Jamaica
Trip Start
Feb 01, 2005
1
12
145
Trip End
Dec 31, 2008
Montego Bay / Negril,
Jamaica
Saturday, April 9, 2005
We came away from the Caribbean with very mixed experiences and feelings. We discovered the Caribbean is not really for the independent traveller but wholly and solely set up for the packaged all inclusive tourists who love to throw their money around.
After enjoying our time in Cuba we flew into Montego Bay Jamaica. From the moment we arrived it was hassle, hassle, hassle! Our entire time in Montego Bay we were swooped on, tooted at, pushed, shoved, hassled and scammed. This improved somewhat when we moved location to a beach resort in Negril. Nevertheless it left us feeling so disappointed at Jamaica that Avan wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper to say they are missing out on the independent traveller who spends with the locals in favour of the monied tourist who stays in multi-national resorts and Jamaica does not get to keep the bulk of their tourist dollars
1 Jamaican fisherman on Black River
. There are hardly any backpackers - they obviously have heeded warnings. One of the most popular approaches is ¨remember me I'm the security guard at your hotel¨ as they grab hold of you. This was offered by at least 5 men individually yet our security guard was female! We would walk past 5 taxis in a row and they all hear you say no to the first, but they hassle you anyway. I imagined a laid back place with reggae playing on the streets and beautiful people (we got that later in Negril) but in Montego Bay all we heard was boom box techno and people who saw us as walking banks needing to be separated from their dollars.SCAM ALERT
The big scam was a day tour. A local tour guide had struck up a conversation, each time we passed, in a more genuine way. Avan and he discussed the state of the cricket and we felt maybe we could trust booking a tour with him. He showed us a brochure outlining the trip - the brochure offered each way transport, a tour on the Black river, lunch then a visit to a waterfall. We negotiated a price in US$ which was the same as we had paid in Cuba for all day with lunch and 2 tourist spots. However when we arrived at the river we were taken to the cashier to pay for the boat ride. It was all a bit rushed as the boat was ready to go, but at the conclusion of the tour we tackled the driver - he advised the boat trip wasn't included in the deal. Avan hit the roof and he reluctantly agreed we could deduct the cost from his total
2 Friend James at firefly beach bar in Negril
. He then asked where we wanted to go now??? We said lunch and the waterfall as per the brochure - "ah no the waterfall closes soon and it is not included, nor is lunch". (He was in earshot when other passengers on the boat trip were discussing they were going to the waterfall next). Our tourist guide insisted that we were only paying for the transport down to the river. Disillusioned we asked him to take us somewhere for a fish lunch. He headed back towards Montego Bay and stopped at a roadside stall beside a river and we were immediately surrounded by many vendors pushing their faces into the windows of the van trying to sell, what appeared to us, to be the same food products. It was so frantic and crazy we didn't even get out of the car but asked to be taken back to our hotel.In most places in the world we have been to if there is hassling and touts it reduces as the locals get to know you but this was not the case in Montego bay. So on our return from our day trip we decided that if we were to salvage any enjoyment from our Jamaican stay we would move to the resort strip at Negril (against our principals but necessary for sanity). We took one of the hassling taxis to the bus park - on discovering it was the same company as the day trip man we complained about our treatment. He quite happily advised the brochure we showed him (that we had been shown to sell the trip) was from another company and we should have known that, so effectively it was our fault
3 Jamaican Sunset with Texan friends Doug and Amy
! Obviously he was also a party to the scam!!. We arrived at the bus park, found a local transport, agreed on a price to Negril and climbed aboard. However the bus stopped half way at Lucia and we were told we had to change buses and pay again! While Avan was trying to sort this with the driver, Heather was having a massive battle at the back of the bus trying to hang onto the backpacks as a crowd of about 10 taxi and bus drivers were all trying to grab them. Avan lost his cool and flew into them, we were both shouting and pushing and shoving to achieve some space and distance. At this time our original bus driver appeared and said we should take the taxi he had organized for us which we did. Bad decision! The taxi driver took off, with us on board, laughing like a maniac, taunting the others who had been fighting over our fare. Once we cleared town he started driving faster and more erratically. When he passed a vehicle on a blind corner of a narrow road doing 120 km in an 80 km zone, Avan demanded he stop and let us out. When he didn't Avan whacked him over the head with his hat and opened the car door to show he was serious! The driver´s side kick in the front seat said Avan was out of order and that we were going to the police. Avan quickly agreed that was indeed a good idea and demanded that is where we wanted to go, to report the driver. The driver (who we noticed looked decidedly stoned) decided the police were NOT a good idea and agreed to drive sanely from then on and did.We arrived at our lovely little beach cabin at Firefly Negril and finally unwound and relaxed. There were still a few hassles here but much less. We made some wonderful friends amongst the guests and enjoyed long walks on the beach and live reggae music at nights. The beach where we were, was almost exclusively expensive all inclusive resorts but our accommodation was locally owned with little wooden shacks right on the beach. So now we had settled down and relaxed a bit we were ready to move on and see what St. Maartin had to offer.........
Comments
That's unfortunate
I'm glad I found your blog entry, but was pretty disheartened to read it. It makes me sad when people have bad experiences in Jamaica because I'm an avid independent traveler to Jamaica and have not had one single bad experience. I'm a single female and hit Jamaica about twice a year, sometimes I bring my son with me. We've done everything from all-inclusive (which I hate) to little wooden shacks on the beach (which we LOVED).
Its unfortunate you didn't get to see the Jamaica I, along with so many others, see. I've moderated a Jamaican chat forum for 5 years now and so many of us are independent travelers and I've not once read a story like yours. However, on the flip-side, I can sympathize because Jamaica has a bad rep anyways. A sizable amount of people think Jamaica is dangerous, has too much crime, etc.
My love for the 'native' country along with the bad rep people seem to give it was what inspired me to start my travel group. People who might want to experience Jamaica as a tourist, but to go with someone who knows the ropes by trial and error. So I started a group travel site where I have multiple pre-arranged trips, you know exactly what you're getting up front, and you're paying a Canadian to make arrangements, not taking your chances when you get there. You may never go back but maybe you can pass it on.
http://www.offbeatisland.com
Anyways, I'm glad you were honest and hopefully you have better luck in your future travels!
Take care!
grandma Porter
has anyoneseen grandma porter on redground recently? would love to see fer again
Re: That's unfortunate
have you seen grandma porter in redground recently