March of last year I finally had the amazing opportunity to climb Jamaica’s famous Dunn’s River Falls!

We arrived by way of a Western Caribbean Norwegian Getaway Cruise; if you’ve never taken a cruise you MUST add it to your bucket list.  Erase every fear and preconceived notion from your mind. Cruising is by far my favorite way to vacation.

Disclosure: There are affiliate links below, which means if you purchase I receive small compensation to keep this blog running.  These are items we used on our trip and consider must haves!

Dunn’s River Falls is a Jamaican national treasure and it’s easy to see why.  Perched on top of a dreamy white sand beach is 600 feet of terraced waterfalls and swim-able lagoons that empty into the Caribbean Sea.  Of course I found it cool that the first James Bond movie and Cocktail (Tom Cruise) were filmed here.

We made our way off the cruise ship and met with our scheduled driver. Clearly, this was our lucky day because we had him to ourselves (more on this later!).  We arrived knowing the falls are Jamaica’s busiest tourist destination, lines and chaos were expected, thankfully, we didn’t experience that (Early bird gets the worm! Thanks for that teaching, Mom).

Our driver helped us make our way down the rain forest pathway to the lockers and check-in, and then, with no time wasted we headed toward the sandy beaches to trek our way back up in the refreshingly cool water.  The rushing cold water was a welcomed treat in Jamaica’s hot, humid sun.  Our tour guide was hilarious and kept us feeling safe! He showed our group exactly where to walk next on the natural limestone “steps” so that we didn’t hurt ourselves, or anyone else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before we left home for our cruise we purchased trendy aqua socks (water shoes) that kept us from slipping and kept sand from getting on our feet (ouch!).   These, along with our waterproof bag were must haves!  And sunscreen, don’t forget sunscreen.  We witnessed so many poor souls who didn’t “get the memo” about the need for water shoes and ended up wearing their tennis shoes in.  This is just a big NO.  Don’t be this guy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My top 4 tips for visiting the falls:

• Get there EARLY (accept the earliest reservation you can get)
• Pre-purchase water shoes to take with you
• Pre-purchase a water proof bag for your belongings (I’m not one to leave ANYTHING behind in a foreign country)
• Have FUN. Let loose. Put your head and hair back under the “shower” of water!

We had read reviews that warned us to be leery vendors while walking back to our driver; however, we did not have any negative experiences with the vendors. We just browsed and kindly said, “no, thank you” in a confident tone if we we’re asked to purchase something.

Earlier I promised to get back to the lucky day part.  This is unheard of on a cruise ship vacation.  We had our driver ALL TO OURSELVES…all day.  Amazing, right!?   So, after he picked us back up from the falls we asked him to take us to his favorite “jerk” restaurant so we could eat with locals and enjoy local flavor. Lunch on us, of course.  He was happy to oblige and sat with us through a wonderful, sun-soaked lunch of jerk chicken, beans & rice and cold, delicious Jamaican beer.

After lunch, we asked him to drop us off at the beach at Jimmy Buffet’s MargaritaVille. We handed him a great tip and went our separate ways.  The afternoon was spent sipping pina coladas and experiencing the crystal blue Caribbean Sea.  When the time came to board the ship we were exhausted, it was a perfect day.

Have you been on a cruise!? I want to hear about it! 

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Happy Cruising, 

-Serena