Negril Holidays

Negril's a super-chilled town on the westernmost tip of Jamaica where Bob Marley, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones came to get away from it all. Along its world-famous Seven Mile Beach there’s a row of luxury hotels lined up to the north, and smaller, family-run hotels clustered to the south. And if you keep following the coastline around to West End, you’ll find the original hippie vibe still very much alive.

Negril Beach, or Seven Mile Beach as the locals call it, consistently makes the world’s top beaches list. It’s a ribbon of shimmering white sand and crystal-clear sea, backed by palm trees and clapboard shacks where the Red Stripe flows all day. For those that like a bit of action, there’s a portfolio of watersports up for grabs, plus glass-bottom boats that will whisk you away to the coral reef just off shore.

Even more laidback, if that’s possible, is West End Road, a coastal route that edges along the cliffs just south of Seven Mile Beach. Dotted along the way are boutique hotels, grill shacks and clifftop bars, like Rick’s Cafe, where daredevils plunge off the forbidding rocks into the Caribbean Sea.

Negril has plenty to offer the upmarket visitor, too. Parallel to Seven Mile Beach is Norman Manley Boulevard, a street that crams in shopping plazas, chic restaurants, bars, as well as lively music venues where top reggae artists perform. But it’s still oozes local character, courtesy of the little craft stalls and jerk chicken grills parked on the pavement.