Again, the ship docks at a large pier and it’s not a long walk to the port terminal buildings. There is a building to the right where ship excursions meet but as we had booked ourselves with Peat Taylor Tours we followed a sign to the left that said “Pre-Booked Tours.” This led us to a parking lot with taxis but no other signs for our tour. Jamaicans eyed us but didn’t offer any information. We were definitely in the wrong place. We walked back to the terminal entrance and walked straight ahead to the main gates where we saw women with shirts that read “Dispatcher.” We asked them for Peat Taylor and they directed us to our bus. We met our driver who did have our name on his list. The bus held about 20 people and we got underway quickly.
We had signed up to climb Dunn’s River Falls, a long-time tourist attraction here. Peat Taylor Tours promises to get you up the falls before the crowds arrive and they lived up to that promise. We left the port area before many buses did, and were among the first to arrive at the waterfall park. We were quickly ushered into the park and got with our tour guides. We were the first group to go up the falls that day.
We walked down to the beach, probably 100 feet down. The Dunn’s River rushes to the ocean over hundreds of feet of rocky terraces and this is where you climb up 300 feet to the take-out platform. People scrub the rocks daily, so there is a minimum of slippage on the rocks. There is a guide in the front, the group holds hands for support, and the guide tells you where to place your feet as you climb up alongside the edges of the falls. There is also a videographer, who takes video of the tour. You can buy your tour’s video (with about 10 minutes of tourism commercial added) for about $40 at the end of the tour.
Don’t wear flip flops or crocs, but a water shoe with straps is fine. I wore Keens, with the toe protection, and they were great. You will get wet, and the guides love to get you under a rock with water rushing over it for photo ops. The guides will carry your camera for you and take appropriately scenic shots with you and without you in them.
It took about 45 minutes to climb up the falls, and by the time our group finished, there were lines of tourists going up the falls behind us.
The scenery is dense tropical forest, and you can’t see the top of the falls. It is beautiful, but hard to stop and enjoy since the group is moving up the rocks so quickly.
We had ample time to get changed and get a drink at the food stall area of the park. The Peat Taylor guides had warned us about the aggressive shop keepers and to be prepared to bargain and purchase if you stopped to handle merchandise or strike up a conversation with sellers. We walked through the outdoor shopping area quickly, with polite “no thanks” when we were approached.
We did give a couple of dollars to the man with the donkey who let us take his picture.
Back on the bus, O’Neal, Peat Taylor’s son led us on a tour of the city of Ocho Rios, up the mountain via the rainforest road called Fern Gully, over the mountain ridge to a lookout spot, then down to town. We saw Ian Fleming’s house, and the area where some of the Rolling Stones’ band had homes. A few of us wanted to go to a beach, so the bus dropped us at Mahogany Beach, a small cove with palapas, food stalls and shops. We spend a couple of hours relaxing and then our driver was there to collect us and take us back to town.
Near the port terminal are several shopping areas, so we checked out a few. We felt very safe walking in these well-trafficked areas. We enjoyed our tour. and would recommend Peat Taylor Tours.
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