When you’re in Negril, I suggest you employ the services of a good driver if you want to get to a popular nightspot. We realized this too late and ended up with an almost washed-out vacation. We had a two-night and three-day package and ended up doing nothing much on the first night except waiting for our driver.
The driver we hired the first night was no good. Instead of taking us to a popular nightspot drove us to a couple of places that were complete wash-outs. The drinks there were overpriced and the music that was playing was hopeless. When we saw the place, we wanted to leave almost immediately but we couldn’t find our driver anywhere. He had conveniently disappeared! As some of our stuff was in the cab, we had no choice but to wait for him to get back. We were really frustrated by the time we got back to our hotel room.
The next day, we made a few inquiries with the staff at reception who told us that if we wanted to check out a popular nightspot it made sense to opt for a local to take us around. They were generally the ones who drove taxis with red license plates. We made sure we got it right this time and also made inquires about which place to visit. Everyone unanimously recommended Rick’s Café as the first stop from where one could watch the sun set. I also remembered reading about it on various travel reviews on the internet.
We weren’t disappointed. Rick’s Café, although a bit touristy was a nice place where we downed a couple of drinks and generally had a good time. Next on the list was another popular nightspot in Negril, Alfred’s Ocean Palace, which we really liked. The dance show put up by some local boys was excellent and the drinks were not too expensive. Our driver patiently waited for us to finish after which he drove us back to the hotel. He seemed pretty happy with the tip we gave him and was all smiles while leaving. A great end to what could have been a disastrous vacation.