جامايكا رحلات و [توور غيد]

تكلّم أنا يتلقّى سابقا حول كم أنا حقّا أحبّ يهدر نهور وال [سورّووندينغ را] من [بترسفيلد] و [شروسبوري] في [وستمورلند] أبرشيّة جامايكا. أنا أفكّر يهدر نهر واحدة من أنّ أماكن خاصّة حيث أنت يستطيع شهدت الجمال حقيقيّة طبيعة. تدفّقت يراقب النوابض معدنيّة من مترو وشلال على الصخورة والنبات خصبة خضراء أنّ ينمو حول هو يكون مشهد كاملة ل ي وأنا فقط يحبّ أن يجلس وأعجبت المكان.

على ي ثاني مغامرة إلى يهدر نهر كهف لاحظ أنا هذا كبيرة شمس يشكّل إشارات قرب الإشارات يدلّ إلى النهر. شكّلت الإشارات كان مثل يثبت شمس وأنا كان راوغت ب ماذا هم قرأوا. يشفي هو يقول غروب جبل إنسحاب ومركز شفائيّة. يحدث هو فقط هكذا أنّ صديقة كان ذهب من خلال سرطان خبرة وأنا كان هممت أن يرى ماذا هم قدّموا في هذا مكان. شفيت أنا تبعت وسخ طريق فوق نحو الجبل جانب وبعد مزرعة صغيرة وبعض أكوان خشبيّة حيث هو يأتي إلى السياج في غروب. أنا تكلّمت مع شهم في البوّابة ودعاني هو داخل أن يلتقي المديرة. أنا كان [غريتد] بسيدة جميلة شابّة الذي أبدىني داخل إلى المكتب رئيسيّة على ال [غرووند لفل]. الخاصية [قويت ا فو] فدادين ويصعد إرتفاع فوق التل جانب مع بنايات يحدّد على ثلاثة مستويات مختلفة. في ال [غرووند لفل] غرف تأجيريّة, منتجع مياه استشفائيّة, [غزبو] كبيرة والمكتب رئيسيّة. في المستوى متوسّطة الشاليهات مع المنظرات مروّعة من الواد وفي الأعلى المطعم وإقامة رئيسيّة.

I had the kids with me in the van after our swim in the river and I did not want to stay long but I was sucked in by the beauty of it all and ended up spending about 20 minutes meeting the owner Beatrice and talking to her some about what she did. I was very impressed with her knowledge and ideas on healing and the power each of us has to heal from within. I decided to suggest to my friend that he stay there for some part of his trip or at least visit and he did. In the end he abandoned the place he was at and stayed the rest of his trip with Beatrice in the hills. He seems to have really enjoyed himself and I certainly hope he did at least.

Beatrice has been in the same location for over 17 years but has just come to open her place up as a full resort and healing center in recent years. She has a wall full of degrees and certifications in fields such as Reiki, Theta DNA and Aromatherapy and she specializes in Massage Therapy for physical ailments. She has had success in helping stroke victims recover from facial paralysis which I found impressive. I always saw that as a permanent condition but the nerve and muscle damage can be repaired or retrained. You can read more about the services offered on the Resort overview page with information on healing vacations in Jamaica and the Spa information has all the details on making this the best Jamaica wellness vacation you ever took.

After my friend had such a great time there and since I was so impressed I went back and spent even more time with Beatrice as she gave me the grand tour of her place. On my first visit I did not take the trip up to the top of her property to see the restaurant and one of the most beautiful views in all of Jamaica. On my second trip I was missing my camera as I sat there in awe of the beautiful setting. Sitting up on the edge looking out over Petersfield and the sugar cane fields of Sugar Valley is so peaceful and the backdrop of mountains with rain clouds above them is simply breath taking. The chalets at the second level are available for rent and offer a great view of the valley below from the balcony on each room.

There is an incredible attention to detail at Sunset Heal and you can feel the time and effort spent on making the place so nice. Everything is fresh crisp and new looking and the grounds are meticulously well kept. When we walked up to the first chalet and stopped to look around both Beatrice and I were out of breath and sweating from the blazing sun and brisk walk up the steep steps and she opened up the door to the fridge in the room and there were cold wash clothes inside for cooling off. I thought that was cool and the timing was perfect. There seem to be lots of little things like that at Sunset Heal which make it such a special place. I have not stayed there overnight as of yet but we plan to do so upon our return in January. We’re heading home for the Holidays and we fly out pretty soon so we’re saving it as a romantic getaway for the parents when we first arrive next year.

I’ll confess to not knowing much about exactly what Beatrice does but I can tell you she knows what she is doing. She is an intelligent and articulate woman who speaks with confidence and I’m impressed with her ideas on healing and alternative medicine. I was most intrigued by what I learned about Theta Healing but you can get Reiki and Massage treatments as well. Theta Healing may hold some promise for my autistic son and we’re exploring ways she can help us with his condition. Sunset Heal is a tranquil relaxing place away from the noise of the cities where you can appreciate the natural beauty of the Jamaica mountains. Take a walk or ride a bike in the hills or swim in the healing mineral waters of the Roaring River or just kick back and listen to the birds and wind blow by under the giant bamboo as you unwind in privacy and enjoy what appears to me like the most peaceful place on earth. It seems like the kind of place famous people go to to get away from the world and I’m happy I found it.

Jamaica and Sunset Heal are positioning themselves as leaders in wellness and alternative healing in the Caribbean and a viable choice over some more “conventional medicines” in America. If you’re looking for a wellness or healing vacation consider visiting Sunset Heal in Shrewsbury Jamaica where the land and water have healing powers and blue skies are complemented by the thick green landscape.

See more pics we took at Sunset heal here or visit their Jamaica healing vacation website for more details.

Trip Advisor

So we moved into Devine Destiny last month. It is Devine Destiny and not Divine Destiny in Negril unlike so many web searchers seem to think. (The website is pretty sad looking still because I’m too busy to update it yet) It’s been a couple of weeks without my camera and I was hoping to get them back before I published this article about our new apartment in Negril on the West End. I had hoped to be able to provide some nice new photos of our moving in and the lovely grounds around us but it looks like it will be until after our return in the new year when I will have a camera to take those pictures with. I’m just not going to buy one here when I’ll be home so soon.

It’s actually been just about three weeks now and we’re totally in love with Devine Destiny. I can already see we will be keeping this place for a long term rental. I expect we’ll be here at least a year and I may still keep this for other use if we do move on. It really is a sweet spot for us and I would recommend it to just about anyone looking for a great deal on a long term rental in Negril. We have everything we could ever want right here or just nearby and I feel much better being just off West End Road rather than on it. We’re just a five minute walk and one minute drive from the main road for the Negril cliffs and minutes away from everything in town. The nice part is that things are much more quiet here for us than they were closer in to town and on the main road. Moving around outside our place was dangerous with the kids and we never really felt safe letting them roam the grounds. Here we have so much space it’s incredible really.

Over the past couple weeks we have taken to walks around the property with the kids and they have become great educational lessons. We have some goats with babies in the bush around the property boundaries that we feed fresh guava and ackee we pick from the bountiful trees here. Elise learned to make ackee and saltfish with a likkle advice from the housekeeping staff here and we had it for breakfast three days in a row because of how much we made. The two large trees here are pretty much untouched and we have more ackee then we can eat even with the kids helping out some. Robby, our youngest son, loves ackee and most Jamaican foods we have eaten as well. Of course he loves all food so far so thats not really saying much in his case. We have had lessons on the animals and how they live around us, lessons on the trees and plants and their role in life. Our walks in the rain or early morning dew are nice to explain the importance of water in the cycle and living here has been a great learning experience already. Both Robby and AJ are taking to the pool and AJ is actually swimming underwater short distances. He seems to feel more comfortable with his eyes open up underwater looking at each other but he stays under for quite some time now.

The grounds are covered in a wide variety of fruit and flower bearing trees and plants and there are always dozens of butterflies and birds around us. It may be a seasonal things but I’ve seen a dozen or more butterfly varieties in the past two days just under this tree in the courtyard where I am typing this blog post from. It has become my outdoors office with close proximity to my wireless router for great speed and the shade of a good size mangoe tree to protect me from the afternoon sun while a steady gentle breeze causes the butterflies to flutter just likkle more than usual. In the past couple days it has become my spot of choice to work in peace and quiet with nothing but the sounds of birds chirping and trees rusting in the breeze besides some dogs barking off in the distance. There is a stray dog problem in Jamaica and you see some scruffy mutts on the roads around us.

Our new apartment is what they call the Suite here and we have an upstairs and downstairs living space that is twice the size of our last place. We now have about 4 times the living space for less money then living on the water but the 11 acres and super sized pool here makes up for the sea side living and then some. I’m from Florida and living on the sea is cool but not a necessity for us any longer. Living at Heartbeat Negril would be great if we intended on living here shorter time frames but 5 months was enough sea life for me. I did enjoy watching the fishing boats and occasional dolphin but I still get by once in awhile and the sea is all around me.

Our apartment has a complete kitchen with full size refrigerator and two burner counter top gas stove. The stove is super cool with auto ignition and some super convection flames that seem to heat things up super fast. It is a trick to adjust them but we manage now. I burned a few pancakes getting used to things but we’re good now. We also have an electric oven which has baked a chicken spread out flat or a cake just fine for us. We would not be able to do a turkey and we actually opted out of the Thanksgiving celebrations this year until the owner invited us to spend the evening with her and her family and we did so gladly. They are the nicest people and dinner was Divine. Our upstairs living space is the family bedroom with two queen size mattresses for us and the kids. We’re still all in one room but it’s so huge we have plenty of space and privacy. We have a huge closet and plenty of drawer space in a large eight drawer chest with full size mirror. The cathedral ceilings must be over 15 feet and maybe those are 18 foot beams running up to the peak. Our unit is one of two in each building that not only has the wide view Dormer windows at the sleeping level but we also have two small windows in the peak that bring in some cool lighting.

Everything upstairs is wood including the handmade furniture, wooden stair case, wall paneling and roof structure. It really is nice and the craftsmanship is top notch. The handmade louvered doors and cabinetry plus the handrails and window frames all look great. The upstairs is covered in a thick brown carpet perfect for walking around on and for the kids to fall on. Upstairs is plush and quiet and perfect for sleeping. We have the Xbox and Monitor setup in front of our bed upstairs and its ten feet from the bed.Plenty of walking space in the room. The upstairs Dormer style windows have a large space even big enough for a twin bed or desk that I have chosen to make my office upstairs. I can reach the wireless from the buildings third floor and the open window is right up to tree level for some really nice views while I work. I do need to get my own phone and internet connection in order to continue my work seriously but working out here in the yard and sharing the office connection is fun for now. I can work from poolside if I chose to but its a bit too much sun down there. I sometimes sit there with the kids but usually I’m in the pool with them.

Downstairs has the kitchen as the entrance which leads to the dining/living space and on to the porch. Everything downstairs is tiled in a soft pink tone and easy to sweep off and keep clean. We have moved the full size fridge out into the living area to make more space in the kitchen for us. We also have a full size table that seats 6 plus a daybed which sits in front of the 19 inch television and satellite cable they supply. The cable has been aggravating as it blinks in and out on us but I’m hopeful we can correct this soon. I don’t really like watching too much television but having it blink out at the end of a show is a pain. The porch faces the pool and we have some folks living downstairs from us in a single room. Everyone is nice and we have some casual conversation with many of the other guests already.

The pool is simply awesome. I think its the largest and possibly most beautiful on West End. It’s pretty big and I can swim a nice long lap because it wraps around a bar with underwater seating in a huge arch. The bar has been opened for events but remains closed like the giant restaurant that seems to seat like 100 people. When this was a fully functional resort it must have been an awesome place, sadly I think they missed the peak and struggled to make a success of this place as an upscale resort. They now focus on a nicer place for locals and expats in search of long term rentals in Jamaica although they still offer some resort guest services. You can still stay here and have some great Jamaican cuisine prepared for you by the Devine Destiny staff but you won’t be served in the restaurant unless you want to sit down there. Guests now get breakfast lunch or dinner served in their rooms upon request. The restaurant freezers stay stocked with beverages and you can always get a Red Stripe with your jerk chicken dinner.

I guess its not too sad though cause I’m glad to have it available to me as an affordable apartment here in Negril. If this place was up to full speed it would probably cost me a lot more money and I’m totally happy to have it as it is. We live in a luxury apartment at an affordable monthly rate. If you’re looking for something like that for your stay in Jamaica then contact me with the links above.

/// Edit: I stole these pictures from around the web. Forgive me of my sins

This article should have been written at least two months back when I stayed at Leighton House but I neglected to write it and it just dawned on me what a great deal the place was and I should really mention it to our readers who might be traveling to Kingston like me in the next few days.

I have to go back to Kingston to clear up some paperwork for my business registration, apparently I neglected to sign a document on the Overseas Company Registration and now I have to drive back to sign it. It’s a 4 hour drive from Negril to Kingston and I have made it there in 3.5 hours with early morning traffic to my advantage but driving there and back in one day is out of the question for me at this point. It’s simply better for me to stay a night and have two days to handle my business. It takes twice as long to do anything in Jamaica anyway right?

So I’ll be calling in on my friends Shane at Leighton House in Kingston. The home is situated at the base of the mountains in Havendale and nice middle class Jamaican neighborhood with pretty homes and steel bars all over. You can tell a better neighborhood in Jamaica by the amount of security in place and this area is pretty nice. The house is beautiful and located deep in the hills on West Greathouse Circle nearby Hidden Valley in Kingston. Leighton House has hostel style bed space available for just $20 per evening or a private room is available for $35 per night. The private bed is my favorite choice because the room has its own balcony with a great view of all of Kingston at night and the sun rises over the hills behind us for a great light show every morning. All I have to do is remember the darn camera next time so I can get some better pics of the area.

Here are some photos of the rooms for rent at Leighton House Youth Hostel in Kingston. If you would like to take a trip to Kingston from Negril or reserve a room please Contact Us for more details.

Picture of the shared room at Leighton House Kingston Jamaica Youth Hostel

Shared bathroom and tub at Leighton House Hostel in Kingston

View of Kingston from Leighton House

Finding vacation beach rentals or just simply a room in Negril is easy enough but finding a cool spot to chill by the beach at an affordable rate year round is a trick unless of course you know Joseph at Westport Cottages right on Norman Manley Blvd. If you know about his international hostel and affordable beach accommodations just across the street from Negril Beach then you know where to go for one of the best values in an inexpensive room in Negril.

Budget travelers from around the world call Westport home during their stay in Jamaica and many have returned annually for many years. Some are simple backpackers looking for a cheap room near the beach for the night but many others are long term guests visiting Jamaica and the Negril area for a month or more. Still others are simply budget conscious vacationers looking for quick easy access the the world famous 7 Mile Negril Beach with it’s pristine white sand , crystal blue seas and year round sunshine.

No matter where they are from I have met some of the most interesting people while staying at Westport Cottages and it seems something about the place attracts an eclectic if not fun crowd of guests to get to know. The place is quiet and clean with daily room preps from none other than “Sista” the head of housekeeping and grounds care. She’s a kind honest woman who makes sure you sleep on clean sheets and a well kept room.

The rooms are rather basic and just what you need if you plan on spending most of your time actually visiting Negril and the beach. If you looking for a plush air conditioned place with tv and lots of other stuff then look elsewhere. If you are looking for an inexpensive beach rental nearby Negril Beach with a laid back and super cool atmosphere then call Joseph at Westport Cottages or use the Contact Us page for more details on where to stay in Negril Beach.

Rooms for rent in Negril Beach at Westport Cottages

Shared kitchen area at Westport Cottages

It’s worth mentioning that we’re staying at the Heartbeat Resort here in Negril Jamaica for long term. We were able to negotiate a very fair monthly rate and we’ll most likely stay right here at least until December anyway and most likely well into next year also. I’m hopeful that we’ll find our own place sometime next year but for now it’s nice to have a stable place and Heartbeat seems like a great choice to us. It’s great having a place to call home and being able to actually unpack and live in a place is better for us as a family I’m certain. The kids are very comfortable here and they have a nice group of local children to play with. It’s been a lot of fun for the kids and parents as well as we have enjoyed having them over to share and play with.

We’re located at the beginning of the cliffs basically and have the advantage of not only the cliffs to enjoy but easy sea access from the small nearby beach. Finding long term apartment rentals in Jamaica is actually fairly easy. All I had to do was ask around and I found that places like TheLTU and Westport Cottages offer great monthly rates for not only summer but even during season as well. You’ll need to contact a few places to determine what you like or you can Contact Us and we’ll be glad to ask around or take a look at any place in the area for you. Need some pics of a place? Hey why not? I’ll be glad to drop in and shoot some shots of any resort or vacation accommodation in Negril. Either way finding an affordable long term rental unit in Negril or Jamaica in general is very easy if you have time to hunt them down and do the research.

This is our view from the front porch on the first morning in Jamaica. We’ve been in Negril for just over ten days now and it’s time I got some new photos and stuff up. These would be some of our first pictures here in Negril. It’s summer time of course and although the sun is hot the city life is pretty quiet. Not many tourists in town for the heat of summer so things are extra slow right now. Often times we find ourselves the only patrons of an establishment and some times they open up just for us. There is a good and a bad to that in that we are met by friendly faces but times are tough and everyone wants to make something from us.

We’ve gotten used to it quickly and a firm “No Thank You” covers almost everything. We got beat over a few meals because we didn’t think to ask about the price before we ordered some places. They’ll hit you hard at the end if they can and don’t be embarrassed to negotiate any check handed you. Times are tough all over and my money is best kept in my pocket. Jamaicans actually appreciate a good barter but have no love for a cheap person. If you can’t settle a deal they will probably curse you for wasting their time as if it were more valuable then yours.

Negril Beach in the summer is a beautiful thing and the sun shines down on us all day long here. The beach and water are our favorite spots so far and it’s been a lot of relaxing and chilling in the sun for us since our arrival. We’re slowly moving out and about and I have loads of more stuff to post about but a big part of our stay was the water fun for the kids. Our room at Heartbeat in Negril has an awesome view and the easy access to the beach and seas makes snorkel trips and frolicking in the water an easy activity for us all.

Our room does not have direct beach access and we are not on the famous Negril Beach. We’re currently at the base of the Cliffs of Negril and about a 2 minute cab ride at $150JA for the four of us. We do have a beach we can use that suits us just fine and it’s been a lot of fun for the kids to spend hours playing with some of the local boys on the beach. It’s behind a restaurant that seems more a late night bar but the day time crew at “On The Rocks” has been great. The beach here at Heartbeat is great but we much prefer the Negril Beach for a nicer cleaner beach with more activity and things to see. This beach is not maintained and some odd things are washed up on shore.

A Picture Perfect Day at Heartbeat in Negril Jamaica

One of the best things about Jamaica is all the natural beauty around us. On our 3rd morning in I got up a it earlier than usual and was able to catch a great Sunrise from the rocks outside our room. I was able to get a decent shot of the sun rising over the Negril Beach with the Mountains in the background that was just an awe inspiring thing to witness live. No camera can do the colors any justice and my amateur photography is not up to the task yet. I’m still learning the new camera and whats best to use in conditions like this but man it was worth waking up early thats for sure. It turned out to be a picture perfect day. I caught the sunrise, a trip to the beach for some fun in the sun with the kids, some beautiful snorkeling along the coast of Negril after a fabulous lunch of local cuisine and ended the day with a perfect Sunset from the vantage point of our room and the porch out front.

After the sunrise and a likkle brekfast we ran down to Negril Beach so the family could finally see the famous beach. It was pretty hot and we had things to do like hit the Hi Lo so we we’re not there very long. After the trip to Hi Lo we decided to have lunch at Jennys Restaurant just up the road from us as no one wanted to cook or wait for something to be cooked. We took the Brown Stew Chicken because it was ready and we wanted to try it. It’s become a favorite meal especially for the low price of $200JA per plate. A full meal consists of healthy portion of chicken served with rice and peas, cabbage and vegetables. My review of Jennys comes soon.

Later in the day the kids hit the beach and dad did a little snorkeling off up the coast and around the rocks near the hotel. The water s great and the kids are taking to the sun and sea better than expected. They both have a few extra bite marks from the bugs but we’re controlling it. The beach is close by and easy for them to swim and me to explore while still watching them. This is nearly the same spot as the sunrise pictures but looking back towards the beach.

The sea life around Negril is awesome and the short dive I took on our third day was great. The biodiversity near shore is still strong although I was disappointed in the number of game fish to be found. There are tons of tropical fish of all flavors and the pictures above are a small sample of the underwater photos I have been able to take. I’ve see a lot of things on snorkel trips around the cliffs here in Negril and I’m looking forward to taking the camera on some bigger dive trips as we go further off coast and into some deeper waters on a glass bottom boat soon. Their seem to be loads of juvenile tropical fish in the area with lots of small butterfly and other damsels. I was surprised to see a few Rock Beauty Angels and a Juvenile Queen Angel but my shots on those are shoddy. I need a weight belt for better motion control and shot consistency.

Juvenile French Angel off the coast of Negril Jamaica

Juvenile Banded Butterfly Fish

Pair of Banded Coral Shrimp

Large Snail off Negril Jamaica

I took a little nap during the afternoon showers which are very common here in Negril. It was nice to wake up to a cool refreshing breeze whipping through our room as it raced in from the ocean in front of us. The ocean breeze is really nice when we have it. Right now it’s hotter then heck in my room tonight as I type this blog post. It’s 11PM and about 85 C and I’m sweating like a pig in my bed. Theres a decent breeze tonight so I bust open the windows and hope for no mosquitoes. The afternoon showers make for some great cloud formations and leads into a perfect sunset and an end to a perfect day.

It looks like we’re falling in love with Negril Jamaica and I thinks Heartbeat has someting to do wit dat mon. A far I concerned we cyan stay here f’ever.

We’re pushing things right up until the very end with the passports. Everyone but Elise has their passports and we’re becoming concerned there will be delays with hers that force us to travel without it. She meets the necessary requirements to travel with a copy of the passport application and a drivers license but I’m worried what hassles we’ll have returning with those documents afterwards. They claim we can return with no trouble but what concerns me is her being denied a passport for some reason and them questioning her eligibility to return at all. She was born in America but as I have mentioned here before here birth certificate was filed for late and has been stamped “Delayed” and this has become a serious issue in establishing her birth here.

I’ve found others that may face the same travel arrangements as us but not anyone who has actually made the trip yet. I also don’t know of anyone else having the same problems with the delayed birth records. Is anyone else going to be traveling abroad or to the Caribbean and Jamaica on the new passport regulations with a passport application receipt and photo id instead of a passport?

I’ve been searching more and more for ideas and I definitely think I’ll find better deals on nice places. I considered various all inclusive places for a portion of this trip just to let the family relax in a nice place but reading some of the opinions on the web about this has changed my mind. It’s obvious to me that many of these resorts are pretty expensive for services we don’t need or want and mot of them are out of touch with the real Jamaica that we hope to see. This guy got married and had a good time, this guy went to a convention and this guy below enjoyed himself but many others did not.

Seemant Kulleen - Post details: For Love or Money

When we were looking into resorts and all-inclusives in the Caribbean last summer, we discovered a nice place in Ocho Rios, Jamaica that offered very decent rates. So basically, for the amount that we would’ve paid for a basic room in the Bahamas got us a fairly high-end room in Jamaica. So we decided to opt with Jamaica because we’d get more luxury for the buck. Boy were we in for a surprise. We thought we were getting a private type affair, with less people per pool, and a great view and location on the premises. Being an all-inclusive, food and tips were included. Drinks were also included. So at any bar, any restaurant at any time of day, you can get your favourite drink.

We have had reservations at HeartbeatJamaica for some time now and I was starting to think we would not find a good deal online but today we scored a great rate on some popular rooms in the Negril Cliffs. If all goes as planned we’ll be staying at The LTU for much of August and possibly September also. I know I had plans to travel all over the island and we may well still but securing accommodations seemed the best thing and if I happen to find a better deal or change my mind then I can do so then. For now I wanted to know we have accommodations for our entire trip and it looks like LTU Villas is for us. Summer travel is apparently very slow this year and the rates we’re finding from some places is super affordable. I’ll let you deal with them direct but I can say that I got a room for less then the cost of my mortgage payment and if it were available year round I would just move right in.

You might think thats a good thing but it might not be. When times are tough in Jamaica people g3et tougher and tourists like us will need to remain alert and on their toes. Discussions on some top Jamaica forums such as Jamaicans.com or the Negril message boards at Negril.com show that some vendors and even established businesses on the beach are taking advantage of those travelers that are making it by charging higher than usual prices or even overcharging and in some cases outright lying to customers to gouge them for an extra buck or two. It’s a shame that people are put in a position to do such things and in the end cost themselves some future business and a little self respect.

I’ve dealt with Jamaicans after some hard times before and my first trip was a nightmare because of it. I visited just a few short months after 911 and things were bad. We had a 100 guys try to rip us off every step of the way and it was pretty bad. I ended up loving the trip but was saddened at how the people were forced to treat me. I remember from that trip that things in Negril always seemed different and I’m hoping that it will be the same for us again. I know I’ll get ripped once or twice but I think this time around I’m ready for them.

Finding an apartment to rent for one month directly on Negril Beach sounds like a great way for us to start our trip and after some online searching we thing we have finally found a spot to stay at a reasonable monthly rate. We were hoping to find a great deal on a monthly apartment or house and it looks like we got a sweet deal on a studio apartment.

We decided that a studio apartment with our own kitchen and bath were a must to begin with and finding an affordable place online has been a chore. It seems most of the properties listed for rentals online are directed to short term stays by wealthy tourists. Rates as high as $200 and more per night are simply not feasible at all on our budget and most rentals in Jamaica seem too costly. We did find some great places with the help of the Jamaica Gleaner classifieds but they do not have many listings for Negril or even Westmoreland parish and I think we will enjoy starting out in Negril.

We found a website for negril apartments but the listings they had were not what we are looking for. Apparently things were not good this season and it looks like it may be a bad summer for tourists in Jamaica. This is not good for the overall economy and it will lead to more haggling and harassment from beggars or higglers but we can also fin great deals on places. We have reservations at Heartbeat Jamaica for 30 days from July to August at rates that I simply cannot post here. Things are very slow and the monthly rate for the Studio Apartment is plain cheap. With as little time as we plan to spend in the rooms it should be plenty enough for us for the month. They are located seaside on the Cliffs in Negril and close enough to everything for us to walk to I think,. If not a cab ride own into town is cheap and i find them fun although some may not like that sort of thing.

I’ll have wireless access for my laptop and blog posting and ocean access for my snorkel and dive trips. I don’t know how often I’ll be posting but I’ll ty to keep things updated. We’re still looking into where to stay in August and September but I think we’ll probably handle that once we arrive. I’m under the impression we’ll find a good deal on a place after we’ve been in town some time and able to search around.