Falmouth port: private tour to the Blue Hole trip report

[BigJon]

I was on the Nov. 16 Disney Magic cruise to Jamaica. This was my first time in Jamaica. I booked a Courtney Taylor tour to the Blue Hole. Me and my wife were supposed to meet our tour group within 30 minutes of port arrival....

Notice the long building, with the maroon roof, with diamond shapes on top. At the far end of this building, is where the private tours meet....

Here's the Disney Falmouth port shopping map. I added dots leading down to the blue X. The blue X is the spot of the private tours meeting spot....

You will walk by the Craft Market, which will be on your left.....

And looking to the right of the Craft Market.....

I took this close-up, from the ship. At the top of the Craft Market, you will see a silver van. Just around the corner, is the Private Tours meeting spot....

And finally this photo. I have to say, I thought Falmouth was the nicest port I've been too. Shops are really nice, everything was so clean and new. Outside the port area was a different story...(more to follow. Next up is the Blue Hole)

 

[SonyaShay]

following along with you! My family is taking a private tour to Blue Hole and Mystic Mountain bobsled in June. We did not go with CTT but had contacted them for pricing.

 

[BigJon]

When I rounded the corner at the port, there were several people standing there, and I looked at them and said, "Courtney Taylor". And one of the guys raised his hand, and when he approached me, he had a piece of paper in his hand, and he asked me my name, and when I told him, he pointed to it on his piece of paper, and he asked me to wait on the curb (because he was waiting for a couple more guests). We stood on the curb for a minute or two, and then he came over and escorted us to his van. There was another couple in his van, and we boarded and left immediately. The van looked fairly new, and the A/C worked great. Our driver was David, and he did a great job with the tour. His picture is below....

On the way to the Blue Hole, David gave us a lot of interesting facts about the area. It took about an hour, and 10 minutes to get to the Blue Hole. We drove thru Ocho Rios, and then turned South. Once we were near the Blue Hole, the road turned to dirt (and rocks!). It was very rough, and slow. A few hundred yards before we reached the Blue Hole, there were some little "shacks" set up, with the locals selling stuff. We stopped at one, and David asked if everyone had water shoes. You could rent them for $6, or buy a pair for $14. The couple that was with us bought a Red Stripe beer (when we left), and they paid $4 for one beer. (this same beer was less than $2 at Scotchie's) We pulled into a dirt parking lot, and when we got out, one of the guides at the Blue Hole came up to us, and said he would be leading us around for our visit. David took our money for the entrance fee ($15 per person), and we followed our guide down the hill. The first place we stopped was the large waterfall, and our guide removed the wooden "safety" rail, and then we took a video of him running from the woods, and he came past us, and dove into the water, jumping from a ledge that was way above the water. After that we followed a path that went above the waterfall, and from there we walked up the stream until we got to a smaller waterfall. He told me to get under the falls, and let the water hit my shoulders. He said it was like a massage. I did it, and it was like an intense massage. My wife sat on my knee, and our guide took a picture of us. We only had our I-Phone with us, but I wish I had bought a waterproof camera. I kept wondering if our guide might drop our phone, but he didn't. We walked up past the waterfall to our first "jump". This first jump was probably about 3 foot above the water (maybe less). We all jumped in, and after that, the jumps kept increasing in height. This is my first "big jump.....

Here's another shot of me, after a jump. David said all of the guides are paid employees of the Blue Hole, and they are training lifeguards. I asked David on the way to the Blue Hole, what should I tip them. He said if I was happy with their service, I should tip $10. In the photo below, you can also see a different guide brining more guests up the stream....

Scotchie's up next.....

 

[SonyaShay]

Can't wait to hear your review of Scotchie's as we plan to eat their also

 

[BigJon]

We went back toward Ocho Rios, and then we took a left, and went to place that overlooked the port. The place had a restroom, and a bar. It was a nice view of the cruise ship at the Ocho Rios port. Right above this place, was Mic Jagger's home (if you're in to that kind of stuff...I'm not!) On the way to this overlook, 2 different guys walked out in front of our van, and they were dressed up. One was covered in green leaves and walking on stilts, and another had a green outfit on, with flowers on it. They were both looking for tips. (very strange!) And another one, was a young man that would do backflips down the road, using only one hand. I actually gave him a tip. (we also went by Jimmy Buffet's house) We then went to Scotchie's for lunch. When we got there, the parking lot was full, and there was a very long line. We stood in line for about a minute, and then our guide, David, told us to follow him, and one of the employees at Scotchie's. We were seated at this table, and given menus.....

Here's the drink menu. Keep in mind that $1 = 100 Jamaican dollars.....

I ordered the pork sausage. It was okay, nothing special, and it was very spicy...

My wife got the 1/4 jerk chicken, and it was very good....

The festival (fried bread) went well with the meats....

Me and my wife thought the rice & beans didn't have much taste....

We had 2 cokes with our meal, and the total cost was $14. I also gave our waitress a tip, and the guy at Scotchie's that got our table so quick, and helped us to avoid the long waiting line to order....

 

[BigJon]

This guy was smokin' the meats, and choppin' chicken at Scotchie's....

One last view at Scotchie's. This plant at the top of the picture, looked like a peacock....

We drove by a guy's shop, and he made art out of wood. There was a garden there, and we walked around for just a few minutes. No one bought anything, and then we left. We went by Mammee Bay beach, and stayed for 1 1/2 hours. David told me that only private tours, and the people renting the condos could use this particular beach. There were showers and bathrooms there. No one approached us to buy anything while we were there. You could rent chairs, but since we were not there that long, we just sat in the water. From where we were at, you could see the cruise ship at Ocho Rios.....

There was a bar there also. This beach was a mixture of young couples, older couples, and families. Water was crystal clear. Behind the bar was a store (shirts, hats, beach stuff...)

After the beach, we made our way back to Falmouth. We met David that morning about 8am, and we got back to the port around 3pm. The couple that was with us on our tour, they had booked the Dunn's Falls tour. But they decided they didn't want to go, and David was willing to take us wherever we wanted to go. I would definitely use Courtney Taylor tours again. Very professional, and we had a great day in Jamaica.....

 

[perfectmatch300]

Thank you for your review. I especially appreciate the map of where the private tours meet. I've been curious about the Blue Hole, so your pics and description will be very helpful as well.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Thanks for all the info and pictures - great information! We are looking at a cruise for october that stops here so I'm glad to see your review. We went to Ocho Rios before but i was curious about this port!

 

[podsnel]

Thanks for the review! This is high on my list of what we will do in Falmouth!

 

[ChariD]

Thanks for your post. Falmouth is a stop on our DC. Can't wait!

 

[aSiAnRiCk]

Thanks for sharing your pictures. Would love to visit Falmouth one day on a cruise.

 

[LoveDisneyx4]

I was on the Nov. 16 Disney Magic cruise to Jamaica. This was my first time in Jamaica. I booked a Courtney Taylor tour to the Blue Hole. Me and my wife were supposed to meet our tour group within 30 minutes of port arrival....

Notice the long building, with the maroon roof, with diamond shapes on top. At the far end of this building, is where the private tours meet....

Here's the Disney Falmouth port shopping map. I added dots leading down to the blue X. The blue X is the spot of the private tours meeting spot....

You will walk by the Craft Market, which will be on your left.....

And looking to the right of the Craft Market.....

I took this close-up, from the ship. At the top of the Craft Market, you will see a silver van. Just around the corner, is the Private Tours meeting spot....

And finally this photo. I have to say, I thought Falmouth was the nicest port I've been too. Shops are really nice, everything was so clean and new. Outside the port area was a different story...(more to follow. Next up is the Blue Hole)

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you spend on the CTT? And this is the first that I've read of the $15/PP for the Blue Hole--good information! We are cruising mid-march and I think that this is what we want to do (we have two young kiddos--9, and 5), and possibly go to Devon House I-Scream (in Kingston). I think that we might like to see that wood craft store (DH bought a fish from Jamaica when he was a young kid and it would be fun to have something similar in our house now--even though his Grandma is supposed to make sure that he gets it when she passes.). Thank you!

 

[BigJon]

We paid $35 per person for the tour. I've read some other reviews, for different tour companies, and some of the others may include the entrance fee to the Blue Hole in there total fee. But for our CTT, they told me in the e-mail confirmation, that I had to pay extra for the Blue Hole, and the lunch at Scotchie's

 

[tinkerone]

did you happen to get a picture of the food menu at Scotchie's? how long would the drive be to get there?

 

[BigJon]

Didn't take a picture of the menu. I took us around an hour & 10 minutes to get to the Blue Hole....jonathan

 

[LoveDisneyx4]

When I rounded the corner at the port, there were several people standing there, and I looked at them and said, "Courtney Taylor". And one of the guys raised his hand, and when he approached me, he had a piece of paper in his hand, and he asked me my name, and when I told him, he pointed to it on his piece of paper, and he asked me to wait on the curb (because he was waiting for a couple more guests). We stood on the curb for a minute or two, and then he came over and escorted us to his van. There was another couple in his van, and we boarded and left immediately. The van looked fairly new, and the A/C worked great. Our driver was David, and he did a great job with the tour. His picture is below....

On the way to the Blue Hole, David gave us a lot of interesting facts about the area. It took about an hour, and 10 minutes to get to the Blue Hole. We drove thru Ocho Rios, and then turned South. Once we were near the Blue Hole, the road turned to dirt (and rocks!). It was very rough, and slow. A few hundred yards before we reached the Blue Hole, there were some little "shacks" set up, with the locals selling stuff. We stopped at one, and David asked if everyone had water shoes. You could rent them for $6, or buy a pair for $14. The couple that was with us bought a Red Stripe beer (when we left), and they paid $4 for one beer. (this same beer was less than $2 at Scotchie's) We pulled into a dirt parking lot, and when we got out, one of the guides at the Blue Hole came up to us, and said he would be leading us around for our visit. David took our money for the entrance fee ($15 per person), and we followed our guide down the hill. The first place we stopped was the large waterfall, and our guide removed the wooden "safety" rail, and then we took a video of him running from the woods, and he came past us, and dove into the water, jumping from a ledge that was way above the water. After that we followed a path that went above the waterfall, and from there we walked up the stream until we got to a smaller waterfall. He told me to get under the falls, and let the water hit my shoulders. He said it was like a massage. I did it, and it was like an intense massage. My wife sat on my knee, and our guide took a picture of us. We only had our I-Phone with us, but I wish I had bought a waterproof camera. I kept wondering if our guide might drop our phone, but he didn't. We walked up past the waterfall to our first "jump". This first jump was probably about 3 foot above the water (maybe less). We all jumped in, and after that, the jumps kept increasing in height. This is my first "big jump.....

Here's another shot of me, after a jump. David said all of the guides are paid employees of the Blue Hole, and they are training lifeguards. I asked David on the way to the Blue Hole, what should I tip them. He said if I was happy with their service, I should tip $10. In the photo below, you can also see a different guide brining more guests up the stream....

Scotchie's up next.....

We decided to book with CTT! Blue Hole, Scotchies, Devon House I-Scream, and maybe wood carving shop (if we still have time). Did you tip the guide $10 for both you and your wife? So for my family of 4--$20 would be good, or if there are two guides, $10 each? Also, when you were booking with CTT, was David (your driver) that one that you corresponded with? Samantha has answered all of our e-mails and finally got us set up with a direct link to give our deposit ($31). We couldn't get the forms on the website to work correctly. I appreciate your review! Thank you!

 

[cheermom2four]

We decided to book with CTT!

Do you have a link to CTT website? I cannot for the life of me get one to show up

 

[BigJon]

http://courtneytaylortours.com

 

[cheermom2four]

Thank you very much. I did a search and ended up totally not there so this is really appreciated.

 

[Woody & Jessy]

I booked through CTT Bluehole tour too. Just would like to know Do we really need water shoes ?