Jamaica Tours, Guides and Vacations

We needed to take a trip over to Kingston this past week and we decided to make an extended road trip out of the 250km drive. It’s been a long time since I have been to some parts of the South Coast of Jamaica and the family has never been to places like Treasure Beach so we decided this would be our first stop on the way to Kingston and the shipping ports where we needed to pick up a barrel we shipped from the States.

We got a late start in the day and arrived in the late afternoon because I chose to stop about a zillion times for pictures and stuff. The new camera is great but it can be a distraction. I took a total of 2500 photographs over our 3 day adventure. It’s super cool to have so many shots to chose from for the site now but I probably wasted an hour taking photos and messed up my schedule. Having never spent much time in Treasure Beach I was unsure where would be the best place to stay when we arrived but some quick research at TreasureBeach.net listed all the available accommodations in Treasure Beach and much more. I went on the further advice of my favorite Jamaican Travel Guide and chose Sandy Hill Cottages for our first nights visit. It’s a really nice place to stay, look for my further review later this week.

Arriving late as we did I was more focused on finding the place to stay for the night and after unloading some of our things in the room we took off for a short ride around Treasure Beach just so we could all see the place. Treasure Beach is a place for laid back relaxation and there is not much to do in the evening except have some food and drinks at your resort or one of the many small establishments in town. There are but a few larger places in town such as Jakes with more than a handful of customers on any given evening and for the most action you’ll probably spend much of your time at Jakes or Jack Sprats Beach.

Jakes Place in Treasure Beach

Jack Sprat Beach

Both of these places are very nice places closer to Calabash Bay and by far the more popular spots in the Treasure Beach. Jakes Place is more the night time spot open until late every evening and Jack Sprats is more popular during the day for its wonderful beaches and free showers for restaurant clients. If you had a place to camp in the area you could bath and eat at Jack Sprats and stay in TB for as little as the cost of lunch each day. I had a hard time finding anyone interested in renting out some camping spaces and we ended up with a room for our stay in Treasure Beach.

Treasure Beach is very much a lazy fishing village with little more to do than hang on the beach or participate in the variety of watersports available. Treasure Beach is well known to offer some of the best fishing in Jamaica and many of the area residents earn a living from the nearby seas. The fishing in TB is varied and you can hire a professional charter boat from places like Jakes or you can do as most do and negotiate a day trip with a local fisherman and spend the day like so many Jamaicans do by working your butt off in the hot sun hoping to catch enough to eat for dinner for you and your family.

Many visitors to Jamaica come here to relax in the natural beauty of the island and chill on the beach with a Red Stripe or spliff in hand. If that’s what you want from a vacation in Jamaica than Treasure Beach is the place for you. Some say Treasure Beach is what Negril was about 30 years ago and it’s pretty easy to see that the lack of development and tourists has been a blessing in many ways to the people of Treasure Beach and the South Coast of Jamaica.

Treasure Beach is actually a collection of bays along the South Coast of Jamaica with the more popular being Calabash Bay. The best place for beach access seems to be the road alongside the Golden Sand Resort which provides access to the public beaches of Frenchmans Cove and makes for a great start for a leisurely stroll down the beach. If you’re not into the beach and fishing than there may well be no reason at all for you to visit Treasure Beach. If you appreciate having a gorgeous beach all to yourself than Treasure Beach Jamaica may well be the paradise for you that it is for so many others. Look for more articles on places to stay and things to do in Treasure Beach coming from us over the next week or two.

Take a look at our Treasure Beach photo gallery for more pictures from our trip.

Here are some of the flowers in bloom in the yard this week. Of course there are always some flowers in bloom here in Jamaica and even today in the mnth of January we have some lovely blooms.

The 16th Annual Bob Marley Birthday Bash is being held on February 5th-6th at MXIII in Negril. Anyone going? I know I’ll be there for sure. Anyone need a ride or place to stay in Negril for the event? Contact me and we’ll find something for you.

I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to at least make it for the events on February 7th thru the 10th. I plan on being at the Bob Marley concert here in Negril on February 6th and I doubt I’l be driving early on Feb 7th but I know I can be in Ocho Rios for the morning of the 8th and the rest of the festival. Anyone interested in going with me to the Fat Tire festival in Ochi?

The St. Mary Off-Road Bicycling Association (SMORBA) is pleased to announce that the coolest mountain bike event on the planet is back! The 10th Annual Jamaica Fat Tyre Festival is set for February 5-10 in the lush, tropical mountains of St. Mary. This year’s event will feature even more of the “irie vibes” that were featured in the June 2007 issue of Decline Magazine.

The Festival is set to kick off with a welcome and registration party on the evening of February 5th at John Crow’s Tavern (the Festival HQ) located in the heart of Ocho Rios – the vibes capital of Jamaica’s beautiful North Coast.

On the first full day of the Festival riders will shuttle up to Murphy Hill, perched high above Ocho Rios. After taking in the view it will be time to let brakes overheat on the blistering descent to world renowned Dunn’s River Falls. After regrouping at John Crow’s, the crew heads out to the friendly communities of Oracabessa, Hamilton Mtn, and Jacks River. Checking out SMORBA’s trails in western St. Mary is sure to prepare riders for the after-ride relaxation and the evening’s festivities at “Conscious Corner” bar in Rio Nuevo.

February 7th will see participants going deep into rural Jamaica near Robin’s Bay, St. Mary. These amazing, technical singletracks (including the famed Carlton Pass) are the trails that led Katrina Strand to proclaim “This is the best day of my life… and it isn’t even over yet!” This epic day will culminate with a complimentary meal and soiree at Robin’s Bay Beach Hotel.

On February 8th riders will trek to Pimento Hill in St Mary for a more relaxed day of singletrack, downhills, and waterfalls ending at Black Sand Beach where a meal of roast breadfruit and other local dishes will be prepared by local SMORBA dude, Natty Grant. In what has already become a favorite tradition of the JaFTF, local fishermen will shuttle riders from the beach to the pick up point by boat!

February 9th is a day for riders to relax and take in the fabulous surroundings of Ocho Rios. Shopping at Island Village, chilling at the beach or checking out Shaw Park Gardens, Ocho Rios has many entertaining options. SMORBA will also offer an optional afternoon excursion to White River Adventure Park in the nearby mountains.

February 10th is the day for Jamaicans to show off their own local riding skills. Dubbed “A celebration of Jamaican Bicycling Culture” the Jamaica Bicycle Bash is designed to provide a unique, fun-filled atmosphere centered around all things bicycle. Highlights will include a 5 mile race looping through Oracabessa, a “Gas Done” gas cylinder carrying race, a “Big Man, Small Bicycle” race and many other games and contests that are sure to provide great entertainment!

Spots for this year’s Festival are limited, so if you are interested in attending, or need more information, drop us a line at smorbaja@hotmail.com

The 2008 Jamaica Fat Tyre Festival is being supported by: Jamaica Tourist Board, IRIE FM, John Crow’s Tavern, the Island Sport Trust and is sanctioned by the Jamaica Cycling Federation

We left Florida and arrived here in Negril on January 11th. It took a couple days for me to get online and some new pics posted but I will hopefully be back to blogging about Jamaica and our newest adventures again.

It’s so nice to be back in Jamaica and I am very excited about how glad our kids were upon our return home. Both of my sons are completely happy here in Negril and I was very worried that a month back in the States would mess with them but it worked out for the best. In the end they like Negril and our new place here at Devine Destiny more than all the vacation time and grandma gifts of the past few weeks. I was most impressed with my oldest son AJ who has been very vocal about “going home” and was the most excited about our plan travels and arrival in Montego Bay.

This trip was not quite as smooth as I had hoped for and we still need to sort out some post arrival planning so we can avoid things like an empty fridge on a Friday evening and some other things. I drove home and it was probably a mistake for me to drive so soon after a long flight. I got turned around in Mobay and kept chit chatting with our friend Kevin while driving lost in a rain storm and we lost about two hours because of it. Once we got to Negril and opened up the house everything was irie and everyone felt better. Better planning will avoid this on future trips.

We brought back lots of stuff and we’re prepared for lots of activities this go around. We have the van and now two bicycles plus a trailer we can haul the kids in which should allow us to travel just about anywhere in Jamaica by van or bike. Now we just need to get motivated on some more trips this time.

There is something about Jamaica that makes it very easy to spend lots of time doing much of nothing and taking long naps in the middle of the day has become the norm for us here in Negril. What should take me minutes to do may take me days to actually get around too here and I’m usually a bit slower on Jamaican time.

I do find myself spending more time observing nature and the beauty around us more so while I’m here. In just the past few days we’ve been here I have already seen and photographed so much Jamaican wildlife and tropical flora. I need a good book on identifying the numerous varieties of birds, butterflies and flowers around us. If not I’ll just have to name them all on my own and that will take too long.

View more pictures of our arrival in Negril in our Jamaica photo gallery here!!

Posted in the Jamaica forums for discussion under this topic!!