Dunn’s River Falls: An Oasis In Paradise

No visit to Jamaica is complete without a trip to Dunn’s River Falls. It’s cascading waters will leave you breathless and wondering how nature could create such beauty.

Located just outside of Ocho Rios, Dunn’s River Falls are arguably Jamaica’s most popular attraction. We planned our trip to the falls ahead of time with Real Tours Jamaica. I knew it was going to be a great tour because of the interaction we had before we had even arrived in Jamaica. Through emails and even a phone call, RTJ let me know how much they cared about the experience their customers had. It all felt very personal and after reading some of RTJ’s reviews on TripAdvisor, I knew I wasn’t the only one that felt that way.

We were picked up from our hotel by Norris at 11:30 am and we set off on the hour long drive to the falls.

Along the way, Norris pointed out different landmarks and told us about some of Jamaica’s history and culture. He also made an effort to get to know us, which I really appreciated. We were laughing and having a good time within the first few miles. We also made two quick stops along the way to take some pictures. The first stop was to Discovery Bay and the second was to Columbus Park. This open-air museum has relics that date back to the Spanish Colonial period.

Soon after, we arrived at Dunn’s River Falls. We left everything but the camera in the van and made our way through the park entrance. Norris stayed behind, but we agreed on a time to meet back at the van.

Just a few minutes later and there they were. We could see others already enjoying the water so we quickly joined them. There are a few different areas with wooden stairs that you can use to step down into the water. Then it’s up to you whether you want to head down or up the river. We initially started heading down but decided to turn around because the water was getting a little rough and I was worried about getting my camera wet. If we had kept going, we would have gone all the way down to the beach.

Fun Fact: Dunn’s River is one of the few rivers in the world that flows directly into the Caribbean Sea.

So we turned around and made our way all the way to the top of the falls. It was a lot of fun climbing around the different cascades and wading in the pools.

We spent about an hour at the falls. You could easily spend more than that though. From the top, there is a path that leads back to the entrance of the park.

A few tips:

• – There are lockers available inside the park. However, I didn’t notice the price since we didn’t use them.
• – I highly recommend wearing water shoes. Some of the rocks can be slippery and the people I saw struggling were the ones that were walking around barefoot.
• – Bring a waterproof camera. We could have done a lot more exploring if I wasn’t so worried about my camera getting wet.
• – Try to go on a weekend because it will be less crowded. That sounded crazy to me at first, but it makes sense once you realize that cruise ships dock nearby during the week.
• – You have to pass through a craft market on your way out. Sellers can be a bit insistent, but if you’re not interested I suggest you just walk on through.

Our trip to Dunn’s River Falls was SO much fun. And one of the best parts was taking the trip with Real Tours Jamaica. We’ve all had good experiences with tour companies. But how many times can you say you left feeling like you actually made a friend? That’s how we felt. So much so, that we ended up also touring with RTJ to the Chuck Norris Secret Falls (aka the Blue Hole) and the Rose Hall Great House (a mansion that is haunted by a witch!). So seriously, I can’t recommend these guys enough.

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Have you visited Dunn’s River Falls? We’d love to read your comments below! 🙂

**A big thank you to Norris and Real Tours Jamaica. We were offered the tour at a discounted rate, but as always, all opinions are our own.**