Help. Looking for stand out excursions that you really enjoyed in Jamaica (Falmouth)

[The Fun Researcher]

Our port is Falmouth in March 2020.  The excursion can be from a reputable safe private vendor or through the ship.  We do either, although lately it hasn't been through the ship. 

 

We’ve already done Dunn’s River Falls and Grotto caves and they were fun but don’t need to do them again.  Earlier in the cruise we will have done an all-inclusive beach day in Cozumel, and snorkeling/sting rays in Grand Cayman.

 

We will have my able bodies parents with us, who have never been to a Caribbean Island.   We will have four children, girls ages 18, 18, 15,  and our son 12.  If possible we would like to do something that is unique to Jamaica, or at least unique to Caribbean islands.  Things to rule out would be ATV’s, horseback riding, and ziplining.  Rum tastings are fun but too narrowly focused to be of interest.  We have a wide range of interests, from island tours, to tubing, to snorkeling, to all-inclusives, etc,

 

Thanks in advance!

Dan

[karena1]

We have done the river rafting down the Martha Brae a couple times and really like it.  Both time through the ship, but there are some private vendors that are good also.  We were going to use a private one last time, but we had so much on board credit we did it through the ship instead

 

[The Fun Researcher]

Thanks karena1.  Much appreciated.

 

• Looks like the Martha Brae is pretty close to Falmouth.  Roughly how long of a drive was this from Falmouth?
• Was the rafting done in tubes, or on a bamboo raft?
  • Any idea how a group of 8 would be situated?

 

Dan

[JBSteelerfan]

On 8/13/2019 at 1:25 PM, The Fun Researcher said:

Our port is Falmouth in March 2020.  The excursion can be from a reputable safe private vendor or through the ship.  We do either, although lately it hasn't been through the ship. 

 

We’ve already done Dunn’s River Falls and Grotto caves and they were fun but don’t need to do them again.  Earlier in the cruise we will have done an all-inclusive beach day in Cozumel, and snorkeling/sting rays in Grand Cayman.

 

We will have my able bodies parents with us, who have never been to a Caribbean Island.   We will have four children, girls ages 18, 18, 15,  and our son 12.  If possible we would like to do something that is unique to Jamaica, or at least unique to Caribbean islands.  Things to rule out would be ATV’s, horseback riding, and ziplining.  Rum tastings are fun but too narrowly focused to be of interest.  We have a wide range of interests, from island tours, to tubing, to snorkeling, to all-inclusives, etc,

 

Thanks in advance!

Dan

 

Something we have done a couple of times is Jamaica Culinary Tours.  You walk around Falmouth and learn about the history there and visit about 4-6 different places for tastings of local food.  Takes about 3-4 hours, and has been an excellent time!  Very well run, and we felt very safe walking around Falmouth with the guides.

http://jamaicaculinarytours.com/home

 

Jeff

[The Fun Researcher]

Thank you JBSteelerfan.  That looks like another great option, and a nice laid back way to experience some local culture and cuisine.  I'll bring this option up with our kids and my parents as well.  Who doesn't love food?  🙂

 

Dan

[The Fun Researcher]

On 8/13/2019 at 5:54 PM, karena1 said:

We have done the river rafting down the Martha Brae a couple times and really like it.  Both time through the ship, but there are some private vendors that are good also.  We were going to use a private one last time, but we had so much on board credit we did it through the ship instead

 

 

karena1, if you don't mind sharing, do you recall who the private vendor was? 

 

I'm investigating:

1) A transfer from Falmouth to the Martha Brae river including the cost of rafting from a reputable, safe vendor 

2) Simply a transfer to and from the Martha Brae.  It looks like it's only about 4 miles from Falmouth.

• Are the taxi's reliable and safe?
• Will there be taxi's available at the end of the rafting to transfer us back to Falmouth?
• Can we just show up to Martha Brae like that?  We would use four rafts, assuming two per raft.

 

The best I could find, the rafting along is about $65-$70 for two.

 

Thanks,

Dan

 

 

Edited August 15, 2019 by The Fun Researcher

[karena1]

1 minute ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

karena1, if you don't mind sharing, do you recall who the private vendor was? 

 

I'm investigating:

1) A transfer from Falmouth to the Martha Brae river including the cost of rafting from a reputable, safe vendor 

2) Simply a transfer to and from the Martha Brae.  It looks like it's only about 4 miles from Falmouth.

            Are the taxi's reliable and safe?

            Will there be taxi's available at the end of the rafting to transfer us back to Falmouth?

            Can we just show up to Martha Brae like that?  We would use four rafts, assuming two per raft.

 

The best I could find, the rafting along is about $65-$70 for two.

 

Thanks,

Dan

 

 

been quite a while, so I don't remember.  I would do the tour that includes everything.  I know the one we were thinking about had good reviews, I am pretty sure I found the vendor by searching the ports of call.  I think when we were going to do it with the vendor it was $60 pp, so $65-$70 sounds about right.

[karena1]

2 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

karena1, if you don't mind sharing, do you recall who the private vendor was? 

 

I'm investigating:

1) A transfer from Falmouth to the Martha Brae river including the cost of rafting from a reputable, safe vendor 

2) Simply a transfer to and from the Martha Brae.  It looks like it's only about 4 miles from Falmouth.

• Are the taxi's reliable and safe?
• Will there be taxi's available at the end of the rafting to transfer us back to Falmouth?
• Can we just show up to Martha Brae like that?  We would use four rafts, assuming two per raft.

 

The best I could find, the rafting along is about $65-$70 for two.

 

Thanks,

Dan

 

 

Dan, actually I think this is the company we looked at doing http://www.libertytoursjamaica.com/falmouth-

 

[The Fun Researcher]

1 hour ago, karena1 said:

Dan, actually I think this is the company we looked at doing http://www.libertytoursjamaica.com/falmouth-

 

 

Thank you!

 

Dan

[MrSchwump]

On a Princess Cruise a couple of years ago I did a trip to a Rastafarian village through the cruise line. It was very interesting, especially if you have an interest in Reggae music and the Rastafarian culture. Really nice people who were welcoming to and open to questions about their lifestyle. Definitely something different that you can’t do anywhere else. 

[kcsavage]

 We used Ricardo Riley with libertytoursjamaica.com and they were fantastic.   We went to the Blue Hole.   We had our parents and kids along too and everyone had a great time.  One of the best excursions we've ever been on.   Have fun!

[The Fun Researcher]

17 hours ago, kcsavage said:

 We used Ricardo Riley with libertytoursjamaica.com and they were fantastic.   We went to the Blue Hole.   We had our parents and kids along too and everyone had a great time.  One of the best excursions we've ever been on.   Have fun!

 

Thanks again for the reply.  Can you describe this tour for me? (Blue Hole, specifically with Ricardo)  Did you do anything on the way to the Blue Hole, or after?  I think I read that there is a small hike through woods/jungle to get there?  I'm trying to understand what you all get to do on the Blue Hole tour.  I always love excursions that give us a good appreciation for the islands we visit.  We've done Dunn's River Fall's and Green grotto cave in previous visits so don't need to repeat those.

 

I'm trying to decide between the Blue Hole or rafting the Martha Brae.  I'm also open to doing both depending on timing and cost.

 

Thanks.

 

Dan

Edited September 24, 2019 by The Fun Researcher

[72islandcruiser]

You can try the Bob marley tour, takes you through the mountain side to his resting place. Not a very active tour but very interesting. The blue hole is very fun its not as commercialized as the dunns falls, you get to climb the falls which isn't very tall, do rope swings and swim. River tubing is also pretty good to relax or the river kayaks. We used a local company Globe trotter adventure tours, great service and we had a good time. 

 

[jiimmy2k]

On 8/13/2019 at 4:54 PM, karena1 said:

We have done the river rafting down the Martha Brae a couple times and really like it.  Both time through the ship, but there are some private vendors that are good also.  We were going to use a private one last time, but we had so much on board credit we did it through the ship instead

 

Try Braco Horseback Riding. This is a load of fun and its very close to falmouth 

[karena1]

23 hours ago, jiimmy2k said:

Try Braco Horseback Riding. This is a load of fun and its very close to falmouth 

HaHa, you could not get me on a horse for anything!

[The Fun Researcher]

Thanks for the suggestions all, we're going with Ricardo Riley of Liberty Tours Jamaica.  We have a custom tour setup. 

 

Our tentative plans so far:  Doing the Martha Brae bamboo River Rafting, Touring the Rose Hall Great House and then hitting up Scotchies for some authentic jerk chicken or fish.

Dan

[heidikay]

On 9/30/2019 at 4:33 PM, The Fun Researcher said:

Thanks for the suggestions all, we're going with Ricardo Riley of Liberty Tours Jamaica.  We have a custom tour setup. 

 

Our tentative plans so far:  Doing the Martha Brae bamboo River Rafting, Touring the Rose Hall Great House and then hitting up Scotchies for some authentic jerk chicken or fish.

Dan

Do you mind sharing how much that costs? Sounds like a fun tour. 

[The Fun Researcher]

14 minutes ago, heidikay said:

Do you mind sharing how much that costs? Sounds like a fun tour. 

 

Sure:

 

Roundtrip Transportation private tour for your group would be $250.00 total.

 

On your arrival at the venue you would pay the fees $30.00 each at the rafting and $25.00 each at the great house.

 

Dan

[heidikay]

3 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

 

Sure:

 

Roundtrip Transportation private tour for your group would be $250.00 total.

 

On your arrival at the venue you would pay the fees $30.00 each at the rafting and $25.00 each at the great house.

 

Dan

Thank you

[vacationlover_mn]

Dunn’s River falls is cool to do once.  However, now that I’m older and more cautious, I’m like - wow!  Why the heck did we risk breaking an arm/leg 😉

[shark&minnow]

We did the bamboo raft tour through the cruise line. it was one of our best ever. 

 

 

 

 

 

[misguy]

Here is an interview with a tour guide from Jamaica on what good options are for the various ports. 

 

[The Fun Researcher]

Awesome replies.  Thank you very much!

 

Dan

[vacationlover_mn]

Just as an FYI, our Jamaica excursion went way down in price for our Feb RCI cruise.  If anyone has booked RCI excursions, I recommend reprising ASAP!

[The Fun Researcher]

19 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Just as an FYI, our Jamaica excursion went way down in price for our Feb RCI cruise.  If anyone has booked RCI excursions, I recommend reprising ASAP!

 

You're right, the Martha Brae bamboo rafting dropped about $20pp!  However, I checked with my family and they still want to do the private tour with Ricardo Riley of Liberty Tours Jamaica (including Martha Brae rafting, Rose Hall tour, Scotchies lunch, and who knows what else) for about twice the cost.  🙂  I'm o.k. with that but if I were looking for a nice single excursion, that price would have been great.  Thanks for the heads up vacationlover_mn

 

Dan