Advice needed for Caribbean getaway

aproxymate

aproxymate

Adept
So I am pretty much pumped for a weeks getaway to Jamaica with my fiance during the July 4 week. I have always wanted to go there and so I want this trip to be a memorable one. I will be staying for 4 days in Montego Bay and the rest in Negril. In case someone has already been there, I had a few queries:

  • Are local maps good enough to get around or is a GPS needed? We will be renting a car from the airport.
  • Is safety going to be an issue? I heard its pretty safe in tourist places.
  • Any other advice regarding things to see and do is appreciated.
 
aproxymate said:
So I am pretty much pumped for a weeks getaway to Jamaica with my fiance during the July 4 week. I have always wanted to go there and so I want this trip to be a memorable one. I will be staying for 4 days in Montego Bay and the rest in Negril. In case someone has already been there, I had a few queries:

  • Are local maps good enough to get around or is a GPS needed? We will be renting a car from the airport.
  • Is safety going to be an issue? I heard its pretty safe in tourist places.
  • Any other advice regarding things to see and do is appreciated.
Click to expand...

* If you are sticking to Mobay and Negril, GPS or local maps should be fine. If you start exploring the island, a GPS might not be enough. The people are very helpful, so directions should not be a problem.
* Most of Mobay is reasonably safe. Negril is very very safe. Kingston is not very safe to visit without detailed information on different areas from a local guide.
* The local food is brilliant. Try the ackee and salt fish and dumplings breakfast. Jamaican jerk chicken. (You will find lots of street-side vendors in Mobay selling this out of metal drums.) Beef patties and Coco bread. Also try a locally available soda called Ting.
* Visit the local market in Mobay. They have an amazing variety of foods/fruit.
* Also, on the drive from Mobay to Negril, you will see a lot of houses on the shore with 1 or 2 tables outside. Stop there for a meal. They make fresh shrimp curry that is out of this world.
* The weather will be brilliant. Make time for a nice 2 hour nap when it is warmest in the day (right after lunch) and if you are fortunate, wake up to a nice drizzle.
* Apart from the water sports and other tourist attractions, you might want also want to visit glistening waters in Falmouth (along the coast, 40km or so from Mobay).
* Another fun thing is Dunn's River falls where you get to climb up a waterfall. This is about 100km out of Mobay. (This and Falmouth are in the same direction).
 
Thanks a lot man. You provided a lot of first-hand info. Another query I had was do most restaurants serve fair amount of vegetarian food (the lady is a vegetarian and I am not)? I'd like to sample the local sea-food and the famed jerk chicken but I don't want her to have salads all the while.
 
I didn't particularly look for veggie food but I do recall seeing a lot of vegetable stew, cabbage and potato dishes in the menus. I expect you won't have any problems finding vegetarian food in Negril, considering the large amount of tourists you will find there. The one day of my trip that I did spend at a resort, there was a lot of veggie food.
 
Thanks for all the help. One last question; how are the roads in cities like Mobay, Negril, Ocho Rios? Do you need a SUV or a truck to get around or a compact/intermediate sized car would do?

---------- Post added at 09:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:50 AM ----------

Thanks man but having read some unsettling things about Kingston, we plan to stick to the tourist spots in the northern parts.
 
aproxymate said:
Thanks for all the help. One last question; how are the roads in cities like Mobay, Negril, Ocho Rios? Do you need a SUV or a truck to get around or a compact/intermediate sized car would do?

---------- Post added at 09:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:50 AM ----------

Thanks man but having read some unsettling things about Kingston, we plan to stick to the tourist spots in the northern parts.
Click to expand...

An SUV is not required. I would suggest renting a regular sedan (and maybe even a compact if it is just the two of you).
 
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