Hi there!
I tried to post this on TripAdvisor, but they deleted it. Someone there PM'd me and said I should come over here and post this safety info. I hope I'm posting it in the right place.
I'm a long time visitor to Jamaica (about 20 years now) and especially to the Negril area. I've dealt with a few sketchy experiences but most of my trips have been sublime. I have a few Jamaican friends that I hang out with most of the time and that seems to curb attention from unsavory characters.
This year, however, some of my American friends came to visit. On the night after their arrival, we met up at Roots Bamboo (along with my Jamaican friends) for a great show. We then walked the beach to see what was going on at Bourbon since it was lit up and loud. Upon arrival, we determined it wasn't really our scene. At that point (around 1:30 a.m.), I went to my hotel next door (Kuyaba), my four Jamaican friends headed home on the road and my American friends decided to walk back to their hotel (Firefly) on the beach. As they reached Lazy Days two men wearing bandanas over their faces jumped out and held a knife to my friend's belly as they rifled through his pockets. Luckily, my friends walked away unharmed, and my friend only lost $60. The incident really freaked them out, however, and now they will probably spend the next two weeks of their vacation a little paranoid something like that is going to happen again.
All the locals I spoke with about the incident recommended walking the road after dark (or even better taking a taxi) and to avoid walking the beach altogether. There seemed to be a LOT of concern about safety in the West End as well. More than one of my Jamaican friends said they are avoiding traveling through the West End completely right now...???
I tried to post this on TripAdvisor, but they deleted it. Someone there PM'd me and said I should come over here and post this safety info. I hope I'm posting it in the right place.
I'm a long time visitor to Jamaica (about 20 years now) and especially to the Negril area. I've dealt with a few sketchy experiences but most of my trips have been sublime. I have a few Jamaican friends that I hang out with most of the time and that seems to curb attention from unsavory characters.
This year, however, some of my American friends came to visit. On the night after their arrival, we met up at Roots Bamboo (along with my Jamaican friends) for a great show. We then walked the beach to see what was going on at Bourbon since it was lit up and loud. Upon arrival, we determined it wasn't really our scene. At that point (around 1:30 a.m.), I went to my hotel next door (Kuyaba), my four Jamaican friends headed home on the road and my American friends decided to walk back to their hotel (Firefly) on the beach. As they reached Lazy Days two men wearing bandanas over their faces jumped out and held a knife to my friend's belly as they rifled through his pockets. Luckily, my friends walked away unharmed, and my friend only lost $60. The incident really freaked them out, however, and now they will probably spend the next two weeks of their vacation a little paranoid something like that is going to happen again.
All the locals I spoke with about the incident recommended walking the road after dark (or even better taking a taxi) and to avoid walking the beach altogether. There seemed to be a LOT of concern about safety in the West End as well. More than one of my Jamaican friends said they are avoiding traveling through the West End completely right now...???