The Ultimate Negril Guide
Seven Mile Beach, Rick's Cafe, hidden coves, and the best jerk on the west coast. A complete guide to Jamaica's most popular destination.
The Ultimate Negril Guide · Photographed in guides.
Negril gets a bad rap from people who only see the strip. The real Negril is a seven-mile beach, a cliffside town, and about a dozen things you won't find on a resort map.
The beach
Seven Mile Beach actually is about six and a half miles. Public access points run all the way down — you don't need to be a hotel guest. The water is calmest in the morning. By afternoon the breeze picks up; by sunset there's usually a little wave action.
The cliffs
West End is a different Negril — limestone cliffs, small hotels built into the rock, tide pools, and sunsets that Rick's Cafe gets all the credit for but the smaller bars do just as well. If you want the famous cliff jump without the crowd, try Pirate's Cave or 3 Dives.
Food
- 01Best jerk: the red roof stand next to the Catcha Falling Star cliff walk
- 02Best breakfast: Sweet Spice, local-Jamaican, no-frills
- 03Best seafood: Ivan's, on the cliffs, grilled lobster at sunset
- 04Best rum punch: every third bar on the strip — seriously
