Negril sits on Jamaica’s westernmost tip, which means that it has the island’s most breathtaking sunsets. It also has one of the world’s most beautiful beaches, seven whole miles of it. The waters are the perfect shades of blue-green, the sand is white and powdery, and the sea is shallow and calm for a substantial distance out. Back in the day, Negril used to be a sleepy town, visited only by hippies, but now it’s a VERY popular Jamaican tourist destination, and easy to get to from the Montego Bay airport.
The Negril beach stretch is public, which means it’s accessible to anyone. So regardless of where you are staying, you can walk up and down almost the entire shoreline at your leisure. Be prepared for many local vendors seizing this opportunity and trying to sell a variety of services (cornrow services, massages, jet-skiing, weed, etc.) This can honestly get annoying but a quick and firm “no thanks” usually does the trick and they will quickly move on. But also, be ready to hear some folks out. We have had some of the best pineapple we’ve EVER tasted from a Negril vendor. You can also secure the most amazing freshly caught and prepared fish from local vendors.
Recommended Stays
Country Country is an absolutely lovely place to stay. These little colourful beach cottages, each with their own private veranda, just ooze charm and authenticity, and the beach is RIGHT there to greet you every day. Be sure to get the banana pancakes at their beachside restaurant for breakfast!
Despite our love for the Seven Mile beach of Negril, one of our top recommendations isn’t even on the beach. As the name suggests, the Cliff Hotel is a boutique hotel located on the cliffs that are found at the westernmost end of Negril. This luxury hotel is a short drive to all the sites of Negril, but with its own feel due to its unique location. The rooms are beautiful and the grounds impeccably maintained. If you’re a strong swimmer and not afraid of rough water, you can take a staircase down and dive in to the sea – we did not! But the hotel has a great pool, and there’s also a stunning little natural (appearing) pool right by the cliffside which the waves will splash into, as you’ll see in the pictures below.
Recommended Activities
Our main recommended activity, no matter where you stay, is to walk the seven miles of the Negril beach. You’ll get a chance to see the various hotels and resorts, to check out places to eat, to meet Jamaican vendors, to jump in the water whenever you feel so inclined, and to just relish in the beauty that is Negril. It’s an amazing way to start the morning, walk off a lunch, or segue into evening.
Our Negril Bucket List
One Negril hotel we would love to visit is The Caves. This hotel is one of the Island Outpost collection of hotels, a brand you can’t really go wrong with, and which will come up on other pages on this site. This collection of hotels are owned by Jamaican Chris Blackwell, of Island Records fame. Similar to the Cliff, The Caves are on the very west end of Negril and thus not on the beach, but would be a quick and easy trip to the beach. It’s an all-inclusive, but not the usual large all-inclusive that can feel like you’re in any random warm location. This tiny hotel has only twelve cliffside cottages, as well as a spa and rum bar, and what we’re most intrigued by: a private cave dining experience. Fun fact: it’s the only hotel in Jamaica to earn two Michelin keys, which makes it at the very top of our islandwide bucket list!
Jamaica travels 
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