Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica
by: Clint Leung
One of the ports of call for our Royal Caribbean cruiseship was Ocho
Rios, Jamaica. Probably the most famous site in the region is Dunn's
River Falls and we chose to tour it on our own rather than through
one of the cruiseship tours. Once we disembarked from the cruiseship,
there were cabs and shuttlebuses available at the pier. Cabs to Dunn's
River Falls were $22 US for a return trip. Cabs allowed 1-3 people per
vehicle. We were also told at the pier that small shuttlebuses also
go to the Falls at $5.50 US per person. These were also based on return
trips. The only problem with shuttlebuses was that we had to wait until
they filled up the shuttle before leaving for the Falls so since we
were the first on the bus, we had to wait about 15 minutes for it to
fill up. The driver then asks you when you want to be picked up at the
Falls for the return trip. Our driver suggested 2 hours to see the Falls
so we agreed on this time duration.
Once at the Falls, a woman then came onboard the shuttle to sell tickets
for admission to the site at $10 US per adult person which was the same
rate at the park's ticket booth. Once inside the Dunn's facility, there
were rentals for special rubber shoes as well as lockers. We carried
a small backpack so we didn't require paying for a locker. We also brought
along our scuba diving booties so we didn't have to rent those rubber
shoes on site either. The cruiseship shop was also selling these rubber
shoes in advance. Shoes of some type are highly recommended as the rocks
on the Falls can be slippery and some of the bottoms of the water pools
are a bit rocky. If you have old sneakers you don't mind getting wet,
they will be suitable for the climb up the falls as well. Our scuba
diving booties turned out to be sufficient. 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.
There are official guides dressed in blue polo shirts and shorts who
will take groups up the falls. Normally, they will ask to carry all
cameras for you so they can take photos of you as you climb. Of course,
they expect to be well tipped for their services. Also, groups were
told to hold hands forming a human chain up the falls. This was suppose
to make things safer but as we witnessed, this method of going up the
falls is not a guarantee against falling. We saw a woman let go and
she fell down the rocks during one of the steeper sections. She wasn't
badly hurt but we imagined that she sustained some nice bruises. There
are various points along the falls where you could get off the falls
and back on the stairs to walk up the rest of the way. Not everyone
there attempted to climb the falls as many were happy to just walk dry
along the side on the stairs. We chose not to go with any of the groups
which tend to go up the left side of the falls. We made our way up on
our own mostly on the right side. With some breaks for photos, we made
it all the way up the falls in about 30 minutes. Going with a group
would have taken longer for sure. The water is a bit cool and if you
have a wetsuit, it is highly suggested that you wear it for the climb.
Cameras used there up the falls are also recommended to be water resistant
since they likely will get wet. We left our digital camera on the ship
and took one of those $25 underwater cameras.
After climbing the falls, we headed back down to the relatively small
but uncrowded beach where the ocean water was warmer until it was time
to depart. The exit back at the top of the falls was strategically located
at the end of a market so we did have to go through some locals who
tried to sell us their souveniers. These locals who worked inside the
Dunn's site were hustling but not as aggressively as those in the town
of Ocho Rios. The shuttlebus arrived at the site parking lot on time
as agreed. The total amount we spent including the park admission and
the shuttle was $31 US for the two of us. Taking an organized tour through
the cruiseship would have cost more than double this amount. So it is
quite possible to tour Dunn's River Falls on your own rather than take
the more expensive tours. We were glad that we did see Dunn's River
Falls but we thought that it was not nearly as impressive as depicted
on photos in travel brochures.
The official website for Dunn's River Falls is http://www.dunnsriverja.com
About The Author - Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit
Gallery (http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca),
an online gallery specializing in Inuit and Northwest Native art including
carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information
resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native art as well
as free eCards.
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