local roadside restaurant that we loved on our last trip. From there, it is off to the Pelican Bar. This is a small bar, located about a mile out to sea. You take a small fishing boat out, and it is a wonderful place to have a few drinks and relax. It is built on a sandbar, so the water is only 2-3 feet deep. Local fisherman built it primarily out of driftwood. You can call in advance if you would like any food, although we most likely will eat before we arrive. Primarily just a place to relax with a few beers, wade in the water, and chat with the owner and tourists in a very unique bar. Most likely we will divide into two groups for the trip. We will stay together through YS Falls and lunch, and then one group can head back to Negril, while the other can continue on to the Pelican Bar. While everyone can enjoy YS Falls, with some steps being the only obsticle, Pelican Bar will be more difficult for some. It will involve climbing in and out of the small boat, and climbing the rickity steps up to the bar can be difficult. In addition, hanging out on a pile of driftwood in the middle of the sea drinking beer may have more of an appeal for some people than others. It is a unique place and experience, but may not be the most exciting place for some.

Aside from these scheduled events, people will mostly be on their own. In this guide there should be everything you will need to get around. In general, the beach and bar area of White Sands will be the primary meeting and hanging out place, particularly during the day. This will also be the default meeting area, as well as the White Sands Villa across the street.