5 days in Jamaica, from Negril to Montego Bay, beaches, bamboo rafting and waterfalls

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – It’s the Jamaican equivalent of a gondola ride in Venice. But instead of winding through a labyrinth of canals in an ancient Italian city, we floated down the scenic Martha Brae River on a bamboo raft just east of Montego Bay.

Leroy, our guide, expertly maneuvered the boat down the waterway, pole in hand, occasionally pushing us away from the banks and around rocks. He even sang for us.

All the while, I sat back on my cushioned seat, occasionally dipping my toes in the water, allowing someone else to do the hard work for me.

The raft ride might be a metaphor for Jamaica, a vacation destination that doesn’t make you work too hard -- either to get there or once you’ve arrived.

The island nation is home to stunning beaches, scenic waterfalls and terrific cuisine, all set to a soul-soothing Bob Marley soundtrack.

One of the most popular destinations in the Caribbean, Jamaica is now just a four-hour flight from Northeast Ohio via Frontier Airlines, which is expanding rapidly at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

But you might want to act fast – my flights to and from Montego Bay last month were less than half full. I doubt Frontier will keep the route around if it can’t attract more customers.

Read more: Will this new Frontier flight from Cleveland to the Caribbean last? Enjoy it while you can

Is Jamaica safe? State Department advisory raises concerns; here’s what to know

How a guy from Shaker Heights built a 30-year tourism career in Jamaica

It’s unclear why the flights weren’t full. I was traveling in March, which should be peak season for Jamaica.

The new route may be the victim of bad timing.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of State updated its travel advisory for the country, recommending that Americans reconsider travel to the island nation due to crime and medical services. Although Jamaica has been under a Level 3 advisory (“reconsider travel”) since 2022, the updated warning included detailed information about certain areas to avoid, including some neighborhoods in the parishes that include Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Negril, three of the most popular destinations for American tourists.

I’m a pretty intrepid traveler, and the language in the advisory made me nervous.

Still, when my boss tells me to buy a ticket to Jamaica, who am I to argue?

As I was planning my trip, I connected with a fellow Shaker Heights High School alum, who has been in the hospitality industry in Jamaica for decades. He assured me it was safe to come, and agreed to show me around his adopted country, which he has come to love.

And indeed, I am so glad I went.

Where to go?

I split my time between two of the country’s best-known tourist spots, Negril and Montego Bay.

Negril, on the west coast, is about a 90-minute drive from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. But it’s worth the extra travel time for the stunning beach here.

My resort, the lovely Azul Beach Resort Negril by Karisma, is located on what’s called Seven Mile Beach, a gorgeous stretch of sand that is lined with resorts, restaurants, boat charters and other activities. (Interestingly, Seven Mile beach is actually four miles – but either way, it was plenty enough sand for my purposes.)

My husband and I took several long beach walks here, heading south on the sand our first day. We hesitated when we came to a stretch of shoreline where the beach briefly disappeared and the waterfront path veered through a wooded area near the busy roadway. The security guard at our resort assured us the pathway was safe – and indeed, we walked the route a couple more times with absolutely no concerns, past a public beach, a large Beaches property and the popular Margaritaville Negril.

Immediately north of our property was Sandals Negril, one of seven properties in Jamaica operated by Sandals, which was founded in Montego Bay in 1981 and helped launch the all-inclusive movement here decades ago. And next to Sandals: Hedonism II, a clothing optional resort. We walked the beach here too, though I kept my camera in my pocket and was grateful for the sunglasses that hid my eyes.

Along the beach, we were approached numerous times by entrepreneurial Jamaicans, hawking everything from wood carvings to weed, cold coconuts to friendship bracelets. Jamaican vendors have a reputation as being overly aggressive, but that wasn’t my experience. A polite “no thank you” was accepted graciously in every instance.

Because our time in Negril was so limited, we stayed close to the resort. But if I had more time, I might have booked a snorkeling cruise or a sunset sail or any one of numerous other on-the-water options, from fishing charters to water skiing.

My husband and I did sign out a small sailboat one afternoon at our resort, which turned into a bit of an adventure when the wind died down and we had some trouble getting back to shore.

We also hired a local driver to take us the 7 or so miles to Rick’s Café, a famous bar and entertainment venue known for its spectacular sunsets and towering cliffs above the sea.

Visitors, who come here via boat, car and bus by the thousands, are welcome – encouraged even -- to leap from the cliffs into the crystalline water below.

Some of the platforms are quite high – up to 35 feet above the water – while others are a more modest 10-12 feet. It was fun to watch the amateurs jump, and occasionally belly flop, into the water.

The real fun for spectators, though, is to watch some of the locals performing for tips, including a bunch of kids doing back flips off the rocks and a man who looked like he was trying out for the Olympics perfecting a double gainer off a 70-foot high platform.

I (conveniently) didn’t wear my bathing suit and so therefore wasn’t really tempted to join the jumpers. One of the lifeguards didn’t buy my excuse, and offered to loan me an extra suit, which I declined.

Montego Bay

After two nights in Negril, we headed north back to Montego Bay, the second largest city in Jamaica after Kingston. Most of this area’s resorts are located just east of the city in an upscale neighborhood known as Ironshore.

My home-away-from home for three nights was the Riu Reggae, one of three large side-by-side Spanish-owned Riu resorts just east of the airport. (The jets flying overhead sometimes looked so close you could reach up and grab them.)

In recent decades, all-inclusive resorts have become omnipresent throughout Jamaica, as well as numerous other Caribbean destinations, including the Dominican Republic and Cancun. Depending on the resort, an all-inclusive stay can be a relative bargain, including all food, drinks and numerous activities at one price.

Our beach at the Riu wasn’t nearly as nice as our stretch of sand in Negril, measuring only about a half-mile from end to end. The resorts in this area, too, have erected walls between the properties, making it impossible to walk along the sand for any significant distance – a major bummer for this beach walker.

While in Montego Bay, we were more interested in exploring beyond the resort.

Fellow Shaker alum Lee Weinstock, a longtime resident of Montego Bay, graciously agreed to accompany me to several spots, but I also hired drivers through the resort to drive me around.

Resorts, too, sell group tours to some of the best-known regional attractions, including the Luminous Lagoon and Martha Brae rafting.

Weinstock said visitors shouldn’t feel afraid to explore Jamaica.

“I’m not knocking anybody who wants to lie on the beach, eat and drink,” he said. “But you’re not seeing the real Jamaica.”

Among our stops, in addition to the rafting:

* Luminous Lagoon, on Jamaica’s north shore, where the Martha Brae River meets the Caribbean Sea, creating perfect conditions for tiny glow-in-the-dark microorganisms called dinoflagellates, which light up in the shallow, warm water. Jamaica is one of only a handful of places in the world where this phenomenon occurs and the only one where you can swim in the water, fanning your arms under the surface to make the sea glow.

* YS Falls, one of dozens of stunning waterfalls in the country, where swimmers can paddle in the pools, scale slippery rocks (watershoes recommended) and launch from a rope swing into the blue water below. Dunn’s River Falls near Ocho Rios is a popular stop for cruise passengers – and the No. 1 attraction in the country. Weinstock instead took us to his favorite waterfall, a gorgeous spot on the south side of the island, which gets considerably less crowded than Dunn’s River.

* Greenwood Great House, a late 18th-century era plantation home built by Richard Barrett, a cousin of British poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who made his wealth from sugar. The estate was one of a handful to survive the Christmas Rebellion in 1831, a major slave revolt in the Montego Bay area that was one of the catalysts for the abolition of slavery throughout the British colonies. Most of the furnishings are authentic and include some fascinating pieces – a piano made for King Edward VII by Thomas Broadwood, who also made pianos for Beethoven; two working polyphons; and a spectacular verandah offering 180-degree views of the north coast.

Along the way, Weinstock stopped at a monument to reggae superstar Peter Tosh in the small coastal town of Bluefields and for cold coconuts at a place called Bamboo Avenue, where the towering trees tunnel the roadway.

He also took us to some of his favorite local food stops, including a waterfront hut for fried fish en route from Montego Bay to Negril and Bigga Beach Road Restaurant for some terrific jerk chicken.

The best meal of my entire trip (and it wasn’t even close) was at an area called the Border – at the border between St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland parishes, a food market on the south coast where we sat at a picnic table near the water watching fishermen clean their catch. We feasted on fried lobster, snapper, conch stew and bammy, a tasty Jamaican flatbread. No way would I have at stopped at this place on my own.

I never once felt unsafe or afraid – except, perhaps, in the passenger seats of some of the cars and vans we were transported in. Jamaican drivers are notoriously aggressive and traffic can be crazy congested in the cities.

To save the costs of hiring so many drivers, I briefly considered renting a car for our trip but quickly disavowed myself of that notion. In addition to the aggressive drivers and not-great road conditions in some areas, Jamaica is still part of the British commonwealth, with drivers using the left side of the road. All of that seemed more than I wanted to handle.

Indeed, the driving was the only part of the trip that stressed me out at all.

But it was nothing that a one-hour rafting trip down the Martha Brae River couldn’t resolve.

Some of these rafting trips also include massages, either foot rubs or full-body treatments.

But my husband and I opted for the rafting experience by itself, a relaxing, 3-mile meander through the Jamaican jungle, a serene ending to a most enjoyable trip.

If you go: Jamaica

We split our time between two of the most popular tourist areas in Jamaica, Negril and Montego Bay, about 50 miles apart on the west (Negril) and north (Montego Bay) coasts.

Where we stayed: In Negril, we spent two nights at the Azul Beach Resort Negril by Karisma, with 285 rooms, including many with patios adjoining one of four pools. The resort features six restaurants, eight bars and an extra-long beach. Rates include food and drink, plus some water activities, and start at about $210 per person per day, double occupancy. Information: karismahotels.com/azul-beach-resorts/negril

In Montego Bay, we spent three nights at the adults-only Riu Reggae, part of a three-resort Riu complex just east of Sangster International Airport. The resort features 450 rooms, five restaurants, three pools and nightly entertainment, plus access to amenities at the neighboring Riu Montego Bay. The complex has a bit of a party vibe, but I didn’t find it overly loud or rowdy. Rates start at about $200 per person per day, double occupancy. Information: riu.com

Jamaica: By the numbers

Population: 2.8 million

Annual visitors: 4.1 million (about 75% of whom are American)

Size: 4,244 square miles, a bit smaller than Connecticut