Ocho Rios (Jamaica)

Ocho Rios is a Caribbean port town in Jamaica's Saint Ann Parish. The town has population around 17,000, and is located on the island's northern coast. Jamaica's other large cruise ports are Falmouth and Montego Bay (on the north coast) as well as Kingston/Port Royal (on the southeastern coast).

Outside the town, residents and tourists can visit Columbus Park, the site where Columbus supposedly came on land, and see Spanish colonial buildings and maritime artifacts. Once a fishing village, today Ocho Rios caters to tourists. The town is a port of call for cruise vessels, as well as for cargo ships that load sugar and limestone. 

The name of Ocho Rios (meaning "Eight Rivers" in Spanish) is a misnomer as there are not eight rivers in the region. It is most likely a British corruption of the original "Las Chorreras" ("the waterfalls" in Spanish) which name was given to Ocho Rios due to nearby Dunn's River Falls.

In the vicinity of and in downtown Ocho Rios there are several premium hotels and resorts, great restaurants, cafe bars and nightclubs. Dolphin Cove is popular for swimming with dolphins. Ocho Rios was one of the sites used for the "Dr. No" movie (1962, the first in the James Bond series).

Ocho Rios was the primary location for the "Piranha II: The Spawning" (1982 released movie), with many of the scenes being shot at Mallards Beach-Hyatt Hotel (Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa). In 2016, Rio Chico Resort (outside the city) was featured on ABC's reality TV show "The Bachelor" (20th season).

In May 2017, Jamaica's government approved a USD 30,9 million project for building a new and renovating the existing tourism-serving facilities in Ocho Rios.

• The budget included USD 19,3M for upgrading Reynolds Pier, which allowed the facility to handle larger cruise vessels. Reynolds Pier now complements Ocho Rios Pier, for which improvements (the adjacent esplanade/promenade) were allocated USD 2,1M.
• USD 0,772M were spent for the town's market renovations.
• USD 0,618M were spent for building a new artisan village facilitating craft-making and retail shops (selling locally-manufactured products).

Ocho Rios cruise terminal

Ocho Rios tours, shore excursions, hotels

City Tours and Shore Excursions

Next are listed the most popular Carnival Cruise Lines tours in Ocho Rios, with USD prices per adult:

• Bamboo Beach Club all-inclusive ($50)
• horseback riding ($100)
• Jamaica Bobsled ($60)
• jungle tours ($100)
• buggy ($100)
• Zipline tour ($100)
• Dunn's River Falls tours (from $110)
• Coyaba botanical Gardens ($55)
• jeep safaris ($100)
• snorkeling ($70)
• mini-boats, ocean kayaks, ATVs ($100)
• shopping tours ($45)
• Paradise Beach Club ($55)
• rafting ($55)
• Rainforest Explorer (chairlift $40)
• best golfing at Upton, Runaway Bay, Cinnamon Hill, and Sandals golf clubs (from $175)
• combo-tours from $120