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Docking in Falmouth. Is Blue Hole too far?

rm1247

By rm1247,
in Jamaica

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rm1247

rm1247

Posted
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We are docking in Falmouth next month and I was planning to visit Blue Hole through a private tour company. I didn't realize how far it was and am now wondering if it is risky to use a private tour company for a whole day excursion. I'd love to hear from those who have done this. I'm looking into Liberty Tours Jamaica.

 

Thanks!

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lifeasme123

lifeasme123

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We are docking in Falmouth next month and I was planning to visit Blue Hole through a private tour company. I didn't realize how far it was and am now wondering if it is risky to use a private tour company for a whole day excursion. I'd love to hear from those who have done this. I'm looking into Liberty Tours Jamaica.

 

Thanks!

 

We were on the Oasis of the Seas last month (Dec 6 sail date). We did the Blue Hole tour with Great Vibes Tour....the owner was our driver and he was awesome!!!! We were over 1 1/2 hours late getting off the ship but still had plenty of time to do the Blue Hole, get lunch and do a little shopping. We were back at the dock by 5...2 hours before the ship leaves.

 

Tour operators should know about getting you back in time. For us, we cruise very often (2-3 times a year) and each excursion I always give us a buffer (about 2 hours) to get back to the ship.

 

Hope that helps!

 

P.S. You will LOVE the Blue Hole!

 

P.S.S. Whoever you get the quote from - ask if it includes the BH admission fee or not. It seems this vary from operator to operator. We paid $10 fee directly to the Blue Hole attraction.

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siestaclaud

siestaclaud

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We did the tour with Liberty but from Ocho Rios - which is 45 minutes further away. Our ship was late to arrive (we were off the ship at 10 am), and traffic was horrible because it was New Years Eve. We made it back to the ship with 2 minutes to spare before the all aboard at 4:30. I was freaking out! That being said - if you have more time in port than we did, you will have plenty of time from Falmouth. We wanted to shop, raft, and do Blue Hole and Scotchies, but only made it to Blue hole and picked up Scotchies to go - which our driver suggested - but we should not have done. Don't rely on your guide to know the time for your ship. Tell him EXACTLY when you want to be back to the ship and make him stick to it. We told our guide and got "no problem". :cool: I would say it is a 90 minute drive from Falmouth to Blue Hole. Bring water shoes, wear your swim suits (no changing areas), water camera and NO valuables. We tipped our Blue Hole guides $40 each. It was interesting (pot brownies for sale - and our guide was paid with a small bag of weed) but no one badgered us to buy anything, just had a fun day swimming and relaxing - until the ride back.....ahhhh!!!!:eek:

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lifeasme123

lifeasme123

Posted
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We did the tour with Liberty but from Ocho Rios - which is 45 minutes further away. Our ship was late to arrive (we were off the ship at 10 am), and traffic was horrible because it was New Years Eve. We made it back to the ship with 2 minutes to spare before the all aboard at 4:30. I was freaking out! That being said - if you have more time in port than we did, you will have plenty of time from Falmouth. We wanted to shop, raft, and do Blue Hole and Scotchies, but only made it to Blue hole and picked up Scotchies to go - which our driver suggested - but we should not have done. Don't rely on your guide to know the time for your ship. Tell him EXACTLY when you want to be back to the ship and make him stick to it. We told our guide and got "no problem". :cool: I would say it is a 90 minute drive from Falmouth to Blue Hole. Bring water shoes, wear your swim suits (no changing areas), water camera and NO valuables. We tipped our Blue Hole guides $40 each. It was interesting (pot brownies for sale - and our guide was paid with a small bag of weed) but no one badgered us to buy anything, just had a fun day swimming and relaxing - until the ride back.....ahhhh!!!!:eek:

 

Well said! I misspoke (if that is possible via typing. :-)) What I meant to say is that tour guides are know you need to be back or the ship will leave you. Take the ownership, tell your guide and as siestaclaud stated above...make sure you keep the driver aware towards the end ofthe day.

 

It was about 1 1/2 hours between Falmouth and BH. Like I said, I like having a buffer so we were back about 2 hours before the ship was due to leave. We then just spent the next hour or so walking around the port.

 

You are so generous with the tip! Good for you! We tipped them well too...our BH guides were awesome!

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siestaclaud

siestaclaud

Posted
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Well said! I misspoke (if that is possible via typing. :-)) What I meant to say is that tour guides are know you need to be back or the ship will leave you. Take the ownership, tell your guide and as siestaclaud stated above...make sure you keep the driver aware towards the end ofthe day.

 

It was about 1 1/2 hours between Falmouth and BH. Like I said, I like having a buffer so we were back about 2 hours before the ship was due to leave. We then just spent the next hour or so walking around the port.

 

You are so generous with the tip! Good for you! We tipped them well too...our BH guides were awesome!

 

Jen - we tipped $40 each on a group of 9! But they were really good, so fun! They nicked named my sons girlfriend "goddess" a nickname that she will now have forever! I honestly wish we could have stayed there all day! We tried to have a buffer (hence 3pm request) - but it just wasn't happening - and after a few rum punches and red stripes I tried not to care...really I tried! Wouldn't you know the ship didn't even set sail until 6 pm - hurry up and wait for others! The story of our trip!

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  • 4 weeks later...
lisalisaq

lisalisaq

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We did this tour from Falmouth. It was awesome. It was about 45 minutes to get there, but Ricardo from Liberty was so interesting it was fine. He was full of knowledge and it was beautiful to look around. Blue hole was incredible way better than Dunn's IMO. Great lunch also. Best tour I've been on and Ricard was best guide we've ever had. I posted photos on trip advisor

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  • 2 weeks later...
tweeks212

tweeks212

Posted
Posted (edited)
Jen - we tipped $40 each on a group of 9! But they were really good, so fun! They nicked named my sons girlfriend "goddess" a nickname that she will now have forever! I honestly wish we could have stayed there all day! We tried to have a buffer (hence 3pm request) - but it just wasn't happening - and after a few rum punches and red stripes I tried not to care...really I tried! Wouldn't you know the ship didn't even set sail until 6 pm - hurry up and wait for others! The story of our trip!

 

Do you mean each member of your group of 9 gave $40 or your group of 9 tip the guides $40 each? We heading there in April and just wanted to get an idea.

 

Many thanks

Nikki

Edited by tweeks212
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  • 3 years later...
#1TravelMom

#1TravelMom

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Blue Hole is not too far away. We have done Dunn's Falls and Blue Hole in the same day from Falmouth. I highly recommend Cool Dave. He is very entertaining and makes the trip so much fun. We didn't think the drive seemed far at all. Don't worry about the time - he will make sure you are back to port in plenty of time. His prices are great compared to the others and I can't imagine having a better day with anyone else. See my review https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2593070

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