Walking around Ocho Rios?

[berwyn]

Is there shopping near the dock? And as you exit the ship do kids try to offer you a tour of the town.Last time we were there they were all over and would not leave us alone.

[Name Of The Game]

Not kids but adult drivers wanted to take us on a tour and kept walking with us even though we said we weren't interested.

[milkcoffeecruiser]

There is plenty of shopping right outside the pier. If you walk more downtown, you will find it really crowded...we were not bothered by the people but of course they want to sell you something. I think we went back to the pier area pretty quick.

[dfgf]

There's a lot of shopping near the dock. The first area you entered is basically for cruiseship passengers. Lot of little stores, a Margaritaville, etc. The next area is out in the city itself, and they have the typical touristy shops selling alcohol, t-shirts, etc.

 

If you go exploring I'd recommend walking over to The Ruins at the Falls - a local restaurant which serves an excellent lunch buffet. It's $15 per person and includes all-you-care-to-have food, beer and wine. They have a child price too but I don't recall what it is. If you like jerk chicken or pork, this place is for you! The sevice is fantastic and the outdoor setting is incredible. A lot of locals eat there too, so it has a much different feel from a place that is mainly cruise ship passengers like Margaritaville. In fact, the last time we went we were the only tourists there! Here's a link to it on Trip Advisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147312-d1047291-Reviews-The_Ruins_at_the_Falls-Ocho_Rios_Jamaica.html

 

Attaching a picture of what the outdoor dining area looks like.

 

I feel reasonably comfortable in Ocho Rios. I've been 3 times. The last time I hired my own taxi, went to Magic Mountain resort, hired my own taxi back to downtown, had lunch at the aforementioned restaurant, visited some local shops, then hit Margaritaville for some adult beverages. We weren't accosted by anyone.

 

I haven't been with my kids (5 and 7), but the only additional advice I would give you with small children is hold their hands while you're walking around. The sidewalks are narrow and in a state of general disrepair and it's often hard to tell a parking lot from a pedestrian area until a car comes flying through.

[luvdasea]

dfgf, On mystic mountain's website, it looks like they would pick you up at the cruise ship. I'm wondering if I could get there faster and easier just using a taxi?

[dfgf]

dfgf, On mystic mountain's website, it looks like they would pick you up at the cruise ship. I'm wondering if I could get there faster and easier just using a taxi?

 

I'm positive that you could get there faster and easier on your own via taxi. It's about a 5-minute drive. If the transportation is free, though, there's that to consider. A taxi for two of us was less than 10 dollars. And there were taxis waiting in the parking lot when we got back down to the bottom of the mountain.

 

I liked getting off the ship as early as possible, heading straight to the taxi stand and getting to Mystic Mountain first. We were literally the first guests there. Most of the workers were still arriving at that time. We paid our money, took the chair-lift up to the top and had a great time walking around, taking pictures, etc. We were the first people to do the canopy tour, and even the first people to do the bobsled rides. By the time we had done both of those attractions, more tourists were arriving from the ships. So we had the pool completely to ourselves too since everyone else was lining up for the ziplines and the bobsleds. Finally, once other people were getting into the pool we drived off and went up to the restaurant where we enjoyed some Red Stripes and had some appetizers. The view was incredible. Here's a picture of us at the restaurant looking out over the ocean and ships.

[luvdasea]

Awesome. That's what I like to do, get there first! Did you happen to do the package that includes Dunn's River Falls? I wonder if we have time to do that too? We are traveling with teens and I think they would like it all.

[dfgf]

Didn't do Dunn's River on that trip - I had been previously. I would imagine that you will have time to do both. You could do Mystic Mountain, then hire a driver in the parking lot to take you to Dunn's. Depends on the timing I guess, and whether or not you're comfortable doing your own thing without an excursion/group.

[luvdasea]

thanks dfgf!