Ocho Rios beach

Are there any nice beaches near port at Ocho Rios? If not, what are the best beaches? Thanks!

Are there any nice beaches near port at Ocho Rios? If not, what are the best beaches? Thanks!

there is a very cool Margeritaville there that has some beach along with a pool with slide and a swim up bar

I believe there is a public beach near the pier, but I don't know how nice it would be. Margaritaville does have a "beach" but it's pretty tiny and can get crowded on cruise days.

Are there any nice beaches near port at Ocho Rios? If not, what are the best beaches? Thanks!

The public beach near the pier is fine. They charge a small entry fee (it was $3 Sep '13), which keeps it clear of too many vendors. Young kid was renting chairs for 5 bucks, put them under a palm tree for us. He checked by every now and again to see if we wanted beer, etc. Much like a waiter would, so not annoying.

Water is okay, nothing great. Beach is also just okay. Mostly, the view is not great, as you have a view of the boat (which also means you will not miss it!!!).

Overall, if I just wanted to hang out on a beach, I would definitely do it again, just for the simple access (walk), and cheap price. And lack of crowd.

Also sometimes called Turtle Beach.

When we went in Sept of 2013, I could not figure out if it was walkable, needed taxi, etc. So, figuring others might have same questions, I took the following step by step pictures.

Note - I don't think you could take a taxi. Nor is there any need. The walk from the end of the dock to the beach is about the same as the walk on the dock.

The path is highlighted in Red, with a few Green comments along the way. I also included a Google Earth view, showing the whole path. Hope this helps someone! Edit: turns out the small pictures the green comments do not show up. So here is description of the picts:

1 - small shops at end of dock

2 - view as you are leaving the dock, about to get on to land

3 - you will exit the shop area through that opening

4 - close up of opening - note, you can see the walkway canopy from here

5 - walkway (and canopy) - you will go through the opening in the fence at the far side

6 - This sign is just beyond (maybe 10 feet) the opening referenced in the prior picture

7 - Far view of where you will turn slightly right. Notice the sign from prior is barely visible.

8 - Again far shot, just showing the path along the boats

9 - This is the straight section along boats

10 - at tree line, there is a small hut to take you fee

11 - Beach!

12 - Chairs on beach

13 - view from beach

14 - google earth view of entire trip

The beach itself is nice. Not great, but nice. Not crowded, clean. Very few vendors - as the $3 to get in helps keep that down. A kid rented us the chairs for $5 each. And he came bye from time to time to check on us - much like a waiter, so not annoying. Yes, the beach takes USD, and so did the chair boy.

There are public rest rooms on the beach. About what you would expect from a public beach. Functional, and marginally clean.

Also sometimes called Turtle Beach.

 

When we went in Sept of 2013, I could not figure out if it was walkable, needed taxi, etc. So, figuring others might have same questions, I took the following step by step pictures.

 

Wow, thanks!!! Looks nice!

I would recommend Bamboo Blu Beach in Ocho Rios. It is the pretties beach in this area google it!!:D

Is there a lot of grass/seaweed at either one? Last year we were at the Sunset in MoBay and the bottom was sludgy, and there was a lot of grass... Not my kind of beach, so we ended up in the pool all day.

Is that how it is at either of those beaches? Should we just plan on staying at Dunns River Falls?

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Is there a lot of grass/seaweed at either one? Last year we were at the Sunset in MoBay and the bottom was sludgy, and there was a lot of grass... Not my kind of beach, so we ended up in the pool all day.

 

Is that how it is at either of those beaches? Should we just plan on staying at Dunns River Falls?

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app via my iPad, pardon the typos!

We did not have any grass/seaweed/sludge at Ocho Rios Bay. It was fine. Water was clean, beach was clean. Not the prettiest beach, as you have buildings behind you (A good ways behind, but they are there), and the harbor in front of you.

Key feature of Ocho Rios Bay Beach - it is walkable! Distance from Boat to shops at end of pier, is about the same as from the shops to the beach.

Thanks, I appreciate that!

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app via my iPad, pardon the typos!

Thanks for sharing all your hard work!

Bumping this old post because I plan on using this map (thanks to the hard work of the OP) to get me to the beach. I've been hunting for this for a while.

Anybody been to Turtle Beach recently? Is it still $3 entry?

Thanks

Thanks for resurrecting this thread Monicajay!

And to mcship, thank you so much for taking the time to help your fellow cruisers by providing such detailed directions and photos :) We have scheduled a tour for the morning, but if we're not ready to get back on the ship at the end of the tour, now we know where to go to have a swim and walk in the warm sand :D

Glad it helps!

It really is an easy beach to get to. Then up to you how far down the beach you want to go.

It is close enough to the ship, that if you do an excursion, you can drop off stuff in the boat, change, and still go to the beach. Or if you forget something, short walk back to the boat to get whatever you forgot.

I would recommend Bamboo Blu Beach in Ocho Rios. It is the pretties beach in this area google it!!:D

also i heard it was way overpriced, rocky, murky & not great.

i would love to find out if I heard wrong as I also am simply looking for a beach just to hang for a bit.

anyone know if I bring my scooter off boat,is it safe to leave by Margeritaville?

thanks

Ellen

Where is Bamboo Blu Beach in Ocho Rios? Is it easy to get to? If we need a taxi how much would we expect to pay for a taxi? Is it safe or would we have to deal with a lot of beach vendors? What is there to do there? Any particular area to go to? Lots of questions here but I'm sure the answers will help lots of people. :)

also i heard it was way overpriced, rocky, murky & not great.

i would love to find out if I heard wrong as I also am simply looking for a beach just to hang for a bit.

 

anyone know if I bring my scooter off boat,is it safe to leave by Margeritaville?

 

thanks

Ellen

My husband and I had a bad experience on that beach. As we were leaving there were a couple of guys cleaning out conch shells and one of them was in our face in a threatening way asking us to buy one. After entry fee and whatever else we spent on drinks, we didn't have any cash left. Swore we would never go to that beach again. If you are in a group I would say go there. I was afraid with just the two of us. We've been to Jamaica quite a few times and that really was the only bad experience we ever had.

My husband and I had a bad experience on that beach....

What beach? This thread started at Ocho Rios Bay Beach, but someone added a subject of Bamboo Blu? so it is not clear as to which beach you are referring

Ocho Rios I had no problems, and it was not rocky, or overpriced etc. (refer to earlier post/review for more details). But bottom line, it was fine. 1-10, probably a 7. Accessibility/proximity a 10

What beach? This thread started at Ocho Rios Bay Beach, but someone added a subject of Bamboo Blu? so it is not clear as to which beach you are referring

 

Ocho Rios I had no problems, and it was not rocky, or overpriced etc. (refer to earlier post/review for more details). But bottom line, it was fine. 1-10, probably a 7. Accessibility/proximity a 10

The beach right closest to the cruise pier. Okay?

I would recommend going away from the Beach close to the dock in the early hours as this can be packed. Check out the Bamboo Blue beach about 7 mins from the dock

I would recommend going away from the Beach close to the dock in the early hours as this can be packed. Check out the Bamboo Blue beach about 7 mins from the dock

The beach in town (Turtle Beach) was empty the day we visited on the Reflection. We had an enjoyable and quiet day there. Entry into the water was easy, no waves, bottom was a bit mushy once past waist deep.

This is fine for those that don't want to spend a lot of money.

I would recommend going away from the Beach close to the dock in the early hours as this can be packed. Check out the Bamboo Blue beach about 7 mins from the dock

Hi,

Could you tell me how much it cost to get there?

Was there any entrance fee to the beach? Was the water calm?

Did you feel safe?

Thank you in advance for helping with my questions :)

Bumping this thread up in hopes someone can answer my question in the post directly above as we are cruising next week.

Thank you in advance.

Bumping this thread up in hopes someone can answer my question in the post directly above as we are cruising next week.

 

Thank you in advance.

If you are referring to to bamboo, I do not know. If you are referring to the town beach, aka turtle beach it is very close, cheap, clean. See my earlier review and maps to get to the beach.

If you are referring to to bamboo, I do not know. If you are referring to the town beach, aka turtle beach it is very close, cheap, clean. See my earlier review and maps to get to the beach.

Thank you.

The last time I was in Ocho Rios in February. I thought we were going to Montego Bay during that cruise (have been to MB before) and didn't plan.

We ended up at the beach that faces the ship in Ocho Rios, the one on the opposite side of Margaritaville by Moon Palace that has a $3 dollar cover ( or a similar amount). I found the beach to have sludge-like mud as I waded in that stuck to my feet after I got out .

I am hoping for a nicer beach this cruise. We leave tomorrow.