Blue Hole Jamaica | TOP Attraction Jamaica
Blue Hole Waterfalls in Ocho Rios JAMAICA promises beauty, adventure, climbing, jumping & fun!
Are you going to Jamaica? If yes you must visit Blue Hole in Ocho Rios which is one of the most famous places in Jamaica and belongs to Top Jamaica attractions. I love this trip and it is my favorite. I recommend you watch my video to explore Blue Hole, the atmosphere, and the uniqueness of this natural attraction.
In this article, you will find out all you need to know when planning to visit this gorgeous place. However, you need to know that in the last years there are concerns about Blue Hole bacteria, read more in the article.
Highlights
- Explore beautiful untouched nature.
- Climb waterfalls and feel the energy of cascading water.
- Explore & climb natural caves.
- Swing from a rope and jump.
- Jump into the blue pools from various heights.
- Enjoy a waterfall massage.
- Capture stunning photos and videos.
General Information
The Blue Hole Jamaica is about 10.4 km from Ocho Rios. It is an untouched natural attraction containing several cascade waterfalls and blue water pools. It will take you about 2 hours to climb the waterfalls, jump and swim in the pools with short breaks for photos and videos.
Blue Hole Jamaica Opening Hours
Saturday: Closed
Sunday -Thursday: 9 AM – 5 PM
Friday: 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Blue Hole Jamaica Entry Fee
$15 per adult
$10 for kids 12 years old and under
How to get to Blue Hole & Cost
The Blue Hole is about 10.4 km from Ocho Rios. There are many options for how you can visit this place. You can book it as a tour via tour operators/hotel REPs. This is the most expensive and the less enjoyable option. You will pay around $ 80 per person. I do not like tours because you have to wait for the whole group to be collected from different resorts and as you can see in the video you will be cueing the whole trip on every single waterfall.
The best option and the cheapest is to rent a taxi. We were staying at ClubHotel Riu Ocho Rios, and we met there a lovely couple who was looking at the trip board we asked them if they want to share a taxi with us – to save money. Every hotel has taxis which are offering special trips like full /half day trips. This means that the taxi driver is like your personal tour guide, you do not need to worry about anything. I recommend checking this option before booking any trips with tour operators as this can be a cheaper option even if is only 2 of you. We took a hotel taxi for $100 (half day trip for 4 of us)and we paid the extra entry fee to Blue Hole. Every hotel taxi trip is recorded at the hotel reception – this is safer as to take a random taxi from the street.
The other option is your car / rented. The road is not marked properly but you should be able to find it using GPS. There is a street parking where you can leave your car.
Top Tips & Tricks For Blue Hole Jamaica
- Avoid visiting Blue Hole when cruise ships arrive at Ocho Rios Harbour. Most of the cruise passengers are going to visit this famous attraction.
- Avoid visiting Blue Hole during and after rain. This will cause the water will be brown and there are claims that this can cause that there is bacteria in the water – read more in Blue Hole Bacteria down below.
- Wear only swimwear and water shoes. No loose items like rings.
- Avoid any belongings which are not waterproof and you can lose them while jumping & swimming in pools. All items should be secured to your body – use a strip for your waterproof camera/phone.
- CASH only! Don’t take money with you, if you want to buy something a seller will come to collect the payment at the end of your trip. “Smoke now, pay later!”
Can You Visit Blue Hole Without Going to Swim?
Yes, you can. You still need to pay the entry fee. If you don’t want to swim you can walk up to the main waterfall and pool. It is about 15 minutes away from the entry. In this case, you can be dressed as you want. You can walk around and take pictures.
History
The original Blu Hole is now called Blue Lagoon which is located in Port Antonio, Jamaica. The Blue Lagoon was named after Brooke Shields movie “The Blue Lagoon” which was filmed there.
Since the 1980’s Island Gully Falls known as Secret Falls became famous as well as Blue Hole. This is the commercial name. The Island Gully Falls sign is welcoming you at the entrance until today.
Our Blue Hole Jamaica Experience
We were driving tiny roads where you will see real Jamaica. It is a nice journey. Once we arrived at Blue Hole we left our belongings in our taxi. The driver showed us where to pay for entry and he stayed to be waiting for us in the taxi.
We paid $15 per person entry plus we could rent water shoes for $5 and life jackets for $5. The entry includes a lifeguard/tour guide who will take you through the whole attraction. You have to have water shoes for safety, otherwise, they will not let you go there. We bought our water shoes a few years ago for £7 as you need them for most of the trips which include water activity.
On the way to the waterfalls, people are offering famous Jamaican cookies and other goodies. Depends on what you prefer and what you like. You can even enjoy first and PAY LATER, the same is with souvenirs, they will bring the souvenirs to your taxi to take a payment – CASH only. As you can notice in my video if you are part of a big tour group you will be cueing every single waterfall and you will spend there a lot of time. Thanks to our lifeguard we had a lot of fun, no cueing and we enjoyed ourselves.
The best part for Dusan was climbing inside of waterfall cave. This is a tiny cave in which you can not even turn around, once you are in you have to go through. Hands first as you need to push yourself out. Bigger you are more power you need. They call it to get born again. I didn’t do it as I don’t like closed tiny places.
We could jump as much as we wanted. I was scared to jump from high waterfalls, I preferred to jump only from smaller ones. Our lifeguard was honestly lovely, friendly, and helpful. He made our trip special. It is recommended to leave your life guard extra Tips, so don’t forget to have extra cash in your wallet as your thank you, if you are happy with your trip.
Blue Hole Bacteria known as Leptospirosis
There were several claims in 2018 that there is a bacteria in Blue Hole water known as Leptospirosis. We were there in March 2018 and non of us had any medical difficulties. However, it is better to know that sweet waters can be this bacteria. This could happen after the rain when soil and other elements got into the water which change the cleanBLUE color to dirty BROWN color.
“Leptospirosis is a relatively rare bacterial infection that affects people and animals. It can pass from animals to humans when an unhealed break in the skin comes in contact with water or soil where animal urine is present.” To find out all about this bacteria, its symptoms and its treatment check the article:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/246829
Ocho Rios Harbour Shopping Mall
Our trip included a shopping stop at Ocho Rios Harbour Shopping Mall. This is a complex of shops just next to OchoRios Harbour, where all cruise ships stop. You can buy their lovely souvenirs, Jamaican coffee & alcohol. It is much cheaper to shop here than in the resort shops. If there is busy due to cruise ships all nearby attractions are going to be busy. I recommend you to visit the mall before swimming in Blue Hole.
