Report on Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica

One of the ports of call for our Royal Caribbean cruiseship during the week
of November 28/04 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

Clint

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