Negril is one
of the Caribbean’s most laid back
destinations for a large-scale resort
setting, so much so it’s earned a reputation
as "the capital of casual." The selling
point here is simple. Visitors have direct
access to seven miles of uninterrupted, pure
white beach fronting an unbelievably calm
blue-green ocean. This is what the postcard
promised and this is what Negril delivers.
No hotel is
more than three stories tall, and much of
the beach is home to an array of funky beach
bars and restaurants with most of their
tourist clientele barefoot and grinning.
Every year, it seems another small and
colorful inn-style resort opens up where
visitors feel like they’re staying with a
Jamaican family and their cute,
well-manicured gingerbread home.
Bordering the main beach is seven more miles
of seaside cliffs and grottos first
popularized by visiting hippies in the
1960s. Dotting the cliffs are a series of
open-air restaurants and bars that cater to
hundreds of tourists nightly who migrate
here to watch the nightly sunsets over the
Caribbean Sea. As the dying sun lights up
the waters, the reggae bands start pumping
out their hip-swayin’ beat while everyone
knifes into their spicy Jerk chicken and
sips on Jamaica’s Red Stripe beer. One
special event during sunset on the cliffs
are the professional cliff divers at Rick’s
Café who perform graceful acrobatics from 60
feet above the warm crystalline waters.
Most importantly in Negril, the region has
the highest number of hotels in the
Caribbean certified by Great Britain’s Green
Globe environmental organization. The local
government is adamant about keeping the
destination in its pristine ecological
state, meaning no cruise ships or heavy
industry.
