About Ocho Rios

Errol Flynn, Ian ‘James Bond’ Fleming and Noel Coward had two key things in common: they all enjoyed the good things in life and they all chose to spend many years of their lives in Jamaica. The two were definitely connected.

Ocho Rios is one of the island’s most beautiful towns. Its name is a corruption of the Spanish for waterfalls, so it is no surprise that Jamaicas best?known attraction, Dunns River Falls, is close by. The idea is to walk up this pretty waterfall cascading straight into the Caribbean before joining the reggae and rum beach party below.

Also close by is a large colourful craft market where the haggling is as much fun as the buying. Equally colourful are the Shaw Park botanical gardens on the outskirts of town. A must-see is Sir Noel Cowards house, ‘Firefly’, which has superb views over Port Maria while another famous former local resident, Errol Flynn, is reputed to have invented one of the most popular Jamaican excursions - rafting. This involves sitting back on a bamboo raft just big enough for two passengers as a languid Jamaican slowly punts it downriver.