Recent thoughts on Blue Hole

For those that have been there recently? How was your experience?

We went picturing a relaxing experience of hanging out, swimming under waterfalls. What we experienced was actually a crowded, rushed, and even dangerous experience.

My husband and Dad both almost drowned. TOO MANY PEOPLE. So many that they rushed you and pushed you into doing things before you could even think, pause, or get adjusted to it. We were rushed up and pushed to jump in before really even knowing what we were doing. My Dad had knee surgery and didn't realize that he could no longer swim due to the fact that his replacement knees meant he could no longer float. What's more- since he had to take his glassed off to get in he couldn't SEE! He jumped in and started sinking, panicked and had to be rescued by staff. After that, since there was no easy way out, he was given a life jacket and I had to help guide him out. On the way out, his leg hit a rock and swelled up afterward. He was limping for days afterward.

This was just after the girls and I jumped in under the waterfall. We didn't have time to explain to them what was going on, so when they came up and realized they were under a waterfall and could not touch the ground THEY PANICKED. Each girl grabbed on to one of my husband's arms and he couldn't swim to hold them up. He started sinking and staff had to come and take the girls off of him so that my husband wouldn't drown. Needless to say, I nearly had a heart attack. Twice.

Are we the only ones to have this experience? Was it just a freak day? I'm just curious what others' thoughts were.

What tour group did you go with? I thought this place was supposed to be kind of off the beaten path with very few people there. How many ships were in port that day? I'll be in Jamaica next week and am thinking of going there.

Once you get to Blue Hole, it's like a separate destination. They hand you off to guides who are full time at Blue Hole. The tour company just waits outside for you to finish. This was not something that I realized either beforehand.

We used Courtney Taylor, but our issues with Blue Hole had nothing to do with the tour company- mainly the destination itself (afterward we went river tubing and had a blast).

I get the feeling their were a ton of ships in port that day between Falmouth and Ocho Rios. It was a mad house. Traffic even getting in and out of Blue Hole was a mad house. This is no longer a 'secret' destination.

Thanks for sharing your experience. We are going to be in Jamaica at the end of February (docking in Ocho Rios), and we're planning to visit the Blue Hole as well. Our ship is the only one in Ocho Rios that day, but I hadn't thought to check which ships would be docking in Falmouth and Montego. Unfortunately, there will be two enormous ships in each of those ports, which means we are likely to encounter crowds as well.

Luckily, we are very strong swimmers and have plenty of experience with swimming in currents so I don't anticipate the problems you encountered. It sounds as though the people in your party weren't quite prepared for the challenges of swimming in moving water/waterfalls. I'm sure the crowds didn't help either, and it really is a shame that the guides were rushing the whole experience. We're still set to visit the Blue Hole, but I'll certainly report back about our experience so that people can make a more informed decision when there are a lot of ships in Jamaica!

Thanks for sharing your experience. We are going to be in Jamaica at the end of February (docking in Ocho Rios), and we're planning to visit the Blue Hole as well. Our ship is the only one in Ocho Rios that day, but I hadn't thought to check which ships would be docking in Falmouth and Montego. Unfortunately, there will be two enormous ships in each of those ports, which means we are likely to encounter crowds as well.

 

Luckily, we are very strong swimmers and have plenty of experience with swimming in currents so I don't anticipate the problems you encountered. It sounds as though the people in your party weren't quite prepared for the challenges of swimming in moving water/waterfalls. I'm sure the crowds didn't help either, and it really is a shame that the guides were rushing the whole experience. We're still set to visit the Blue Hole, but I'll certainly report back about our experience so that people can make a more informed decision when there are a lot of ships in Jamaica!

Yes, please could you post your experiences back here? DH and I were thinking about visiting Blue Hole in March and I'd love some feedback.

Thanks!

With experienced swimmers you will not have as dangerous of a situation as we had. However, the crowds and pushing might still be an issue depending on ships in port.

My concern is that I found NO reviews prior to indicate that this attraction could be dangerous for kids, etc.

To his credit, my Dad had no idea that he could no longer swim/float with his replacement knees so neither did we.

As far as the kids go, the danger came from rushing them up and having them jump in before I could even understand or explain to them what they were doing and how to handle it.

If you aren't into jumping in under the waterfall please be advised that there is no alternate shallow relaxing spot to hang out and watch.

With experienced swimmers you will not have as dangerous of a situation as we had. However, the crowds and pushing might still be an issue depending on ships in port.

 

My concern is that I found NO reviews prior to indicate that this attraction could be dangerous for kids, etc.

 

To his credit, my Dad had no idea that he could no longer swim/float with his replacement knees so neither did we.

 

As far as the kids go, the danger came from rushing them up and having them jump in before I could even understand or explain to them what they were doing and how to handle it.

 

If you aren't into jumping in under the waterfall please be advised that there is no alternate shallow relaxing spot to hang out and watch.

Is jumping in the only way to get into the water, or can you climb on in? I don't think my son would be up for jumping.

Thank-you for your post. It has us rethinking our plans for O.R. stop. I too hadn't thought about people coming from other ports.

I wish I could just find a free, quiet beach with no people trying to sell you stuff. That seems not possible in Jamaica.

Following. Heard great things and was planning to attend. Anyone use a private tour operator? Costs?

i was excited about this despite the long drive from falmouth but then i started seeing pictures like this....

[PICTURE FROM TRIPADVISOR]....

between the drive and the possibility of that...switched plans.

 

between the drive and the possibility of that...switched plans.

 

That could have been a large group that showed up and that can happen anywhere.

Overall I would say that this is not the norm. (I have been there once but did a lot of research beforehand)

Very few people there when I went.

You can see my video here:

Direct link:

There generally is always a line at the big waterfall because it is slow to do because of the footing and hesitation of some jumpers.

However, if you look at my video you will see there was no line at the rope swing at all.

Phew. Plans back on. Lol

Thx for sharing.

I used Courtney Taylor Tours on January 9, 2016 for a trip to the Blue Hole, authentic Jerk and shopping or whatever we wanted to do. We were met at the port (Ocho Rios) in a less than organized format and had about a 30 min wait to get to our van and guides.

The 4 of us were shuttled to the van outside of the port and we met Kelsey Ann and Brooks (aka Junior). They immediately told us we were off to the Blue Hole to beat the crowds. Off into the hills we went, getting great descriptions of what we were passing, how life there was and even a stop to see the "brownie man". It took about 20 min to get to the Blue Hole. On the way up we rented water shoes since sandals and flip flops were not adequate.

Once we arrived we were handed off to our guide. He was the best! Very attentive and helpful as we had one in our group who did not swim. He assured us that we would be fine and acquired a lifejacket for him. The river was flowing faster than normal so he modified what we could do for safety.

In the 2+ hours that we were there we never felt rushed or unsafe at all. This is a fairly healthy hike up the falls in the water and along goat paths. He took pictures for us all the way along and pointed out jumps from various heights that we could do. We played the whole way down and our safety was the primary thing he was concerned with. From the jumps to the rope swing to the climb down the falls via rope we had no concerns other than our own hesitations.

It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to and can't wait to go again. As we were leaving there were quite a few people in line and many behind us that were starting to congest the area.

While we were on the Blue Hole tour our guides stayed at the van and safeguarded our belongings, including my finacee's new engagement ring with no problems at all.

Would I recommend it? ABSOLUTELY!

If you have mobility issues I would ask about access. This is a climb on wet rocks and paths. I have a daughter 14 and would have taken her without hesitation as well.

Go, have fun and enjoy the beauty that is there before it is over run like DRF.

It would seem that the experience is highly variable depending on what time you get there and how close to port.

From Ocho Rios, I'd imagine the poster was able to beat the crowds and have a much different experience.

My experience was closer to the one in the picture you found on Tripadvisor.

Our guide has advised us to get off the ship as soon as it rocks so that we can be some of the first people there. Everything else on our itinerary will come after we are done with the falls.

We were at Blue Hole last Wednesday. It wasn't anywhere near as crowded as the pic in this thread, but we got there pretty early. It would definitely make it less enjoyable and more dangerous with that many folks being pushed through.

"Staff" there is better quantified and young men there to help you up the falls and show off when you jump down. Not trying to say they weren't great/helpful, but they are not Life Guards or trained professionals.

On a scale of 1-5, 5 being the most adventurous of activities, I would put this one at a 3 or 4. So if you can swim, hike, ride in a bus up a narrow, rocky, muddy road into the "backwoods", this is the adventure for you. I would highly recommend. I probably would not take my young children 5 and 7 there simply for the fact of where it is (semi-remote Jamaica). If it was anywhere in the United States I wouldn't hesitate to put a life jacket on them and let them jump to their hearts content.

We went there with Phil Lafayette by the way. He was great. Did a good job of explaining to us what to expect, how the place worked, etc. I would highly recommend his service. He beats everyone else's price and we got private tour type service.

I went last April and had a great time. I cant remember who took me but they were great guides.

We were at Blue Hole last Wednesday. It wasn't anywhere near as crowded as the pic in this thread, but we got there pretty early. It would definitely make it less enjoyable and more dangerous with that many folks being pushed through.

 

"Staff" there is better quantified and young men there to help you up the falls and show off when you jump down. Not trying to say they weren't great/helpful, but they are not Life Guards or trained professionals.

 

On a scale of 1-5, 5 being the most adventurous of activities, I would put this one at a 3 or 4. So if you can swim, hike, ride in a bus up a narrow, rocky, muddy road into the "backwoods", this is the adventure for you. I would highly recommend. I probably would not take my young children 5 and 7 there simply for the fact of where it is (semi-remote Jamaica). If it was anywhere in the United States I wouldn't hesitate to put a life jacket on them and let them jump to their hearts content.

 

We went there with Phil Lafayette by the way. He was great. Did a good job of explaining to us what to expect, how the place worked, etc. I would highly recommend his service. He beats everyone else's price and we got private tour type service.

Thank you for this input! You mentioned that you were there "early"... If you don't mind, I have a couple of questions to see if this is possible for us! How early did you arrive in port, and about what time did you meet the tour and then arrive at Blue Hole? And what port were you at? We will be in Falmouth in March, docking at I believe 10:30. I am worried that with the distance to Blue Hole and arriving what may be somewhat late that we will be stuck in the crowd that everyone is trying to avoid! Thank you for any additional information that you can share!

Thank you for this input! You mentioned that you were there "early"... If you don't mind, I have a couple of questions to see if this is possible for us! How early did you arrive in port, and about what time did you meet the tour and then arrive at Blue Hole? And what port were you at? We will be in Falmouth in March, docking at I believe 10:30. I am worried that with the distance to Blue Hole and arriving what may be somewhat late that we will be stuck in the crowd that everyone is trying to avoid! Thank you for any additional information that you can share!

Boat was there 7am-4pm (Falmouth). We got off at 7:45. Met Phil at 8am and left the port area by @ 8:30am. We arrived at Blue Hole @ 10:15am. Left about 11:15. Stopped for lunch at Scotchies for 30mins or so and were back at the pier by 1:30ish. Obviously I wasn't staring at my watch the whole time, but these are pretty close. I would not do it with any less than 6.5hrs just to be safe. We hit very little traffic, not sure if other days or later in the day would be worse.

Phil offered to stop at the beach for us as well and we could have easily stopped for an hour or more and been safe, but being that it was my first time to Jamaica I didn't want to have any unknowns cause us not to make it back in time. Blue Hole and lunch were amazing enough!!!

We docked at 10 in Falmouth, got off right away and were driving just after 10:30.

It was a madhouse by the time we got there. I would not go to Blue Hole OR Dunn's River from Falmouth with a docking time after 10 am again. Of course, it may also vary based on ships in port (MB, Ocho Rios, and Falmouth).

We docked at 10 in Falmouth, got off right away and were driving just after 10:30.

 

It was a madhouse by the time we got there. I would not go to Blue Hole OR Dunn's River from Falmouth with a docking time after 10 am again. Of course, it may also vary based on ships in port (MB, Ocho Rios, and Falmouth).

Yes, there are going to be tons of factors that you really cannot plan around.

Bottom line: If you want to go to either of those places, just go and don't worry about trying to figure out when it may or may not be crowded. :)

WE were there last week. Used Courtney Taylor and had Brooks as our guide for the day. He picked us up at OR port at 9:30 and we went first to Blue Hole. Not Crowded at all. We had someone with mobility issues and they could get in the water without jumping. Our guide at the blue hole was VAL. He was excellent, took lots of fun photos and videos with our camera, and helped us when needed. He really kept an eye out for the 4 of us. We tried it all and never felt unsafe. There was 1 ship in OR and 1 in Falmouth. I think getting there early is probably the key.

Don't pass up this beautiful spot. It is a place you will never forget.

I think getting there early is probably the key.

 

Don't pass up this beautiful spot. It is a place you will never forget.

I got there much later in the day (maybe 1:30pm) and it wasn't crowded. On our way in I saw a few large buses coming the opposite direction so maybe if I would have got there 45 minutes earlier it would have been crowded.

Again, a lot of different factors come into play and just no way to guarantee how crowded it will be at any given time. :)

I agree though, don't pass it up. :)

Just back from our cruise and already missing the ship! We enjoyed the Blue Hole, although it was EXTREMELY crowded due to the number of ships in port. We docked in Ocho Rios at 9am, and it probably took us until 9:45 to get in the van headed to the Blue Hole (just us and one other couple). By the way, we booked our transportation through the Blue Hole Shuttle website (I found links to it here and on Facebook), but what they end up doing is contracting with one of the usual local operators to provide transportation (in our case, Courtney Taylor).

Anyway, the trip from Ocho Rios is very quick, but even so the place was choked with people when we arrived. Our guide took the four of us and another group of four and guided us up to a section where there were two spots to jump off. There was a long line of people so they moved everyone through these jumps very quickly, and sent us directly back down to the next section. We asked our guide if we could do one of the jumps again, and he reluctantly agreed, but you could tell he wanted to keep everyone moving.

The next section had a rope that allowed you to sort of rappel down a waterfall and a jumping area that allowed you to jump from various heights (the highest of which was maybe 7-8 feet). There was a long line for the waterfall, and it was unclear if you could do both the falls and the jump, so my husband and I just did the high jump. Again, one and done and we were led to the next thing.

The final section had a rope swing and a small area to do the highest jump of the day - probably a 15-18 foot drop. Most people just did the rope swing once and skipped the high jump, but we are nuts so we took the big leap. This was by far the most exciting part of the trip, but again, it was one and done! As soon as we finished, our guide escorted us to our van and waited for tips.

We probably arrived around 10:15 and were back in the van by 11:30 at the latest. Not quite the experience I was hoping for - we wanted to spend a couple of hours climbing around, jumping and swimming, but it was not meant to be with so many other people there. We passed many more vans coming in as we were leaving, too. Fun, but I would NOT do it again unless we were the only ship in any port.

What's the easiest way to find out how many other ships will be in port in OR, MB and Falmouth?