tubing in Ocho Rios question

[FLDIXIE]

We were tubing last week with Phil along with Dunn's River FAlls and had a blast. The tubing on the White River is about 10 minutes out of town in the middle of nowhere. There was a cab with a threesome that pulled up as we were getting dropped off for tubing that went down the river with us. There is not anyone at the top of the tubing drop off point waiting to help you. You probably have to stop at the bottom and get the guides to go up with you and get tubes in advance to go down. I certainly felt safer and saw more of the real Jamaica being part of "Phil's family" for the day. Just ask Phil what you want and he will accomodate you if he isn't already booked for the day.

[herecomesthesun]

It appears that Sealegs wanted to do the very long river tubing excursion. There is one that must go much higher into the mountains. From the plan you described I don't know if you would have time to do that if your ship leaves around 5ish (at least that would probably cut it close for me). To do the shopping, hang around, lunch thing you have described, you could certainly take the phone numbers of the people listed here or use a "JUTA" cab to get to the tubing that the local tour guides take you to. I think you could still enjoy the white river tubing in the afternoon and return in time to make your ship. The tubing tour I was on lasted almost an hour from the time we started to the time we got back in the van. We were dropped off early afternoon by Peat so I bet others do the same and they would be around to pick you up. I know you could do it "a la carte" just not sure if the tour guides mentioned on this board could be the ones to take you. Let us know what Phil says.

 

 

Thank you for all that information! It was very helpful.

 

I emailed Phil and he emailed me back a pretty generic letter about making reservations. He did not answer my question about whether you can just take a taxi to White River Tubing without using any sort of excursion or tour guide, which actually makes me think that you may be able to. If it was impossible, wouldn't he have used that as another selling point? :confused: I emailed him back about the taxi thing and he has not responded yet. :cool:

 

I guess it just all depends on how badly our group wants to do specific things. If we all really want to go river tubing then we will make the nessecary prearrangements.

 

Thanks!

[tarheelmjfan]

We booked the Falls & tubing tour with Phil. Our ship is supposed to be docked in Ocho Rios from 8am to 5pm. Will we have time left to walk around Island Village, before boarding the ship. Also, many of you mention waiting for others to complete a more indepth tour. If we're only booked for the falls & tubing, will we have to hang out in the van waiting for others to complete their chosen tour? If so, what may the other portion of their tour entail? Rather than waiting, we'd probably just join in with their tour. I'd like to know how much extra money we should plan to bring. Thanks :)

[TheWog]

We booked the Falls & tubing tour with Phil. Our ship is supposed to be docked in Ocho Rios from 8am to 5pm. Will we have time left to walk around Island Village, before boarding the ship. :)

 

We did the Falls, River Tubing, stopped another place and returned in time to hang out Margaritaville for lunch and drinks and do some shopping. You will have plenty of time.

[vmom]

Just got back and LOVED the tubing. So glad we decided to try it. It was GREAT!!!! We want to go back to do it again. Better than a Disney ride...and longer!

 

One of my daughters is rather finicky about bugs and stuff, but you can see right down through the water, so that made her feel comfortable. Didn't see any bugs or creepy crawly things. Wear swimsuits and water shoes.

 

 

You'll have time to walk around Island Village after Phil's tour. Phil dropped off several of our tour members there on the way back.

[out2sea]

Tubing sounds like fun, but I am a chicken of all chickens. Looks like the bug issue is solved for me. Anyone know how deep the river is? I wouldn't mind trying it but probably the shorter the better (just in case) and this way I could still experience it w/ dramamine of course : )

[PEBBarney]

Hey Lisa (Out2Sea),

 

I'm still alive.

 

Mary and I are pretty sure we will be booking river tubing with Phil Lafayette. We were planning on just doing the tubing then head to Margaritaville (go figure).

 

I'm sure the ride is a little rougher than the Lindo lazy river, but it can't be to bad. I read reviews of poeple from the age of 5 to 75 doing this excursion.

 

Phil gets such good reviews. If you want I could book the excursion for the four of us.

 

Knowing our luck a hurricane will redirect us to the eastern route anyway.

[vmom]

The depth of the water varied from maybe 2 feet to waist high. As long as you don't sit up in the tube you will not overturn. At the beginning of the tubing, I had tried to sit up and one of the guides told me if I did I would likely overturn, best to lay back and enjoy.

 

There were 2 guides with us at all times (plan on tipping them, they were great) to assist us, so you are never alone.

 

It never gets rough enough that you will need dramamine. There are little rapids seperated by flowing water areas. Bring water shoes. some times you (in the tube) float close to shore, and you need to kick off to get back center.

[db777]

There may be a small group of us wanting to tube...ages 5 to 66...will there be problems for a 5 year old or a 285 pound man...???

[out2sea]

Thanks for the responses! Bug issue solved, depth solved...hmmm guess there are no reasons not to book!

 

 

PEBBarney - if I remember correctly, we DID hit some rapids (from kids running and trying to pass us), rough seas (had to cover our drinks through the waterfalls) and tidal waves (getting in and out of the tubes)! All that was missing was rip currents! LOL Hope Jamaica is nothing like Mexico!

 

Love to see pix if anyone has any of the tour!

 

Lisa

[out2sea]

Thanks for the responses! Bug issue solved, depth solved...hmmm guess there are no reasons not to book!

 

 

PEBBarney - if I remember correctly, we DID hit some rapids (from kids running and trying to pass us), rough seas (had to cover our drinks through the waterfalls) and tidal waves (getting in and out of the tubes)! All that was missing was rip currents! LOL Hope Jamaica is nothing like Mexico!

 

Love to see pix if anyone has any of the tour!

 

Lisa

[TheWog]

There may be a small group of us wanting to tube...ages 5 to 66...will there be problems for a 5 year old or a 285 pound man...???

 

The 5 year old will have a great time. The larger man should be fine as well. Depending on agility. Just getting in and out of tubes and such. Give it a shot.

[Adventurous]

Thank you for all that information! It was very helpful.

 

I emailed Phil and he emailed me back a pretty generic letter about making reservations. He did not answer my question about whether you can just take a taxi to White River Tubing without using any sort of excursion or tour guide, which actually makes me think that you may be able to. If it was impossible, wouldn't he have used that as another selling point? I emailed him back about the taxi thing and he has not responded yet.

 

I guess it just all depends on how badly our group wants to do specific things. If we all really want to go river tubing then we will make the nessecary prearrangements.

 

Thanks!

I know the Phil is the preference in this forum; but we went ahead and booked with Ionie McBeam for the River Falls, Mahogany Beach and River Tubing for the same price as Phil, but we like the idea of spending some time at the beach.

 

Herecomesthesun,

 

Ionie’s group does have a la carte tours you may want to checkout their website, and she’s very good on returning the emails right away.

 

http://www.ocho-rios.com/tours.php

[cruzinmom]

:) My family wanted to do the river tubing but I was a little apprehensive about letting my 6yr. old daughter go on a tube by herself. Would they allow her to go on with her dad or I? Thanks

[vmom]

The tubes aren't really big enough for 2 and if 2 were on it, there is a greater chance for it to tip over. Unless she is extremely petite or very timid, she should be fine with a life preserver on on her own tube.

 

Ask the tour operator for advice, but that's my take on it.

[waterrats]

Hey Lisa (Out2Sea),

 

I'm still alive.

 

Mary and I are pretty sure we will be booking river tubing with Phil Lafayette. We were planning on just doing the tubing then head to Margaritaville (go figure).

 

I'm sure the ride is a little rougher than the Lindo lazy river, but it can't be to bad. I read reviews of poeple from the age of 5 to 75 doing this excursion.

 

Phil gets such good reviews. If you want I could book the excursion for the four of us.

 

Knowing our luck a hurricane will redirect us to the eastern route anyway.

 

Paul, you got lucky. I emailed Phil for the day before you get to Ocho Rios and he isn't doing tubing that day. If anyone has booked just tubing on September 27th please let me know. Thanks.

[thegrahams6]

We did the Falls, tubing and touring with Phil last year - great. This year we don't want to do the Falls so on Phil's website he does have a "tubing" only tour. Someone mentioned on this thread that the RCCL tubing excursion was longer than Phil's. How much longer? Is it crowded?

Thanks, Leslie

[PEBBarney]

Waterrats, sorry to hear that Phil is not offering the River Tubing excursion the day you are in Ocho Rios.

 

We will be there the day after you, Wednesday Sept. 28th, and we have our reservations with Phil already set.

 

Gives you a reason to book another cruise.

[waterrats]

Waterrats, sorry to hear that Phil is not offering the River Tubing excursion the day you are in Ocho Rios.

 

We will be there the day after you, Wednesday Sept. 28th, and we have our reservations with Phil already set.

 

Gives you a reason to book another cruise.

 

Paul - Please don't rub it in. We were supposed to be on Mariner of the Seas except my DW co-worker already booked CB and she wanted to go with her so we did. Next year we are doing RCCL again probably on the Mariner. We will have to wait until the beginning of next year to see which RCCL ship we actually book. Enjoy your river tubing. I know we will except we will be doing it through Princess excursions instead.

[Lady Anna & Sir Troy]

I did a lot of research on this one too. The site for the White River Valley is this: http://www.wrvja.com/.

 

They did a 45 minute tubing adventure, 1 hour horseback riding, or 1 1/2 hour kayaking for $20 each, or a combination package that included all for $40 - $50.

 

As of July 2005, they are now jointly owned by Chukka Cove and the prices will probably be going up. Chukka Cove did a longer river tubing, and will continue to do the longer river tubing for $60, including transportation.

 

For now the shorter tubing rides are still available along with hiking, biking, kayaking, and the shorter horse rides. I do not know what the current prices are.

 

There are some guide which will take you there, Know Jamaica, and possibly Trevor Hudlin. Phil, Ionie MacBeam, and Peat Taylor get high volume for specific tours so are less likely.

 

If anyone happens to find out or want to call long distance and ask - 011-809-876-917-3373, please post back and let me know.

 

Thanks!!

 

L.A.S.T.

[waterrats]

I highly recommend this excursion. It was a ton of fun. Bring a water proof camera as the scenery is very nice. The ride to the start was very interesting. It was up a mountain. The road they say is two lanes, it was actaully a very narrow two lanes with no markings. when you get closer to the top, it becomes one lane. At one point, we actually had to back down a small amount to allow a truck to pass. The river is beautiful. The water is clean, the guides are nice and fun. Just don't let the water snakes get you. Only kidding. No wild life was spotted except for a spider that ended up on someones tube. The river is not deep and you are required to wear a life jacket. For those looking to get a ride up there, it didn't appear that anyone in the morning arrived by others means than the shuttles that the tour operation provides. I think the cost through Princess was $69. It was a bit pricey but it also was a nice relaxing adventure. If you decide to go, enjoy. It is worth it.

[bucky1]

Is it too wet to bring a regular camera for tubing, or is an underwater camera a better idea??

[waterrats]

definitely too wet if you don't have an underwater casing for it. You could probably put it in a zip lock but just make sure it doesn't fall in the water.

[girlbuffalo1]

My fiance and I did the White River tubing last year with RCCL. All I can say is this HOLD ON TO EACH OTHER! We got seperated right at the beginning--and I didn't see him until the end of the tour. While in the rapids the bottom of my tube (the steel plate part) snagged on a rock and I fell out into the rapids where the rocks were jagged (for instance one rock about 2 feet under water--another about 5 and pointy)---and busted my foot open--Luckily one of the tour guides Elvis (who probably only weighs around 120lbs) picked me up and hoisted me back into the tube....it was definitely an "experience"...boy was I worried about what could have gotten into my bleeding food--but I survived and got some antibiotic ointment from the ships doctor and had to bandage it every day (here's a tip BRING BANDAIDS with you on the ship as they are expensive on board)....overall it was a very good time.....just thought I would tell my experience..

[legalslave]

I have a question about the tubes. We'll be tubing in January wherever Peat Taylor takes us to tube. Do the bottoms of the tubes have a surface for your rear end to sit on or is your rear end in the water?

 

Diane