Three days in Ocho Rios from Columbus Heights
Ocho Rios is small enough that three days covers the famous things, and Columbus Heights is the right place to do it from: the town is ten minutes down the hill, the falls are ten minutes west, and the gazebo is where you end every day. Here is how I plan a first visit for family and friends.
Day one: the falls
Go to Dunn's River Falls first and early, before the cruise-ship crowds come off the pier around ten. The climb is a chain of hands up the terraces with a guide, about an hour from the beach at the bottom to the road at the top, and you will be wet to the waist, so wear water shoes and leave the phone in a dry bag. Afterwards, Mystic Mountain is next door: the chairlift up through the rainforest, the bobsled run down it and the view of the whole bay from the top. Lunch is the jerk at the top of the mountain or back in town.
Come home for the pool in the afternoon. Dinner is a walk down the hill to Main Street, and the gazebo for the ships leaving at dusk.
Day two: the river and the jerk
Take a driver for the day. The Blue Hole is twenty minutes up into the hills behind town on the White River: turquoise pools, rope swings and small waterfalls, with guides who show you where to jump. Go in the morning when the light is on the water. On the way back, stop at Konoko Falls if you want a quieter climb with gardens, or save it for another trip.
Lunch is Scotchies: jerk chicken and pork over pimento wood, festival on the side, a Red Stripe, and you watch it cook over the coals. It is where I take everyone who visits. Back on the hill, the afternoon is the pool and the balcony; dinner is a chef in the kitchen if you booked one, or oxtail at Miss T's on Main Street.
Day three: the beach and the coast
Walk down to Ocho Rios Bay Beach for the morning: white sand, calm water and a bar. If the ships are in, Margaritaville next door will be loud and happy; if they are not, it is yours. In the afternoon, drive east along the coast for twenty minutes to James Bond Beach at Oracabessa, under Ian Fleming's Goldeneye, and on to Firefly, Noël Coward's house on the hill above Port Maria, kept as he left it, with the best view on this coast. Come back along the water for the sunset from the gazebo.
Booking ahead
Dunn's River and Mystic Mountain sell tickets online and the queues are shorter if you have them. A driver for day two and day three is cheaper than two separate taxi days; ask Posh Paths and we will connect you with ours. If you want a chef for an evening, say so when you book the stay.