Have you ever seen photos of a place or heard great recommendations and thought – there is no way it will live up to those expectations? Well, in this case, my expectations were exceeded by far! The place you MUST go see while in OCHOS RIOS is…THE BLUE HOLE!!!! Keep reading and checking out more photos below to see why I am so in love with this place but first I wanted to tell you quickly about where we were staying!
My husband and I were able to go to Ochos Rios with a group of friends and we stayed at the fabulous Moon Palace, Ochos Rio paid for by our generous company! Moon Palace, Ochos Rios is an upscale, all-inclusive resort with amazing pools, views, food, and entertainment. One of the best things about the resort is they have a place on-site you can swim with the dolphins. Since I promised my daughter I would not go without her, I did not do the swimming with dolphins this time, but I had a few friends who did and LOVED the experience and photos! It’s not as rushed as other dolphin swim places and they let you take your time with the dolphins. My husband spent hours on the FlowRider and loved doing that and mastering his skills.
When looking at the excursion tour options in Ocho Rios, I was a bit overwhelmed. I was torn between Dunns River, river rafting, river tubing or the Blue Hole. There are lots of other exciting bucket list activities too like ATV riding, ziplining, boat tours, snorkeling, and many more. I decided on the Blue Hole and Dunn’s River tour from Genius Reggae Jamaica Tours because when I travel I like to see and experience unique beauty I can only see in that particular place! I made the right choice!
The tour included transportation to and from the hotel, admission to the locations (they all have admission fees) and a guide for our day at Blue Hole! Genius herself picked us up from our hotel in a nice clean van to start our day of exploring! She was so friendly and welcoming and regaled us with stories on our short 20 minutes drive to the Blue Hole. A few tips: Bring water shoes (or you can buy them for around $10-$12 USD at the Blue Hole), wear sunscreen, bring your own water, waterproof phone case (this one was perfect to wear around your neck to make it easier for photos) or waterproof camera for your many amazing photos you will be taking, and bring TOWELS with you for the bus after your swimming!
When we pulled up to the entrance of Blue Hole area it was very underwhelming…but that was just for a minute or two! We had two guides meet us at the entrance and that was when the adventure began. Our guides led us on a short hike to the first of MANY blue holes – there is not just one glistening, inviting pool to jump and swim in – but MANY! This photo does not even seem real – it really is with no filters!
You can swim, walk, climb, rope swim and cliff jump into the many pools – and we did it all! We all felt safe the whole time too. I think if you want to bring your kids, age 10 and over would enjoy it too but younger than that it would be hard to get around and see as much! I did se guides helping kids in other groups though too. We did have two nonswimmers in our group too though and the guides were so sweet to walk them around areas to avoid having to swim.
There were hidden caves to swim into as well!
Take ALL the photos! The guides love to mess with you for the fun waterfall splash photo too. See we caught him in action (the water was chilly!)!
TIP: Your guides will be happy to take photos of you and they do a great job. There was another guide with us just taking photos to sell after. Because he had a big group we split the cost of the photos taken by the guide and it was only $20 per couple, but my phone photos were actually better than the ones taken by them – but at least tip the guides and photographers as they go out of the way to help you have the best experience and capture it too!
I have been to many places around the world and have seen a lot of waterfalls, but this Blue Hole experience is in my top 10 excursions EVER by far. The beauty of the location, the friendliness of the people, the differing ways to explore, the adrenaline rush opportunities, and the photo opportunities all put this at the top of a place I would recommend to add to anyone’s bucket list! AN UNFORGETTABLE ADVENTURE!
After spending a few hours here, we got back to the van where Genius was waiting for us and dried off with our towels. Genius asked us if we were hungry, and we all were, so she took us to a local Jamaican place and we all had great jerk chicken, pork, sausage, and even a good vegetarian option for me too. She was a perfect guide, she let us choose our own pace for the day and we never felt rushed or pressured. After lunch, we were surprised by a huge downpour of a tropical storm! We still wanted to do Dunns River so we went to Dunns and survived it in the rain – which made it more of an adventure!
I would recommend doing Dunns too for the unique experience of CLIMBING UP A WATERFALL, but if you had to choose between Dunns River and Blue Hole – BLUE HOLE all the way! If you want a tried and true way to do it, or if you want to customize your own tour and do a combination of stops, chat with Genius at Genius Reggae Jamaica Tours (phone, text or email!) and she will find the perfect tour day for you to explore Ocho Rios and enjoy every second – and you will make a new friend too! Until next time Blue Hole, as I know I will be back one day with my kids to show them this magical place!
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