Traveling from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios

Hey.. I've been digging deep in the forums and I can't find the exact answer I am looking for.. I want to travel from the port at Montego Bay all the way to Ocho Rios. I want to go tubing in the White River and have fun at the Blue Hole. It seems like I have two options: Take a taxi to Ocho Rios, and then pay for the excursions as I visit them, or just buy a tour that includes both excursions and the transportation there and back. There are two people total, including myself. What is the cheapest of these two options? Do taxis work one way, or only round trip? Thanks so much for any responses.

Oooh, that's a tough one. I think you 'd be best contracting with a private guide (or a small private tour) to do this from Montego Bay. I would not chance it if you are coming from a ship.

Ride to Blue Hole will be almost 2 hrs from Montego Bay (1.5 on a really good day) so there 3-4 hrs of your port day in transportation time. Then an hour or two at the Blue hole and an hour or two tubing......How long are you in Montego Bay?

There might be some tour guides that will be able to cram all that together and get you to and from MoBay in time, but I'm not sure how much time you'll have at Blue Hole and Tubing. You might have to choose one or the other.

A taxi, while I don't know the cost, will be very expensive. (I'm going to guess at $150 - $180 each way). You'd be better off swinging a deal for a driver for the whole day.

Thanks for your reply. You bring up a very good point about time. I'm only in dock for 8 hours, and the entire day would have to be quick and flawless in order to make it back on the boat on time, so I guess I won't be risking it.. Picking one excursion is a good solution.

Montego Bay seems like a good port to book excursions through the cruise line.. Because the cruise line prices aren't so bad when considering the cost of transportation.

Unfortunately Blue Hole is not an available excursion through my cruise line, so I may have to give up on Ocho Rios. My reasoning being the cost of transportation, which turns a cheap excursion into one of the most expensive.

I may find myself just hitting the beach and eating at margaritaville. Oh well.

I have cruised to other ports (cozumel and Progresso) and found that the tour listed on CLs are almost double what you can get off the dock...

Pro:

Cheaper

Con:

good luck if you run into traffic (give yourself plenty of time to get back)

I lived in Jamaica for a year and trying to get a cruise group going for a trip.

Another option would be Mayfield Falls. It's only about 45 minutes from MoBay and it's awesome! It's literally a "hike" up a river about a mile or so with small falls along the way. We swam through a tunnel from one level of river to another, jumped from a small cliff, swam in pools and into small caves.....super cool.

I would do this excursion again in a heartbeat. Not sure if you ship offers it, or if you can find an independant tour to do but it's a GREAT day!

Unfortunately Blue Hole is not an available excursion through my cruise line, so I may have to give up on Ocho Rios. My reasoning being the cost of transportation, which turns a cheap excursion into one of the most expensive.

It is easy to get a group together and split the cost. We had a group of 31 on our cruise that booked a private tour from Montego Bay up to Blue Hole. It was well worth it!