Dunn's River Fall with kids, how safe is it?

[Nebr.cruiser]

I think people who haven't been there have a misconception that you arrive at the bottom of the falls. Unless you arrive by boat, you arrive at the top and walk down along the path and steps to the ocean, where you start your journey up. If you don't climb the falls, you can walk back up the same way; there are some viewing areas and a bench or two for rests.

 

I've done the falls once and enjoyed it a lot, but I thought it was fairly hard; when we went on a family cruise with grandkids 3, 4, 5&5 and their parents, we grandparents elected to stay with the little kids on the beach at the bottom. I personally wouldn't take kids that young up the falls. If you are able to help them a lot, (not that easy when you're trying to keep your own balance) they'll probably be ok, especially if they are the adventerous type, but it can be a challange, and people do get hurt.

 

Our guide told us that broken bones are an almost daily occurance, and we saw two people back at our ship who had very large bruises and scrapes--enough to make walking difficult for them--after falling on the rocks.

 

It also makes a difference how much rain there has been and how high the water is. The rocks are very slippery. Deeper, faster water is much harder for smaller people.

 

Take a private tour which will get you there at a time to avoid the worst crowds. I wouldn't want to be in the lines of people going up holding hands, myself; we hired a guy who guided us up, just the two of us, and I felt much more confident that way. We weren't in danger of being knocked over or dragged down by others falling.

 

We also took the whole group river rafting, including the 3, 4, 5& 5 year-olds. They all absolutely loved this and wanted to do it again. Each young child sat on a tube with an adult, and the guides, who are actually in the river helping guide the tubes, were great. The tubes had bottoms. Note: all our grandkids love and are very comfortable in water (we live on a lake) and are not timid about new things.

 

We did a small amount of driving around touring also, which they didn't much enjoy. The beach is always a great place for young kids. We used a private guide, Phil Lafayette, who was great.

[sunnyshine]

It's pretty tough. Especially if you climb to the very top. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make the hoist out of the water and up onto the wall. It was serious! I don't see how little ones and older people could do it. I would not take my kids on the falls, unless they were teens.

[dmdiver]

We did this last month through the ship. First of all, I loved the physical act of climbing the falls. Yes, it was tough in some places, but fun. However, there were tons of people there, each group required to hold hands. That is great for helping each other step up onto the rocks, but a scary thought if someone should fall & take everyone down with them. A fellow passenger said they had done this before, but went independent of the ship & went early in the morning. They arrived before all the cruise passengers & enjoyed their climb a lot. While I typically book through the ship, this is one excursion that I would not do that way again.

[sunflower girl]

My Dh and I did it and thought it was not challenging enough, would have preferred no foot holds and not having to be part of a chain of people. I will admit that I caught the guy infront of me once and my Dh saved the teenaged girl behind him a couple of times...but

 

We hike and swim and climb on pretty much a weekly basis. My 5 yo has GREAT Keen water shoes, can swim well and is used to doing such things. I am sure she would have a blast and I trust myself and DH enough to help her if needed.

 

If your family is not "outdoorsy" I would not recommend doing this with a child, but if you are I think it would be a lot of fun.

[Iluvjo]

I say NO WAY. My wife (24) and I (32) went. She is very athletic and wound up falling twice and could have cracked her head right open. It was very cold, slippery and slimy. The people are not very helpful past the first couple waves of rocks and we got off the falls very early. Afterwards we were badgered by locals to buy drugs. We hated the entire experience. We'd NEVER GO BACK. By the way, LOVE cruising and Royal Caribbean and continue with them after 6 years.

[dmdiver]

Ouch! Sorry your guide wasn't helpful. Ours was always sure to point out the more secure places to step.

[GOLDENBONNY]

you dont have to climb,there is beautiful stairs you can use to go up and down(that what we did)and my Dh just whent to water in one point)so you can go no problem to this excursion