Family Vacations in Ocho Rios

Family Vacations in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Family vacations in Ocho Rios. Ocho Rios said to have come from the old Spanish word for roaring river or, in modern Spanish, eight rivers, is roughly 67 miles east of Montego Bay. The bustling town of Ocho Rios has been a favorite of cruise ships.

At one time is was a quite fishing village, and although there are now many Jamaica resorts and restaurants offering a variety of cuisines, but the town has kept something of the laid back atmosphere of small-town Jamaica.

Dunn's River Falls

Rios are to working plantations at Brimmer Hall and Prospect where sugar, bananas and spices are still grown and harvested, using many of the traditional skills handed down through generations. A must see in Jamaica is a drive along Fern Gully, a road running along an old riverbed that winds through a 4-mile valley of ferns.

Another tour is the Jamaica Night on the White River, a canoe ride up the torchlit river to the sound of drums. Dinner and open-air bar is available on the riverbank (Sunday evenings). Columbus Park, at Discovery Bay, commemorates Columbus' arrival in Jamaica with a museum and 24-hour open-air park exhibiting relics of Jamaican history.

See our recommendations for some of the best family Jamaica Resorts in Ocho Rios including: Renaissance Jamaica Grande Resort and Beaches Boscobel.

From Ocho Rios, drive west to Runaway Bay (so called because slaves once used this area as an escape route) to visit Seville Great House and Nine Miles, the birthplace of Bob Marley. Runaway Bay, has fine beaches, great scuba diving and horseback riding; and the Runaway Caves nearby, offer a boat ride, below ground, on a lake in the limestone Green Grotto.

See our recommendations for some of the best family Jamaica resorts in Runaway Bay including FDR Pebbles, Franklin D. Resort, Starfish Trelawny

FDR Resort Vacation Deals: Travel auctions starting at $1 for FDR Family vacations.

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