Doctors Cave-tell me more

[blue_water]

I've stayed at this beach for a week at the hotel which is now a Sandals. It is one of the nicest beaches in Montego Bay.

 

The best snorkeling, IMO, is just beyond the raft and water toys. There are corals and fish, and the depth is between 12 to 20'.

 

As far as the vendors, just wave a "no" with your hand, say "one love mon", everything Irae", or "non no no I don't smoke it no more" with a smile, and you should be fine. As a guy from NYC, it was probably easier for me to turn a vendor away, I've had plenty of practice in midtown Manhattan.

 

The "MoBay Hustle" is famous for a reason but yes no worries. There are spots like the exit of Dunn's Falls where you're forced to pass through a vendor "city" but on the streets everyone was friendly and left us alone after 1 or 2 passes.

 

I thought that was a Sandals property right there. We were ready to hunker down for Ivan until an empty jet was sent to pick us up the evening it was due to hit. The captain wore a dreadlock wig to lighten the mood. But it was a sight we'll never forget seeing the hurricane coming toward us as we flew out...

The hotel (Doctor's Cave beach Hotel across from Sandals) was excellent and they were prepared to care for us for as long as was needed. Sandals - in stark contrast - evicted all of their guests, some having married there, and forced them to huddle at the airport with no chance of getting a flight. We were shocked at all of the people who were going to be stuck there with nowhere to seek shelter. And the area was hard-hit and no flights could come or go for several days. We were very fortunate...

Edited January 19, 2015 by blue_water

[evandbob]

Indeed, Sandals is now directly on the same beach as Doctor's Cave. It was 2006 when I stayed there, and that was prior to whatever hotel it was converted to a Sandals. Sorry that I don't remember that hotel's name.

 

BTW, Doctor's Cave beach got its name from a physician who thought the waters were medicinal, especially in the area where a freshwater underground spring emerges into the salt water of the bay.

[mitsugirly]

 

BTW, Doctor's Cave beach got its name from a physician who thought the waters were medicinal, especially in the area where a freshwater underground spring emerges into the salt water of the bay.

 

I was just reading up on this last night and read about the name. How neat. :)

[mitsugirly]

So I have been trying to figure out if this "Doctors Cave" is the place that I went to back in 1989 (and had a bad experience there) and I think I have confirmed that it is.

 

I just found all of my old stuff from that cruise with pictures and thought I would share them.

 

 

 

 

So am I right? These pictures are of Doctors Cave right?

[nickw]

So I have been trying to figure out if this "Doctors Cave" is the place that I went to back in 1989 (and had a bad experience there) and I think I have confirmed that it is.

 

I just found all of my old stuff from that cruise with pictures and thought I would share them.

 

 

 

 

So am I right? These pictures are of Doctors Cave right?

 

Looks like Doctor's Cave to me. I don't see why it matters though. That was 25 years ago.

[blue_water]

Gorgeous beach Doctors Cave! We (4 couples) stayed across the street at Doctors Cave Beach Hotel and had a driver at our disposal to take us to Ocho Rios, the cliffs, and Negil, what a great way to experience that part of Jamaica, day and night. We still consider Doctors Cave Beach one of the top 5 we've visited - beautiful place! The people in the area were very friendly, and this area is maintained well for tourists.

 

If you ever want an inexpensive hotel in MoBay the DCBH is great, and Kenny will take care of you.

Edited September 4, 2015 by blue_water
Typo

[cruiselvr04]

I have read good and bad reviews and will finally check this beach out in November. We have done a lot out of Falmouth and Ochos Rios but never gone to Mo Bay. DH will be glad to hear there may be some snorkeling. I will try to remember to come back and write my thoughts after.

[knots4crewzing]

We're coming into Falmouth on the Freedom of the Seas October 14th and have deposited our ride with Jaital vans to Drs Cave.

 

I can't wait!!:D it looks gorgeous and it seems they have done many upgrades to the beach with a restaurant and facilities.

Would love to see a menu if anyone has one.

 

Do you know about how long it might take to get to there from Falmouth?

Thanx

 

Liz:)

[2 cruzen]

I have read good and bad reviews and will finally check this beach out in November. We have done a lot out of Falmouth and Ochos Rios but never gone to Mo Bay. DH will be glad to hear there may be some snorkeling. I will try to remember to come back and write my thoughts after.

 

I hope you remember to report back 😄. We are going in February. Thanks!

[blue_water]

I have read good and bad reviews and will finally check this beach out in November. We have done a lot out of Falmouth and Ochos Rios but never gone to Mo Bay. DH will be glad to hear there may be some snorkeling. I will try to remember to come back and write my thoughts after.

 

Can you share what the negative reports said that you've read? I haven't read many of the posts and I'm just surprised there would be that many since i's a gorgeous beach.

TIA!

[ms_samuella]

Mitsugirly, did you end up going to Doctors Cove? I'd love to here your thoughts as I'm planning to go I'm December!

[angiem0217]

We will be going back to Jamaica this year and doing my research. We will dock in Montego Bay this time. We have already done Hilton Rose Hall that last time we were here and want something different. If I can't find anything, I will probably just book Sunset with Resort For a Day since we have booked twice with them and had great service with no problems. However, I am weighing my options to see what else there is to do.

 

I have ran across several post about Doctors Cave and I am putting this on the list as a "consideration".

 

So, I have read several threads, but nothing I'm really looking for is being answered.

 

1) How far away is it from the cruise port?

 

2) How much is a taxi there? Is it per taxi or per person?

 

3) What does it cost to get in to Doctors Cave?

 

4) Are there taxi's there waiting to take you back when ready or does a staff member have to call one for you?

 

5) Is the place fairly safe?

 

6) Are there vendors going up and down the beach hassling you to buy, buy, buy?

 

7) Are there showers, dressing rooms and facilities there?

 

8) Do they have concessions/food there? Is so, what type of food do they offer and what type of prices for food and drinks (soda and frozen drinks)?

 

9) Is there snorkeling there? If so, where at? Is it accessible from shore and if so, how far out?

 

10) I know this is a funny question, but can you see the cruise ship in port from here? (I'm only asking because back in the 80's we went somewhere that is similar to this place, had to pay to get in, was fairly close to port to where you could see the ships, and we walked back and it was maybe an hour walk back to the port...NOT that I'm going to do this again, but just trying to figure out if it's the same place or not).

 

Just wanted to say, I HAVE had a bad experience in Jamaica. It is not one of my favorite ports...so please don't make suggestions that would have us walking anywhere away from the beach we pay to get in to...like for food or shopping or whatever. If there's food there, we will intend on buying there at the beach. If there's not, we'll wait until we get back to the ship. I'm only saying this because I have read a few things about people walking down toward Margaritaville to some pork or bbq place. We have no intentions on doing this. ;)

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me in planning. I really appreciate everyones input and time to reply. :)

 

 

Did you go to Dr caves? We are going in March and trying to decide if we should go there or pay for a private resort. I have 6 so I am not really pleased about having to pay $600 for a beach day. I have a 9 year old so please let me know what you did in Montego Bay. Thanks

[klpalp]

My husband and I were just at Drs. Cave last week, and loved it! We cruised into Mobay and took the hop on/hop off bus there. As soon as you leave the cruise terminal there is plenty of people you can ask to direct you to the correct bus. It was $6 per person and it dropped people off at Margaritaville first, then to the beach. They did offer to take you all day to various locations for $20 if you wanted to stay on the bus. It was $6 per person to get in, and the same for each beach chair/umbrella you wanted. I recommend getting there early, it gets very busy later in the day. We didnt eat or drink anything, but there is a small grocery store in the large condo/hotel accross the street you could go get snacks/drinks if you wanted to save a few $$. The water was beautiful! There was a water trampoline for free, but that was the only water toy. We have our own snorkel gear, and surprisingly there was some decent things to see out near the buoys.....good variety of fish and other marine life, which i wasnt expecting. There was a vendor that offered to take you out in an area past the buoys for $20 and I noticed there was ship excursions out in the same area, so might have been worth $20! They did have snorkel gear for rental, not sure for how much. They had a couple of life guards that kept a good watch over things, and a couple of security guards that also walked around. There were some vendors, but nothing bothersome, a simple "no" worked just fine. This was our first cruise without kids, but if they had been with us, I would feel comfortable taking them. There were lots of families with kids. When you go to leave there was lots of cabs willing to take you back to the port, and it was the same price as the bus, $6 per person. As far as the cab, make sure you get a driver with the red plates with white letters/numbers. Our driver was great and it wasnt a white knuckle ride.....I have had much scarier cab rides in US cities! I just recommend using the same precautions you would in any new place. Before our trip, I struggled with going the safe route and spending more $$ thru a ship excursion with all the bad reviews concerning safety, but I'm so glad we chose going on our own. We saved alot of money, loved Doctors Cave beach, and Jamaica ended up being our favorite port of our trip.

[angiem0217]

My husband and I were just at Drs. Cave last week, and loved it! We cruised into Mobay and took the hop on/hop off bus there. As soon as you leave the cruise terminal there is plenty of people you can ask to direct you to the correct bus. It was $6 per person and it dropped people off at Margaritaville first, then to the beach. They did offer to take you all day to various locations for $20 if you wanted to stay on the bus. It was $6 per person to get in, and the same for each beach chair/umbrella you wanted. I recommend getting there early, it gets very busy later in the day. We didnt eat or drink anything, but there is a small grocery store in the large condo/hotel accross the street you could go get snacks/drinks if you wanted to save a few $$. The water was beautiful! There was a water trampoline for free, but that was the only water toy. We have our own snorkel gear, and surprisingly there was some decent things to see out near the buoys.....good variety of fish and other marine life, which i wasnt expecting. There was a vendor that offered to take you out in an area past the buoys for $20 and I noticed there was ship excursions out in the same area, so might have been worth $20! They did have snorkel gear for rental, not sure for how much. They had a couple of life guards that kept a good watch over things, and a couple of security guards that also walked around. There were some vendors, but nothing bothersome, a simple "no" worked just fine. This was our first cruise without kids, but if they had been with us, I would feel comfortable taking them. There were lots of families with kids. When you go to leave there was lots of cabs willing to take you back to the port, and it was the same price as the bus, $6 per person. As far as the cab, make sure you get a driver with the red plates with white letters/numbers. Our driver was great and it wasnt a white knuckle ride.....I have had much scarier cab rides in US cities! I just recommend using the same precautions you would in any new place. Before our trip, I struggled with going the safe route and spending more $$ thru a ship excursion with all the bad reviews concerning safety, but I'm so glad we chose going on our own. We saved alot of money, loved Doctors Cave beach, and Jamaica ended up being our favorite port of our trip.

 

 

Thanks so much for your input. That make me feel so much better. We have 6 people and really do not want to spend $600 for a beach day. I think we will try dr caves. Thanks for your response

Edited February 27, 2016 by angiem0217

[klpalp]

Your welcome! Hope you have a great day there.

[SeaWolfe]

Traveling this June with my BFF (first timer), my DD and DD's BFF (first timer). Since we are traveling with some newbies, my husband is not going and I am responsible for someone else child, I want to make sure what we are doing is safe. We are looking at going to DC beach and would later like to go to Margaritaville. I want to go down that big slide!

How far from Falmouth is the beach and is it safe to walk from the beach to Margaritaville?