Just looking for feedback on these 2 places. Is it worth the trip from CSA or best just to stay at the resort?
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Just looking for feedback on these 2 places. Is it worth the trip from CSA or best just to stay at the resort?
Everyone has differing opinions on this question, but I LOVE getting off the resort and exploring the places I visit.
We have done Rick's Cafe, & Three Dives in Negril. We have gone on excursions to YS Falls, Pelican Bar, Black River one year and Mayfield Falls another from Negril. From Ocho Rios we have done Port Antonio, Somerset Falls, Blue Lagoon, Boston Bay.
We have enjoyed every offsite excursion we have done, and felt they were all worth it.
Rick's is pricey, it is a cab ride to get there and back, and the drinks are up there, BUT to go for the diver's and sunset is well worth it. The pro divers are incredible to watch. They do acrobatics in the tree's before plunging into the water in spectacular dives, Rick's is a famous landmark, well worth at one time visit.
The Pelican Bar is awesome, but best coupled with something else such as Appleton or YS Falls. It is an hour and a half to get to Treasure Beach where you catch the boat to The Pelican Bar. We got lucky and had dolphins along side us for our trip. It was another once in a lifetime experience. How many people can say they went to a bar on stilts in the ocean?
Get out and explore JA, believe me you will be glad you did!
Pelican Bar is a hoot. We really enjoyed going there. I suggest you include a couple other trips along with it such as YS Falls and the Black River Safari. They are all very close together and it makes for a lovely all day outing.
Ricks is a very commercial place but is worth a vist. Pelican Bar?? is just about the best bar we have ever visited....just go there it will be a highlight of your stay.
We went one evening to Rick's as I had heard about it beforehand. We thought it was a lot of fun, the cliff divers are awesome and the sunset was AMAZING! The drinks are typical of club prices at home in Pgh., PA so you will need to take $$. They have a restaurant there as well - we didn't dine that evening - but the food smells were making our mouths water. There is a stage for evening performers but we left right after the sun set. We thought it was very much worth going to and we would definitely go back to Rick's but stay longer and enjoy the evening entertainment next time. It was our only off-site excursion we did during our 8 night stay as the Couple's resorts have so much to do on-site. :)
I've never been to Floyd's. Where is it?
IMO, Rick's is definitely worth the trip. In fact, we'll probably go back this summer.
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We hired a private driver through csa's tour desk, floyds is amazing! We also went to mayfield falls first, they are near each other, also very cool. I can email or give you facebook links of those as well. Def worth leaving the resort for. Ricks will get you some great pics and videos of the divers, but it is very touristy. We paid 20 dollars for a beer and wine every round, normal at home but hard when its free at the resort. Also bring small bills for tips and divers, they only give back jamaican currency for your change.
How much was the transportation to the places? In which order did you go?
We went to Mayfields first, about 1- 1/2 hours from csa as i remember. Then we went to the boat dock to charter a boat to go to floyds, that was not even 30 min away. You could take the longer way around about 1- 1/2 hours as i remember to ride along side dolphins, which we would do next time if with more people. I am sorry we cannot remember the price, it is less if you bring more people with you etc.. but i think we paid between 100 and no more than 150 with a 20 dollar tip. We really wanted to go there and the resort cannot offer an excursion officially because of the insurance with floyds, but is happy to hire a liscenced an insured driver for you at a very reasonable price. They called floyds to let them know we would be coming and checked in to make sure we were back. If you had more people with you it would be beyond affordable and you go at your own schedule, which is priceless. He was so friendly and safe, also hauled butt on the roads, but in a safe way so we got to our dest. quickly. Oh also, that price includes our admission into Mayfields and our lunch at floyds, so not bad at all. We paid 30 dollars for the boat ride to floyds and back. I am telling you this is the way to go. No set tour with 50 people, this was amaazing~
Ok, so after talking to my husband, i realized i goofed, it did not include lunch at floyds, we paid for that ourselves when we were there.
britneyaaron - Did you also go to the Appleton rum tour on the Pelican Bar/Falls trip? If so, then the $100 - $150 estimate was for everything (I guess that was per person)?
No, we did not go to Appleton. The great thing is that it was not an "excursion" With the driver you can go where you want when you want, you just kind of figure it out and they arrange a driver for you. It was 100-150 dollars total. Not per person. Its cheaper if you can have another couple come with, then you split that, making it 50 or 75 per couple. Then we paid for our lunch 15 pp at floyds, the boat ride to get there, 30 dollars total, and mayfields admission, which is pretty cheap, i think around 12 dollars a person. Oh ya we also bought the red stripes all day, we got some at the parking lot with the boats for 50 cents!!! And i think a dollar at mayfields, pretty affordable :) Happy traveling
brittneyaaron - Just one more question..How did you get the driver? Did you just ask at the excursion desk at CSA? Was it a specific company that you got a driver from? Thanks! :)
From the woman at csa's tour desk. She just called one for us, I think that they have companys they use regularly for this.
Many have said Rick's Cafe is overpriced. I guess it is all up to the individual to make that determination.
CSA and CN do NOT have excursion trips just to Pelican Bar. This is usually a side trip that some tour services proved you. Many will add it with the Black River Safari.
I personally do not think the 2 hour trip down and 2 hours back is worth the expense just to go to Pelican Bar. We planned a full day adventure that included the Black River Safari with a side trip to the Bar From Nowhere and Pelican Bar and finally a stop at YS Falls. We left at 7 AM and returned at 6:30 PM. Well worth the $$$ spent.
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We went to Rick's last week and thought it was a waste of time. We were there for a couple hours and only saw one guy cliff dive. The rest were just tourists that jumped off the lower level. They are supposed to have live music, but there was none that night. The drink prices changed every time we bought one. The sunset was beautiful but not worth the $15 per person bus ride and $6 beers. I thought it was just as beautiful at the resort. Thumbs down for me.
Went with my family on the Black River, that was pretty cool....they guy kissing the croc was crazy.
Went to Rick's that night then after going to YS Falls (FUN TIME on YS as well as Dunn's) My Uncle and 2 cousins, jumped from the cliff at Rick's. I wish I would have done it then, but I guess I'll have to do it on the next trip. Somewhere on youtube I have videos of them jumping, can't seem to find them right now though to link to.
forgot to mention, we had a bus driver setup for us for the week, so I don't know how much rides are....don't remember the ride to much except that there was alot of Red Stripe consumed.