Irie Blue Hole - Carnival

[proudaunt]

My family is cruising this October, and we will be stopping on Ochos Rios. My family would like to vist the Irie Blue Hole, but I was wondering if there was an excursion that is offered there through Carnival? If not then is there a recommendation for a tour guide that offers a tour here? Thanks for any help you can provide!

[BBowCruiser]

We were on Royal Caribbean, but we used http://www.realtoursjamaica.com They let us make a Red Stripe stop on the way to the falls/blue hole. They locked all of our stuff in the van while we were at the falls and then took us to Scotchies for jerk chicken and pork and festival. They also had planned a stop at an Ocho Rios beach for us, but we spent longer at the falls and didn't have time. Everyone was very nice and professional and the "boss" called on our guide's cell to check how we enjoyed everything.

[proudaunt]

Is the Irie Blue Hole located near the falls?

[BBowCruiser]

I "think" they're basically the same thing, the falls flow into the blue hole. We were just there June 5.

[dz63]

My family is cruising this October, and we will be stopping on Ochos Rios. My family would like to vist the Irie Blue Hole, but I was wondering if there was an excursion that is offered there through Carnival? If not then is there a recommendation for a tour guide that offers a tour here? Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

I am not ware of Carnival offering any ship excursions to the Irie Blue Hole. My family will be visiting Jamaica in August and this is a spot we would like to visit. Both Peat Taylor Tours and Courtney Taylor Tours offers excursions to the Irie Blue Hole. I have looked into them both and they both get good reviews and offer reasonable rates--the difficulty is deciding which one to choose?:confused:

[Followthesun65]

We booked ourselves with Liberty Tours Jamaica (libertytoursja@yahoo.com) at the end of July. This was based on several good reviews I found here and at other travel sites and the price of $45pp seems very reasonable. I will post a review when we get back. Enjoy! -Brian

[rlyans]

Has anyone just got off the ship in Ocho Rios and hired a taxi to take them to the Blue Hole? How far is it from the dock? And what would it cost about? Thank you

[Ubiquitous Cruiser]

Is the Irie Blue Hole located near the falls?

 

If you mean Dunn's River Falls, they are somewhat close ... maybe 20-30 mins or so, but the "road" to Blue Hole is a winding single lane up into the mountains so it may be close but slow going ...

[BBowCruiser]

It's the Secret Falls that's with the Blue Hole. We had a great afternoon there with a group of 22 aged 16-52. I think it's all about 15-20 minutes from Ocho Rios, up a winding road through the rain forest.

[twinbee]

@BBOWCRUISER which tour company did you use to take you to the "secret falls"? I have been in touch with Liberty, and they suggest this place over Dunns River Falls? Can you tell me if this place is wheelchair accessible like Dunns River. Thank you for any info you can give me.

[BBowCruiser]

It wasn't really wheelchair accessible at all. Even the area where we got out of the bus to go into the falls area was uneven and just a dirt packed path. It's very remote with no facilities and very few other tourists. We booked with http://www.realtoursjamaica.com with "Chuck" and Samantha Norris I would highly recommend them but wouldn't recommend the area for any accessiblity issues.

[we12brich]

We booked ourselves with Liberty Tours Jamaica (libertytoursja@yahoo.com) at the end of July. This was based on several good reviews I found here and at other travel sites and the price of $45pp seems very reasonable. I will post a review when we get back. Enjoy! -Brian

 

Hi Brian,

What is included in the $45pp fee? I went into Liberty Tours Jamaica website and their Irie Blue Hole+ lunch was $90pp

 

http://www.libertytoursjamaica.com/#!falmouth-/c179g

 

I am coming from Falmouth port via RCCL in August and we are also looking to go to Irie Blue Hole.

[Followthesun65]

Hi Brian,

What is included in the $45pp fee? I went into Liberty Tours Jamaica website and their Irie Blue Hole+ lunch was $90pp

 

http://www.libertytoursjamaica.com/#!falmouth-/c179g

 

I am coming from Falmouth port via RCCL in August and we are also looking to go to Irie Blue Hole.

 

Here's the content of the email I received from LTJ:

 

"Irie Blue Hole/Secret Falls & Sightseeing.

This includes:

Irie Blue Hole: Get a chance to visit one of Jamaica's secret water falls not known by many.

Sight Seeing : Drive through the town of Ocho Rios,the markets,also get a panoramic view of Ocho Rios.

Island Village: Taste authentic jerk chicken with rice & peas roast yam and cold red stripe beer.

Duration of tour: 2-4 hours

Total Cost: U.S $45.00 per person (This includes roundtrip transportation and entry fee's to the falls)."

 

Keep in mind this is from the port at Ocho Rios...the price may be different from Falmouth.

 

I hope you have a great time! -Brian

[BBowCruiser]

I would guess the tours from Falmouth are more because it's a longer trip to the falls. Our tour was $89 per person, but we got a $10 per person discount for groups of 10 or more.

[rlyans]

1 more time...Has anyone just got off the ship in Ocho Rios and hired a taxi to take them to the Blue Hole? How far is it from the dock? And what would it cost about? Thank you

[vital1]

We did this last week from Mo'bay. We used Joe Cool Taxi and paid $150 for 4. We went to the blue hole and ate lunch at Scotchie's. We were going to go by Margaritaville, but the shooting had just happened so we went back to the ship. The guides there expect a tip and it's well deserved. We were with Kevin and he had a group of 10. We jumped off the "cliff" into the blue hole a few times before heading upstream to watch all of the poor people on the ship excursion being herded like cattle through the upper falls.

[vital1]

1 more time...Has anyone just got off the ship in Ocho Rios and hired a taxi to take them to the Blue Hole? How far is it from the dock? And what would it cost about? Thank you

 

I'm a pretty adventurous traveler, but JA is not a place I would just grab a taxi. It's out of my comfort zone there, but you know what they say about opinions:p. I know this probably doesn't help you, but I wanted someone to answer you.

 

As far as distance from dock, I'd guess about 30-40 min. It took us almost 2 hrs from Mo'bay and we passed through Ocho Rios.