|
There's another side to Jamaica, where time is slow, sweet
and happy. This is the western coast, where lush tropical
scenes and wide sandy beaches look towards the world's most
stunning sunsets.
It's an easy-going free-spirited place where you shed the
clutter and pressures of metropolitan life, and float into
a natural place set by the sun and sea. You slip out of your
inhibitions as easily as you slip out of your travelling clothes.
These are the shores and bays that knew Buccaneer Calico
Jack and the notorious women pirates, Anne Bonney and
Mary Reid.
Located just about an hour and a half from the airport in
Montego Bay, Negril is a lively, resort-dotted
Caribbean playground which rests peacefully in the deep-blue
sea on the western-most tip of the island of Jamaica, and
is most famous for its seven mile long beach.
Negril is home to a number of world-famous, all-inclusive
resorts, large and small hotels, private villas, cabins, cosy
guest houses and cottages.
There are many things to see and do in Negril besides just
hanging out on the beach or staying put within the confines
of a hotel or resort. Negril boasts a conglomeration of tourist
facilities stretching for about fifteen miles from Bloody
Bay to the Lighthouse and continues to grow.
A favourite hot spot, just down the road on the beachfront
is called Risky Business known as the Spring Break
Capital of Jamaica. Risky Business features on MTV's Jamaica
spring break showcases and this place is now regarded
a must visit by many American and Canadian college students.
Situated further down and across the boulevard is the Negril
Tree House Resort, which is more like a family-orientated
vacation spot which boasts an upstairs, open-air dining patio,
bar & lounge, water-sports facilities and numerous activities
for kids and adults. There are also a number of fine properties
including the famous Alfred's Ocean Palace, named after
Alfred Arthurs - an icon in town and from one of the original
Negril families. Alfred's as it is called locally, hosts regular
nightly reggae and variety floor shows featuring gymnasts,
fire eaters, limbo dancers, live bands and some of the most
talented bartenders anywhere in Jamaica. What is very special
about Alfred's is the continuous music that floats out from
the bar area which helps to attract vacationers from neighbouring
hotels, cabins and resorts in the area as well as locals.
More and more package tourists are heading to Negril, for
its rum, reggae and rich history, from the capture of the
infamous pirate Calico Jack in 1720 to the filming of the
Walt Disney movie Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Other activities in this seaside resort also include horseback
riding, bicycling on its many bluffs and of course a wide
variety of water sport activities such as kayaking,
snorkelling, diving and water skiing. For the more
relaxed, Negril also offers excellent shopping and dining
choices. Also don't forget to visit the Courtyard Garden
situated in the Negril Beach Club. The garden is a
sanctuary for a variety of tropical birds and flora. Here
you can see the unique humming bird, locally known as the
Doctor Bird, Exotic Bald Plate Doves, Cling Clings and
egrets which nest and feed in a natural habitat.
|
