Call or email for assistance planning your trip: +1 (212) 203-0064 | reservations@moonjamaica.com
Charles Swaby's Black River Safari (US$25 adult, US$12 children 3-11), run by parent company South Coast Safari, has a pontoon boat tour up the Black River for 75 minutes with a commentary by the captain. Tours run daily at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m, 2 p.m, and 3:30 p.m Swaby started the tour in 1987.
Irie Safari (8:30 a.m.\5 p.m Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.\4 p.m Sun.) offers a narrated tour on pontoon boats lasting 75 minutes (US$17 per person, minimum charge of US$40 per boat with two people). Proprietor Lloyd Linton is a wetland biologist who leads many of the tours himself.
One of the most exceptional attractions in all of Jamaica, Pelican Bar is a ramshackle structure less than 1.5 kilometers offshore on a sandbar off Parotee Point. Run by the charismatic Denever Forbes, known by everybody as Floyde, Pelican Bar serves drinks and cooks up excellent plates of fish (US$10) and lobster (US$15) accompanied by rice, bammy, or festival.
Y.S. Falls (9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m Tues.-Sun., US$17 adults, US$8.50 children 3-15 years) on the Y.S. Estate is by far the best conceived and organized waterfalls destination in Jamaica. It's been operated by Simon Browne since 1991. The Y.S. River changes with weather--crystal clear blue normally, and swelling after rain in the mountains to make the perfect venue for tubing (US$6).
One of the most beautiful four-kilometer stretches of road in Jamaica, running from Middle Quarters to West Lacovia, Bamboo Avenue is also known as Holland Bamboo.
Appleton Estate offer one of the most popular tours (9 a.m.-3 p.m Mon.\Sat., US$22 admission includes a miniature bottle of rum) on the South Coast, well within reach for those staying anywhere from Montego Bay, to Negril and Treasure Beach.
Isolated from the rest of the island by the Santa Cruz mountains, which create the area's distinct coastal desert environment by capturing the westbound rainfall, Treasure Beach is a catch-all name for a series of bays and fishing villages that extend from Fort Charles at the greater community's western edge, to Billy's Bay, Frenchman's Bay, and Great Bay on the eastern edge of
Salt River, 10 minutes east of Lionel Town near the coast, has a public mineral spring that is a favorite cooling off spot among locals.
Irie River (US$15) is a beautiful garden park on the banks of the White River southeast of Ochi that makes a great morning or afternoon day trip for a dip or to enjoy a picnic. The gardens host occasional events. To get there, head east out of town, taking a right off the highway opposite the entrance to Jamaica Inn just past the Texaco gas station.
Reggae Beach (contact Kavona, cell tel. 876/473-7077, 8 a.m.–6 p.m., 9 a.m.–midnight on Fri.–Sun., admission US$9.50) is a picturesque stretch of sand on an unspoiled cove a few minutes' drive east of Ocho Rios. The beach hosts excellent annual events like Luau and Frenchman's Parties, and an occasional stage show.
