Globe Countries Cities Dispatches About Get the App
Jamaica

Things to do in Negril

Why you should go

Ninety seconds on Negril

At the western tip of Jamaica, a long crescent of sand runs north from a limestone headland riddled with sea caves. Once a fishing village and a hippie hideout, the place now serves as the base for the island's sunset coast. The drive from the Montego Bay airport takes about ninety minutes on a coast highway. Winter is dry and busy, while autumn brings rain and storm risk. The beach strip and the cliffs are different holidays, so the choice of side matters more than the choice of hotel.

5 places on record
View on globe

Things to do

5
  1. Mayfield Falls

    Waterfall · 3 hr

    Inland in the Dolphin Head hills, a shallow river steps down through a chain of small cascades and pools shallow enough to wade up with a guide. The road in is rough and the trip takes most of a day from the coast. Water shoes matter, and the flow runs low towards the end of the dry season.

  2. Negril Cliffs

    Viewpoint · 2 hr

    South of the beach, the shoreline hardens into pitted limestone that drops straight into clear water, with ladders and steps cut down to it from hotel terraces. Snorkelling is better here than on the sand, and caves at the water line can be swum into on calm days. There is no beach, so entry means a jump or a ladder.

  3. Negril Lighthouse

    Tower · 30 min

    Standing at the western point of Jamaica since 1894, this concrete tower still guides shipping and keeps a keeper on site who shows visitors up the stairs when duties allow. The platform gives a clean line along the cliffs in both directions. It sits a short ride beyond the bars, and the approach road is rough.

  4. Rick's Café

    Landmark · 2 hr

    Cliff-top bar on the West End, known for divers who leap from a platform above deep water and from the almond tree beside it. Crowds gather for the sunset show, arriving by taxi and by boat from the beach strip in the late afternoon. Hurricane damage has forced rebuilds more than once, so the layout changes.

  5. Seven Mile Beach

    Beach · 4 hr

    Pale sand curves along the western shore for several kilometres, backed by low hotels and shaded by sea grape. Water stays shallow and calm here, which suits swimming and flattens the surf to almost nothing. Vendors work the sand steadily through the day, and the southern end draws a crowd towards sunset.

Basemap Meridian · data © OpenStreetMap

Last updated

Meridian Dispatch for iPhone

Plan the trip.
Keep the journal.

Every other travel app asks you to start logging. Meridian Dispatch opens with years of your travel already written, from the photographs you already took.