Jamaica is literally one of our favorite islands in the Caribbean! We often visit Ocho Rios or Montego Bay, but this time, our close friends planned a beautiful trip to celebrate their anniversary on the western side of the island – Negril! Negril has some of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen in Jamaica and is definitely more laid back compared to Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. If you’re thinking of planning a trip to Negril and need recommendations on where to eat and have fun, continue reading as I share some of our favorite destinations from our trip!
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Where to Stay Recommendation
For most destinations in the Caribbean, most people opt for an all-inclusive package at a resort. These experiences are pretty nice, but some times it’s better to look for alternative options to truly immerse yourself in the culture of where you’re visiting. For our trip, some of our closest friends were celebrating their anniversary, and chose to spend the week at a lovely luxury resort called Villas Sur Mer.
Villas Sur Mer is a beautiful escape where you can enjoy your own private villa, nuzzled between beautiful lush tropical trees and flowers. This private property is in the perfect location, since it is walking distance to the famous Rick’s Cafe, a small convenience store and lovely little restaurant called LTU across the street that is open for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
The service here was absolutely amazing, and is ran by a local concierge manager named Carmen. Your villa is cleaned daily and if you do not wish to leave the property for the day, you may contact Carmen to have meals catered for your villa. Villas Sur Mer’s staff was also helpful in helping us plan a surprise entrance for the special couple we were celebrating with flowers, fruit and champagne. They were also great in assisting with any of our excursions. I would absolutely recommend staying here again over an Americanized inclusive resort any day! Be sure to check this hidden gem out for a beautiful location to stay.
Fun Things to Do in Negril
If you’re planning to travel to Negril, you have to find time to wind down and relax. My girlfriends and I found a beautiful gem to do so at the Caves Spa. The Caves Spa is a rustic open-air escape that offers a variety of services, even allowing you to enjoy a massage outside near the beautiful cliffs of Negril, while listening to the calming oceans waves.
Quick TikTok Video on Caves Spa
If you’re looking for a fun beach club to lounge, enjoy food and drinks on the beach with beautiful white sands, then Skylark is a must-visit location. Skylark is located on Negril’s famous 7-mile beach. I recommend visiting here during the day, even if you’re not staying at their resort. Entrance was free of charge, and they have tents with lounge chairs. Seating is limited, so I recommend visiting here early in the day to secure great seats with a view. Service and food were excellent as well! I ordered the Açaí and Salt fish with jerk fries, and the hubby ordered a cheeseburger with jerk fries. This location plays chill Jamaican music and is a quiet gem hidden in Negril’s beautiful white beach.
Where to Eat in Negril
Negril has so many hidden gems if you’re open to venturing off of a resort. Here are some of my top recommendations:
If you’re looking for a nice spot to relax and eat on the beach, then I recommend visiting Bourbon Beach Jamaica! We had the opportunity to visit here on a Monday afternoon and it was still live for a weekday! Bourbon Beach has a great live DJ with beautiful views of Negril’s white sand beaches. Their DJ played mix of hip hop, 70’s and island feels. Beach chairs are available by request, but you may want to have some cash handy to leave a tip for any beach assistance. This place is more casual in nature with amazing rum punch! Actually, it was more like rum with a side of punch 😉. To eat, we enjoyed their BBQ jerk chicken.
Rick’s Cafe is a fun must-visit restaurant/bar in Negril since 1974! This place has an energetic DJ, with entertaining views of brave cliff jumpers from up to 35 feet! The bar food here is just okay, nothing to brag about. Ricks Cafe if more of place to eat and drink for a fun time and experience. If you sit on the second level near the balcony, you can enjoy great views of the cliffs, jumpers, DJ and dancers. This place is moderately priced. You can also plan a fun pool afternoon and make reservations to sit by the pool and be served food and drinks.
Ivan’s is beautiful place for dinner with stunning views of the ocean and cliffs. The menu is a delicate balance of traditional Jamaican, Italian and French dishes. The service was very friendly, soothing music, and peaceful. Everything was fresh, veggies were well seasoned, the fish was well seasoned. I recommend visiting here if you wish to dress up for a nice dinner.
Pelican Bar is quite an experience for a fun afternoon lunch. It’s a bit of a ride outside of Negril. A driver picked us up from our villa to take us through another parish called Black River. We learned from our driver that 90% of the food in Jamaica is actually produced in Black River. Once we arrived, we were taken to a boat dock and took a short boat ride to Pelican Bar. Pelican Bar is literally a small hut in the middle of the water where you can enjoy drinks and fresh fried red snapper. Seats are limited, so I recommend getting here early for good seats.
The Rockhouse is a beautiful restaurant to visit for a special dinner, even if you are not staying at their resort. This restaurant has beautiful sweeping views of the ocean, while chiseled into one of Negril’s beautiful the mountain sides. To start we had the garden salad and crab quesadilla. The quesadilla was light , flavorful with a nice kick in flavor. From there, our group enjoyed a nice variety of surf and turf options, which were all cooked to perfection. All-in-all this is a beautiful location to celebrate love, especially the anniversary of two of our dearest friends!
Quick TikTok Video on the Rockhouse Restaurant
I hope you enjoyed this list of Negril recommendations. If you’ve visited Negril before, what were some of your favorite destinations and recommendations? Let me know in the comments below!
Beautiful place. And the pictures are so beautiful. I am sure this place in Jamaica is worth visiting.
I wonder if I would ever get bored of this beauty if I lived there?
I absolutely love Jamaica. I’ve only been once, but I’ve been trying to plan a vacation there again ever since.
We aren’t fans of all inclusives so many thanks for alternatives! The water is such a beautiful color there!
This place looks amazing! So many places to see and so little time!!!!!
This all looks absolutely stunning. That water, wow. I feel I never know about these insider places to go on trips so seeing them here is definitely helpful.
I haven’t been to Jamaica before, and these all sound like interesting destinations. There are some swimming holes in Jamaica that I would like to see.
I would love to visit Jamaica one day! All the views are amazing and the beaches look spectacular. And all that delicious food…