We’ve had our hearts set on visiting Jamaica since our honeymoon in St. Martin. We fell in love with the Caribbean waters and wanted to visit another island, but this time, one with a bit more culture. We had four days to spend and SO much we wanted to do. Luckily, Jamaica is a destination that offers PLENTY to do, especially for those who crave adventure, like us.

Here’s our list of fun things to do when visiting the land of “no problem, mon”:

Visit the Luminous Lagoon

This was probably the coolest thing we saw while there. There are microorganisms in what is called brackish water, where the fresh water from the river meets the salt water from the ocean. Our tour guide told us that before the 1960s, people were creeped out from the water because they didn’t know why it would glow blue at night when disturbed. And then scientists from Johns Hopkins University were brought over to study and investigate the microorganisms. The microorganisms are said to be the brightest during the summertime although you can still see them glow throughout the year.

To see them, you’ll have to get on a boat and have a guide take you to the middle of the water. You can jump in, if you dare. Remember, it is basically pitch black out there! Your cell phone won’t pick up the blue light, but if you have a DSLR, it will.

Here’s a video of Begad jumping in the water:

Snorkeling

We actually brought our own snorkeling gear with us. We got this snorkel set from Amazon. We figured we could snorkel in the ocean on our own. We *attempted* to on the first day we got there. We went to Doctors Cave beach. Unfortunately, the water was choppy and therefore wasn’t as clear as usual. But there are so many places on the island where you can snorkel on your own. However, if you want a more organized snorkeling tour, you can check out these options on TripAdvisor. If you’ve never been snorkeling, we 100 percent recommend doing an organized tour first. Chances are you’ll see a lot more!

 

Have you seen our Snorkeling in St. Martin vlog? Watch it here.

 

ATV-ing/Dune buggies

On Christmas Day, we booked a tour with Chukka. They are well known for their activity and adventure tours in Jamaica as well as other Caribbean islands. Part of the package includes transportation, which was HUGE for us because it’s easy to get ripped off by drivers there. Once we got to the Chukka ranch, we put our helmets on and were briefed by our awesome ATV and Dune Buggy tour guides Markland, Elijah and Damien. For those of you wondering what a dune buggy is, it’s basically an ATV but for two people. And in our case, it was a John Deere, which was like a dream come true for our farmer-aspiring selves. We were led on a muddy, bumpy trail, which made it all the more fun! In anticipation for this and our trip to Jamaica in general, we bought an earthpak dry bag, and we are so glad we did. It’s airtight and allows us to carry our valuables along with us on adventures like this one. And it even comes with a cell phone pouch!

Horseback Riding/Swimming

We didn’t even know horseback swimming was a thing until we were coming up with what we wanted to do in Jamaica! We’ve both been horseback riding before but it was always on land. This was part of the Dune Buggy package we got with Chukka. If you have never been horseback riding, they make it very easy for you to learn how to control your horse. We warmed up in the practice field and then headed on a trail that took us up into the mountains for a little bit. Then, we got onto different horses for the water portion. You’re not on the horses for long in the water, but it’s a worthwhile experience! We were so glad we bought water shoes from Amazon before our trip. If you don’t bring your own, you’ll have to buy some from there. We figured we’d end up paying less for them and we wanted to invest in ones we’d actually use again.

Ziplining

There are so many ziplining tours available on the island. There was an option where we could do ziplining along with the horseback ride n’ swim and the dune buggy, but we passed on it because we didn’t want to do an 8-hour tour package. But if you’ve never been ziplining, then you should totally go for it. Viewing the Jamaican landscape from above will be beyond beautiful, even at the high speeds you’ll be going at.

Climb Waterfalls

Ever dream of climbing waterfalls? Well, you can in Jamaica! While we personally didn’t climb any  there, it was definitely on our list of things to do. We only wished we had more days to do it! Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios (about an hour/hour and a half away from Montego Bay) is one of the famous waterfalls in Jamaica. Fun fact: It was featured in the first James Bond movie when Sean Connery goes to Jamaica. You can either get a ride on your own to the falls and pay the entrance fee, which comes with a tour guide, or you can book it as part of an adventure tour package.

Cliff Diving/Jumping

Negril is the place to go if you want to go cliff diving/jumping. On our last full day in Jamaica, we road tripped down to Negril (it’s only about an hour and half from Montego Bay). After visiting the Seven Mile Beach, we had lunch at the oh so famous Rick’s Cafe. If you ask anyone in Jamaica where you must go when you are in Negril, this is a place that will always come up, without fail. You might be thinking, ‘why is a cafe one of the top things to see in Negril? There must not be a lot to do there.’ Well, it’s because it’s not your average restaurant. First off, it sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean. And what’s arguably more awesome than the views is the fact that you can jump off the cliffs and into the cool waters yourself. We didn’t have our swimsuits with us ← some may say that’s an excuse and it very well might be 🙈, but if we were to have our swim gear, Begad says he would have definitely jumped off the cliff. As for me, 🐔 — and let’s leave it at that. But even if you don’t jump, it’s still a sight to see. You might even catch a glimpse of one of the expert cliff divers take a dip.

Water Sports fun at Margaritaville

This is probably the best kept secret we came across. On our second day, we walked into a Margaritaville for lunch. If you’ve ever been to Hard Rock Cafe, it’s essentially the same kind of restaurant, except with an island-y twist. We were pleasantly surprised to find a water slide attached to the side of the restaurant, aiming at the ocean. The Margaritaville employees also laid out some floaties, which included a trampoline, a rock-climbing wall, a rope swing and a giant ball. The best part about this is there’s really no entrance fee. If you order a drink or meal at the restaurant, then you’re free to use any and all of these.

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No matter where you’re staying in Jamaica, you’ll have lots of adventurous activities to choose from. Most of these are available in multiple parts of the island. If we were to go again, we would book another adventure tour with Chukka for sure! Whatever you choose to do, have fun, make memories and stay wild.

In the comments below, let us know which one of these adventures you would like to go on the most!