48 HOURS IN
Negril, Jamaica
FRIDAY, 6PM Check in to your colourful cottage at Country Country, midway along Seven Mile Beach (Norman Manley Blvd, tel: 00 888 629 2021, www.countryjamaica.com), where an air conditioned double costs around US$160/£106.
8PM Get your first taste of Jamaican cooking at Country Peppa’s Bar and Grill, Country Country’s beach restaurant.
10PM Stroll along the beach to Alfred’s Ocean Palace for a night of rock and reggae at Negril’s greatest live music bar.
SATURDAY, 8AM Drive to Black River for a boat tour deep into the winding channels of the Great Morass to encounter Jamaican crocodiles and white egrets (www.jutatoursnegrilltd.com).
1PM Lunch at the Pelican Bar. Built from flotsam and jetsam, it perches on sandbar a few hundred yards offshore from Black River. Call Floyd, the owner (00888 354 4218) to order lobster, snapper, rum and Red Stripe in advance.
5PM Back in Negril, visit Barney’s Hummingbird Garden (Hylton Avenue, Negril West End, www. barneyshummingbirdgardenjamaica.com) to see tiny wild hummingbirds feeding from hand-held bottles.
6PM Sunset cocktails and dinner at the legendary Rick’s Café (www. rickscafejamaica.com). Some reckless visitors join locals diving from the 40ft cliffs here. Injuries are not uncommon, so watch if you must, but don’t join in.
SUNDAY, 10:30AM Take a boat trip to Booby Cay, go snorkelling around the tiny islet, then tuck into a seafood barbecue on the beach (www. famousvincent.coolnegril.com).
3PM Among all the Rastathemed tat, Bob Marley prints and uninspired carvings on sale at the open-air Negril Crafts Market in the Norman Manley Sea Park, there are a few things worth buying, such as Haitian-style fauxnaïve paintings – not great art, but they’ll brighten a wall. Haggle like mad, but keep smiling.
8PM Dinner at Just Natural (West End The Pelican Bar, Negril, below
Road, Negril) is a great way to end your stay. The Rasta-influenced vegetarian dishes are a delight.
MONDAY, 9:30AM After a final breakfast of fresh fruit and Jamaica’s signature morning dish, saltfish and
ackee, return to Mo Bay.
ROBIN GAULDIE