Negril Day Trip - Martha Brae

[travel.tripper]

Has anyone made the trek to Martha Brae from Negril? Is it the only spot that does the bamboo raft? I think it sounds really romantic as only two sit on the raft. I think it's an all day thing, but I'd like to know if it's worth the trek?

[tpon]

have you checked into the mayfield falls tour? Not as romantic but really awesome country side and natural falls with pools to climb and swim in. We did martha brae about 10 years ago when we were staying closer to it and it was okay. nothing to rant and rave about imho!

[travel.tripper]

yeah, we checked into mayfield falls and Y.S. falls too, guess they really are better choices considering the location. So you didn't think Martha Brae was all that huh? Well, maybe we'll skip it since it's really pricey anyway!

Any suggestions on who to use for the tours? I'm thinking of Talk of the Town Tours, they seem reputable.

[tpon]

I have heard good things about them but we have always used and referred people to Errol. check out his website if you are interested.

errolflynntours.com

[travel.tripper]

hey there! I've heard of errol before somewhere... I'll check him out. Since it's our first time, we booked our transfer w/ our room thru negrilonestop. I've heard good things about them, hope all goes well! I'll check out errol for our tours. I think that wild thing cruise looks neat too! Is that the cruise that takes you to pirate's cave? Or is there another one?

[tpon]

We have done the cat cruise once to ricks cafe about 6 years ago it was fun to do once. we tokk a taxi to pirate's cave from swept away, negril 2 years a go and didn't like the set up. last year, rick's was destroyed so we we ended up at xtabi for some drinking and jumping. Ricks is now rebuilt, complete with a pool right next to the cliffs with tables in it. reggae bands plays every day. While more "touristy" then pirates cave we prefer ricks approach and we will take errol van to it. i believe he provides free transfers to Ricks. hope this helps!

[travel.tripper]

tpon: hmmm, Errol quoted me $5 per person to rick's. oh well. I hear you can barter quite a bit there and I know to always confirm price before getting into a cab. Thanks for the info!

[tpon]

Wasn't sure as i stated about free or not. But $5 is a great price especially since it is so much less than a cat cruise. thanks for the update!

[travel.tripper]

hey tpon: I saw the fee advertised on Errol's website and emailed him for the quote. He's offering 50% discount for the shuttle. The $5 per person is the discount. Yeah, not bad for the price. I'm thinking of taking our own snorkel gear, not sure if they provide it there or if it's costly. Although I have no idea where to buy fins or if I should just forget those and try to rent them there -- after all, we only get to go snorkeling twice a year! Maybe if I can find them cheaply...

[travel.tripper]

oh yeah, then there's the darn mask! We have the snout part, the hose, from when we visited xtapa in Mexico.

[tpon]

Are you planning to snorkel at ricks? water can be rough! if you want to snorkel the cliffs, you might want to inquire about xtabi. a lot easier to enter and exit water etc. I think they even rent the gear.

[travel.tripper]

actually I have no idea where to snorkel, that's one reason why I thought about one of those cruises, I hear they take you snorkeling (a reef?).

I'll look into xtabi -- thanks so much for the input. I didn't think the water was rough at ricks!

[tpon]

It is up on the cliffs. For snorkeling, if your are staying at coco, you can use famous vincent. he will pick you up on the beach and take you out to the reefs.

[travel.tripper]

so should we not bother trying to snorkel at xtabi? Do we really need to bring gear? (we aren't that picky about renting it if it is cheap).

oh, and how can I contact Famous Vincent? Thanks!

[tpon]

Iwouldn't bring my stuff. Check out this website:
http://www.negriljamaica.com/negrilscubacentre.html