Safe to Go On Your Own to Dr Caves Beach??

We will be on the Oasis docking at Falmouth in March. We've done all the "big" tourist attractions on previous trips. We're looking for a few hours at a nice Beach to relax.

1. How Do you get to Dr Caves?

2. Is it safe to take a cab?

3. Are there any local tours that go there?

The reason I ask about safety is the last time we were in Jamaica, I took a picture of a lady with a pile of bananas on her head. I thought it was a really good photo. She wanted $5 and chased me a block until she cornered me lol. Looking back it's funny, but at the time I was scared:eek:

We've been to Doctor's Cave twice when docked in Mo Bay and have taken a taxi both times with no problems. They drop you off right at the entrance. Be advised though, while they do have umbrellas to rent, the chairs are not loungers, they are low to the ground canvas almost Adirondack style and extremely uncomfortable :(. This was the case in 2011 and 2012 when we were there.

I did google doctors cave bathing club and the chairs look newer from the last time we were there, but still not your typical full leg lounger. But it's a decent beach none the less and w/in walking distance of Margaritaville if you so choose

We've been to Doctor's Cave twice when docked in Mo Bay and have taken a taxi both times with no problems. They drop you off right at the entrance. Be advised though, while they do have umbrellas to rent, the chairs are not loungers, they are low to the ground canvas almost Adirondack style and extremely uncomfortable :(. This was the case in 2011 and 2012 when we were there.

 

I did google doctors cave bathing club and the chairs look newer from the last time we were there, but still not your typical full leg lounger. But it's a decent beach none the less and w/in walking distance of Margaritaville if you so choose

Thank you Brandi:D

We went to Dr. Cave's last week. You can get a taxi van inside the Falmouth port area. $20 per person round trip. It is a nice 30 min. drive. Beach entrance is $6 per person. Can rent lounge chairs (they are lounge chairs) umbrellas for extra. It is a nice beach. It was not crowded when we were there.

We've been to Doctor's Cave twice when docked in Mo Bay and have taken a taxi both times with no problems. They drop you off right at the entrance. Be advised though, while they do have umbrellas to rent, the chairs are not loungers, they are low to the ground canvas almost Adirondack style and extremely uncomfortable :(. This was the case in 2011 and 2012 when we were there.

 

I did google doctors cave bathing club and the chairs look newer from the last time we were there, but still not your typical full leg lounger. But it's a decent beach none the less and w/in walking distance of Margaritaville if you so choose

BlondieB - about how much was taxi fare to and from Montego Bay? We are there early April and this is looking like a relatively inexpensive way to spend the day.

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I dont recall exactly, it wasn't much though. Make sure you ask the fare up front.

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Early stages of planning. Anyone have any pictures?

We went to Dr. Cave's last week. You can get a taxi van inside the Falmouth port area. $20 per person round trip. It is a nice 30 min. drive. Beach entrance is $6 per person. Can rent lounge chairs (they are lounge chairs) umbrellas for extra. It is a nice beach. It was not crowded when we were there.

When you pay $20 round trip to Dr Cave's I assume you schedule a pick up time with the driver. I wonder how reliable they are with picking you up.

We visited Falmouth, Jamaica on the Allure of the Seas on January, 29th, 2014 (last week). We have taken taxi from the port to Montego Bay for $20 per person round trip (45 min ride through a BEAUTIFUL country side, was a tour in itself). Once in Montego Bay we went to Doctors' Cave - a private beach, $6 per person entry fee, $6 per beach chair and $6 per umbrella (but there was shade under palm trees, so umbrella could be avoided). Beach was beautiful with breathtaking view of the mountains, nice curving shore line with hotels along the beach and a view of cruise ship @ Montego Bay port in the distance. Water was absolutely clear. There is a nice and reasonably priced restaurant on the beach (lunch with drinks and tip for two people under $40) with live playing band. It is a small beach, but it didn't feel crowded. There were some families with children, but I don't remember if the had water toys for kids on the beach. At the end, we were extremely happy that we didn't book a day at the beach through Resort/Jamaica For A Day, because we would pay twice as much and be on their time, not ours. And this is despite the fact that driver who pus off didn't return to pick us up. We had no difficulty getting taxi to go back for $30 per taxi.

We paid the driver only half the fair ($20) once he dropped us off @ Doctors' cave and told him that we'll pay more once he comes back to pick us up. We arranged the time, he gave us card with his name and phone # and told us to ask anybody to call him if when we come out he is not there. We came out @ the arranged time, he wasn't there. We asked another taxi driver to call him, which he did, gave the phone to my husband who spoke with the original driver. Original driver said there is too much traffic and he is not coming back. To take taxi from Montego Bay back to Falmouth, they were asking $40-50 per taxi, but we negotiated down to $30 per car. It was $10 more than we would have paid originally, but we had the whole car to ourselves, while on a way there we were really tightly squeezed in the same size small van with other 13 to15 people. Good thing we didn't pay the entire fair upfront.

If you're asking how much the fare is from Montego Bay Cruise terminal to Dr. Cave Beach it's $5 per person each way. (red plated taxi)

BlondieB - about how much was taxi fare to and from Montego Bay? We are there early April and this is looking like a relatively inexpensive way to spend the day.

 

 

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I have been wondering about safety too. I wanted to see a nice beach but not book a resort through the cruise ship. We are sailing into montego Bay in May. We have two other stops that we have booked thru the ship and wanted to save a little money on at least one stop.

From what I have read it sounds like a nice beach. I think we will check it out!

I have been wondering about safety too. I wanted to see a nice beach but not book a resort through the cruise ship. We are sailing into montego Bay in May. We have two other stops that we have booked thru the ship and wanted to save a little money on at least one stop.

 

From what I have read it sounds like a nice beach. I think we will check it out!

Was in Montego Bay February 12th, we were in the same situation. We and had already booked excursions in other ports and didn't want a third expense in Jamaica but did want to see the beach in Jamaica. My husband, myself along with another couple got off the ship in Montego Bay and paid with our sign and sail card, $20/person, to ride the Hop on Hop off bus. Thought this was a bit pricey but we had heard that the port wasn't very safe to wonder on your own so we decided it was the best way to go. The bus made several stops, one of them being Doctor's Cave. We paid $6/person to enter onto the beach, chairs and umbrellas were also for rent which we didn't bother with as we had brought our own towels. We headed to the very end of the beach next to the pier, put our towels down on the sand and spent a few hours enjoying the beach, the sand and water were beautiful, we loved it! I would highly recommend this beach it you want somewhere to relax and swim. Food and drink can be purchased from the resort and there is a security guard on site preventing the vendors from bothering you. After a few hours we left and walked several blocks to Margaritaville, the streets were busy with people from the cruise ship and we felt safe.

The only issue we had was when the bus made it's first stop at one of the craft markets, nobody wanted to get off as we all wanted to go to the beach. However the bus driver said we all had no choice and had to get off the bus and wait 20 minutes for the next bus. There were a lot of unhappy people and I am not so sure that the bus driver had the right to do this. Everyone pretty much just waited for the next bus rather than check out all the huts selling tourist crafts and tshirts. We actually went into the little bar right there and had a Red Stripe while waiting, we were offered several illegal substances but never felt unsafe. The next bus took us directly to Doc Cave, without an issue and making us all get off at the next scheduled stop.

Looking back I would think that a taxi right at the port would not be an issue and there are lots of offers of taxi's right out front of Dr. Cave, it isn't far from the port.

Is there a flat rate per taxi to go from Montego Bay to Doctor's Cave? Or is it per person? How much?

Can someone clarify for me the type of "lounge" chairs they have at Doctors Cave? last time we were there they had "deck" chairs that were horrid. When you say "lounge" chairs, are you talking full loungers like on most beaches that a long and you can sit or lay on and your legs/feet are still on the lounger? I know there are many types of loungers, but want to make sure they are loungers where the back can be adjusted, etc. If anyone has a picture from Doctor's Cave, that would be great.

We've been to Doctor's Cave twice when docked in Mo Bay and have taken a taxi both times with no problems. They drop you off right at the entrance. Be advised though, while they do have umbrellas to rent, the chairs are not loungers, they are low to the ground canvas almost Adirondack style and extremely uncomfortable :(. This was the case in 2011 and 2012 when we were there.

 

I did google doctors cave bathing club and the chairs look newer from the last time we were there, but still not your typical full leg lounger. But it's a decent beach none the less and w/in walking distance of Margaritaville if you so choose

I was just there and they have full loungers for rent at $6/each.

Can someone clarify for me the type of "lounge" chairs they have at Doctors Cave? last time we were there they had "deck" chairs that were horrid. When you say "lounge" chairs, are you talking full loungers like on most beaches that a long and you can sit or lay on and your legs/feet are still on the lounger? I know there are many types of loungers, but want to make sure they are loungers where the back can be adjusted, etc. If anyone has a picture from Doctor's Cave, that would be great.

Yes, they were full loungers and you can sit or lay and your feet are still on the lounger and they can recline. I was there 2 weeks ago. They were comfortable. We got there about 10am. By about 2pm they had run out of them as the beach got crowded but as people left they would just take those and rent them to the next person.

Yes, they were full loungers and you can sit or lay and your feet are still on the lounger and they can recline. I was there 2 weeks ago. They were comfortable. We got there about 10am. By about 2pm they had run out of them as the beach got crowded but as people left they would just take those and rent them to the next person.

Great thanks.

Long time lurker here who just registered with CC today and so here it is...my FIRST CC POST. So many helpful posters on this site and I hope I can be one in the future although we have only cruised once before in 2012 on RCCL's Allure of the Seas.

We will be on Oasis in July and visiting Falmouth. My wife and I are looking hard at Dr C's in Montego Bay but have questions regarding transportation to and from the beach. It seems from everything I've been reading on here that the $20 roundtrip p/p seems to be the going rate. However, unless you KNOW it's the same driver returning you to the pier, how does this work exactly? Is it easier to simply pay one way fares? I mean is the fare set in stone to be the same each way? I know other islands have regulated fares for taxis but it bothers me to feel I'm paying a roundtrip fare without a guarantee that my return trip is guaranteed. Anyone have any thoughts or advice about this? Thanks in advance for any help.

Long time lurker here who just registered with CC today and so here it is...my FIRST CC POST. So many helpful posters on this site and I hope I can be one in the future although we have only cruised once before in 2012 on RCCL's Allure of the Seas.

We will be on Oasis in July and visiting Falmouth. My wife and I are looking hard at Dr C's in Montego Bay but have questions regarding transportation to and from the beach. It seems from everything I've been reading on here that the $20 roundtrip p/p seems to be the going rate. However, unless you KNOW it's the same driver returning you to the pier, how does this work exactly? Is it easier to simply pay one way fares? I mean is the fare set in stone to be the same each way? I know other islands have regulated fares for taxis but it bothers me to feel I'm paying a roundtrip fare without a guarantee that my return trip is guaranteed. Anyone have any thoughts or advice about this? Thanks in advance for any help.

Great question, me and my family are on the Freedom OTS in AUgust 2014 and would like to know more about transpertation also.

Long time lurker here who just registered with CC today and so here it is...my FIRST CC POST. So many helpful posters on this site and I hope I can be one in the future although we have only cruised once before in 2012 on RCCL's Allure of the Seas.

We will be on Oasis in July and visiting Falmouth. My wife and I are looking hard at Dr C's in Montego Bay but have questions regarding transportation to and from the beach. It seems from everything I've been reading on here that the $20 roundtrip p/p seems to be the going rate. However, unless you KNOW it's the same driver returning you to the pier, how does this work exactly? Is it easier to simply pay one way fares? I mean is the fare set in stone to be the same each way? I know other islands have regulated fares for taxis but it bothers me to feel I'm paying a roundtrip fare without a guarantee that my return trip is guaranteed. Anyone have any thoughts or advice about this? Thanks in advance for any help.

Just pay the one ways. It's easy. There are a lot of taxis (be sure to use the Red Plate JUTA taxis, as they are regulated) in both places. Not an issue. Negotiate the price before you get into the taxi.

When we were boarding the taxi in the Falmouth cruise ship port, an attendant filling up the cars stated that we must pay full fair of $20. However, when we arrived at the Dr.Cove beach, my husband asked the driver if it's o.k. to give him half the fair. The driver took 1/2 with no problems. (As I wrote above he failed to pick up , so it worked out better that way.)

When we were boarding the taxi in the Falmouth cruise ship port, an attendant filling up the cars stated that we must pay full fair of $20. However, when we arrived at the Dr.Cove beach, my husband asked the driver if it's o.k. to give him half the fair. The driver took 1/2 with no problems. (As I wrote above he failed to pick up , so it worked out better that way.)

So am I looking at $20 per person? That's 80 bucks for a group of 4.wow thats a lot for cab ride.

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Great question, me and my family are on the Freedom OTS in AUgust 2014 and would like to know more about transpertation also.

Wife and I sailed Oasis 7/5-7/12. In Falmouth we used Jaital for roundtrip $20 p/p air conditioned van from inside the port to and from Doctors Cave Beach. Easy. Taxi leaves about 1/2 hr after docking and just arrange the time you want them to pick you up to come back. Easy to deal with. Just google Jaital and you're all set.