Dunn's River Falls question

[Missy]

Big Dilema...... I can't deciede if we should take the Dunn's River Falls tour! We have never been to Jamaica, and we only have 4 nights there, so I'm trying to find out if the Falls are a MUST SEE! I love to sleep in in the morning....I'm sure we will be up late every night ..... so is it worth the early rise??? I want to buy water shoes if we are planning on going, otherwise I would just play it by ear! ANY SUGGESTIONS???? HELP!!!

[Wally]

With only 4 days there, stay on the resort. I think you'll be sorry if you do any off-site excursions. Vacations are for relaxing!

[BackNIowa]

its worth it. we went last year, i would advice if possible to take a cat or boat instead of bus to the park. reason being with a boat you get to avoid the nice jamaican mall at the end, which is a pretty scary thing, and come right back down to the beach and leave. Do bring water shoes, they are cheaper to buy than rent, the rented ones looked a little warn out. find out when cruise ships are not there and go then. often weekends are less busy than weekdays

[Richli2]

Anyone traveling by bus/van to Dunn's River Falls can avoid the aggresive and scary shopping village that was mentioned in the previous posts.
1. Go to DRF on a sunday morning. The cruise ships are usaully not in port and hardly no one is climbing the falls. The shopping village is closed because that is when the shopkeepers are attending church

2. If you do go and the shops are open exit the falls towards the parking lot thru the entrance. The shopkeepers will yell at you and tell you you are going the wrong way. Just ignore them and go to your bus. You won't be sorry

[karinjim]

Dunn River Falls is an absolutely beautiful place. You don't even need to walk up it to appreciate it's beauty. You won't be there that long that you will miss that much of the resort. You will love Couples so much anyway that you will probably be back. As far as staying up late and getting up early, the morning hours are really the most beautiful, not to be missed time of day.
Karin (and Jim)

[drbcwp]

It is unique, not sure I would go if I was only staying (4) nights, most of your first day is traveling

You can take a taxi there to save time, it is not that far from the resorts in Ochi

[ElaineChick]

Quick correction: while there are no cruise ships in port on Sundays, the shopping village was most definitely open the Sunday we went in October.

[Barren]

Dunn's is nice and the climb is fun.. the stories about the shops are true. They will guide you by the hand to their shops and will try to give you things for "a tip"... and try to get you to haggle with them and make a purchase. My advice, bee-line for the parking lot. I was sad that they gave me a survey from dunn's prior to experiencing the shop/craft area. I would have liked to give them a piece of my mind. They are too aggressive! It turned me off from going to Ocho Rios to shop.. I just did my shopping on resort and at the airport, which means I spent more, but didn't want to deal with that pressure.

The $40 dvd is okay... a nice thing to remember the climb but really not a necessary purchase. If you think about the cost, the resort pays the $15/person entry fee.. so we just decided the dvd would be an okay purchase to help the park make money. It's made well, nice soundtrack and they get people involved and it's fun and personal.

Sunday is the no-cruise ship day and is when we went.. so the park is pretty empty which means the falls are not crowded BUT, it means you are easily targeted by the crafts people.

I don't think I'll climb it again unless I go with a group who hasn't done it... the craft people really turned me off to shopping in Jamaica.. I will do my shopping at the airport next time on the way out of town.

[Missy]

Thank you, thank you everyone for your suggestions!!!!! Lots of good information!! Wally, I may have to take your advice and stay on the resort! Sunday is the day we head back, and sounds like it is the best day to go..... but if we do go, maybe the taxi is the best bet so we can make it a faster trip!! 14 more days till CTI! YAY can't wait!!!

[Pamster]

Just a note on staying up late and sleeping in - I am totally the same way at home, BUT when you in Jamaica you never want to miss a minute of daylight. I swear the whole resort seems to shut down around 9 or 10 pm we were up by 8 am every morning. It was fabulous!

[Phillydog]

I can sleep when I'm dead. I'm going to be there 4 days as well and plan to go to DRF and Nine Mile. I want to take in as much as humanly possible because I don't know when I will pass this way again.

[tracyl]

You may think you will stay up late and sleep in... NO WAY! Once the sun goes down and the tree frogs start singing, a magical thing happens - you are ready to relax and call it a night. And when the sun comes up over the resort - you can't help but get up and look forward to the new adventure that awaits!!! Enjoy your stay at CTI - it truly is a wonderful place.

[djkearney]

I have been there and it was a must see, it was the highlight of my vacation!

[Andrea]

Just back and I can say that my husband and I were done by 11pm pretty much. Getting up to go to the Falls wasn't bad at all. And, we rate our Scuba dive and DRF as the top two things on our trip that we did. The people selling their wares are a bit off-putting, but if you just keep walking and basically pretend that you can't hear, it's not so bad! lol It's a shame they are so pushy - my husband and I probably would have looked around a bit and maybe bought something if they would have been a bit more low-key about things.

[Missy]

OK - sounds like I should buy some water shoes!!!! Thanks again for posting everyone!!! This message board is the neatest thing ever..... never before have I seen anything like it for any trip we have taken!!! What a great communtunity of people!!! CTI in 10 days!! YAY