Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica

One of the ports of call for our Royal Caribbean cruise during the week of November 28-4 was Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Probably the most famous site in the region is Dunn’s River Falls and we decided to explore it on our own instead of one of the cruise tours. Once we disembarked from the cruise ship, taxis and buses were available at the dock. Taxis to Dunn’s River Falls are $22 US for a round trip. Taxis allowed 1-3 people per vehicle. We were also told at the pier that small shuttle buses also go to the Falls at $5.50 US per person. These were also based on return trips.

The only problem with the shuttle buses was that we had to wait until they filled the bus before leaving for the falls, so since we were the first to get on the bus, we had to wait about 15 minutes for it to fill up. The driver then asks him when he wants to be picked up at the falls for the return trip. Our driver suggests 2 hours to see the falls, so we agreed on this duration.

Once at the falls, a woman boarded the shuttle to sell tickets to enter the site for $10 per adult, which was the same rate at the park box office. Once inside the Dunn facility, special rubber shoes and lockers were rented. We were carrying a small backpack so we didn’t need to pay for a locker. We also brought our diving boots so we didn’t have to rent those rubber shoes on site either. The cruise shop was also selling these rubber shoes in advance. Shoes of some kind are recommended as the rocks at the falls can be slippery and some of the bottoms of the water pools are a bit rocky. If you have some old sneakers that you don’t mind getting wet, they will also work for climbing the falls. Our diving boots turned out to be enough. The entrance to the site is at the top of the falls, so we took some stairs that were adjacent to the falls to the bottom where the beach and entrance to the climb were.

Official guides dressed in blue polo shirts and shorts will lead groups to the falls. Normally, they will ask you to bring all your cameras so they can take pictures of you as you climb. Of course, they expect to receive good tips for their services. Additionally, the groups were told to hold hands in a human chain towards the falls. This was supposed to make things safer, but as we saw, this method of climbing the falls is not a guarantee against falls. We saw a woman let go and fall down the rocks during one of the steeper sections. She wasn’t seriously hurt, but we imagine she had some nice bruises. There are several points along the falls where she can go down the falls and back up the stairs to go up the rest of the way.

Not everyone attempted to scale the falls, as many were happy to walk dry up the side of the stairs. We decided not to go with any of the groups that tend to go up the left side of the falls. We made our way on our own mostly on the right hand side. With a few breaks for photos, we made it to the falls in about 30 minutes. Sure going with a group would have taken longer. The water is a bit chilly and if you have a wetsuit it is highly recommended that you wear it for the climb. It is also recommended that the cameras used up there above the falls be waterproof as they are likely to get wet. We left our digital camera on the boat and grabbed one of those $25 underwater cameras.

After scaling the falls we headed back to the relatively small but uncrowded beach where the ocean water was warmer until it was time to leave. The exit at the top of the falls was strategically located at the end of a market so we had to walk past some locals trying to sell us their souvenirs. These locals working inside Dunn’s site were rushed but not as aggressive as those in the town of Ocho Rios. The shuttle bus arrived at the site parking lot at the agreed time. The total amount we spent, including park admission and transportation, was $31 USD for the two of us. Taking an organized tour of the cruise ship would have cost more than double this amount. So it’s quite possible to tour Dunn’s River Falls on your own instead of taking the more expensive tours. We were glad we saw Dunn’s River Falls, but thought it wasn’t as impressive as it appears in travel brochure photos.

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