Dunn’s River Falls Excursion Review

Wondering where you should go while you are on your Jamaica vacation? If you are in the Ocho Rios area, consider a visit to Dunn’s River Falls! This is a fun and relatively easy waterfall climbing experience, but if you have some people in your party that don’t want to climb, that is okay, too. They have what they affectionately call the “chicken path” which just involves stairs. There are a couple of places you can still get in the water if you wish, too. However, if anyone in your party has difficulty with stairs, this experience is not accessible. 

Things to know: 

Some kind of water shoe is definitely needed. There are some areas I think I would have slipped if I didn’t have them on and the bottom was a bit gravely, so I am glad I didn’t have to stand on it in bare feet.

Carry your phone in a waterproof pouch! If you forget one, they do sell both water shoes and phone pouches at the entrance, but purchasing in advance is definitely less expensive. I unfortunately forgot my phone pouch at home, so I purchased a fun belt bag version on site. I did have to remove my phone to take pictures, but that didn’t bother me. If you have a clear pouch, your camera should work just fine without removing it.

You can rent a small or family size locker to hold your things while you climb. You definitely want to have your hands free and you will get in water that was about waist high on me (I am 5’3). They were fairly inexpensive and 3 medium size bags easily fit in the family locker.

The water is not warm. It was very hot and humid when we were there in August, so the water felt okay, but if the air temperature was significantly colder, I would have been shivering at times. There are restrooms and changing rooms if you want to bring a dry set of clothes for when you are done.

We had a guide and a fairly large group of people in addition to our 10. There was a lot of stopping for the photographer to take pictures (which are available for purchase at the end), but we got some nice group shots because of this. The guides were always available to help you climb the steeper steps. Tipping your guide and photographer is customary.

The entire experience was pretty slow moving, but I think that was due to the size of our group. It was fun, but it would have been more enjoyable for me if we had been able to go at our own pace.

They allow vendors to sell their product here and you do need to pass them to exit. This is how many Jamaicans earn their living, so a simple no thank you if you aren’t interested is all you need to say. If you do have some time to shop, there were plenty of things to look at and they take American dollars. We were told to never accept the first price, so haggling is welcome.  

All in all, a very fun and beautiful experience! I do recommend checking it out if you are in the area. You can arrange for a tour through your resort or another tour operator. As always, I am here to help with all of your vacation booking and planning needs!