Call or email for assistance planning your trip: +1 (212) 203-0064 | reservations@moonjamaica.com
Reggae Xplosion (Island Village Plaza, tel. 876/675-8895, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sat., US$7 or US$3.50 for locals) is a museum offering an interactive history of reggae music; push a button to listen to tracks at each booth. Along with the shopping center itself, Reggae Xplosion is owned by Island Jamaica, Chris Blackwell's Jamaican venture.
Harmony Hall (Tower Isle, tel. 876/975-4222, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Tues.–Sun.) is a beautiful old great house with a gallery on the second floor run by Peter and Anabella Proudlock. It features works by the likes of Susan Shirley and Graham Davis and several other contemporary painters. There is also a nice bookshop in the gallery with cookbooks and works by local authors.
Rio Nuevo Battle Site, just east of Harmony Hall, is the location of the decisive battle that left Jamaica in English hands. After three years of guerrilla warfare and harassment of the British, the last Spanish governor, Don Cristobal de Ysassi, finally received reinforcements from Cuba to help retake the island.
Ocho Rios Fort is located beside the Reynolds bauxite installation and the helicopter pad for Island Hoppers. The fort was built in the late 17th century. Like many other forts on the island, it was strengthened in 1780 when a French attack was feared imminent. In 1795, an enemy vessel appeared off Ocho Rios harbor but, fearing the guns there, it made an attack at Mammee Bay.
White River Valley runs along the St. Ann–St. Mary border, where the White River was an important feature for the Spaniards, who built the first thoroughfare from the South to North Coasts along its banks. The oldest Spanish bridge on the island can still be seen at the river's upper reaches, just above Chukka Caribbean's kayaking and tubing site.
Yahman Adventure Park is located at 405-hectare (1,000-acre) Prospect Plantation, bought by Sir Harold Mitchell in 1936 and still owned by his heirs. Mitchell entertained all manner of dignitaries in the great house and at the estate's luxurious villas. A tradition held that his guests would plant a tree on the grounds to mark their visit.
H2O (Shop #22, Coconut Grove Shopping Centre, tel. 876/795-1728 or 876/332-0035, 12 p.m.–4 a.m. daily), the brainchild of reggae songstress Tanya Stephens, opened in December 2008 as a cozy bar, restaurant, and music venue.
Margaritaville (9 a.m.–4 a.m. on club nights Mon., Wed., and Sat. and 9 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sun., Tues., Thurs., and Fri.) is Ochi's most popular club with the tourist crowd. This is one of Jimmy Buffet's chains, and it sees a lot of debauchery--the pool party on Wednesdays attracts a large crowd.
Amnesia (US$3–7, cash only) is Ochi's most authentic, down-market Jamaican nightclub. Thursday is Ladies' Night and gets quite busy, with a regular after-work jam and occasional deejay performances on Fridays. Muddy Mondays features mud wrestling.
Blitz Nightclub (4 DaCosta Drive, aka Main St., tel. 876/974-4407 or cell tel. 876/899-5540, 10 p.m.–6 a.m. Tues. and Fri., admission US$7) is open only on Tuesdays for an after party following Ocean 11's karaoke night, and Fridays for ladies night, dubbed Girls Gone Wild, where women pay no cover.
