Blue Hole Ocho Rios: What the Cliff Jumps and Rope Swing Are Really Like

Blue Hole Ocho Rios is a chain of cool limestone pools set back in the bush about 20 to 25 minutes inland from Ocho Rios town. The jumps run from roughly five feet up to 20 or 25 feet, there is a rope swing over the deepest pool, and a guide walks the rock with you and shows you where to go in. Most guests spend about an hour to an hour and a half in the water.

Is Blue Hole the same as Irie Blue Hole?

Yes. The spot inland from Ocho Rios answers to Blue Hole, Irie Blue Hole and Secret Falls depending on who is talking. Same river, same pools. If your driver calls it one thing and your friend calls it another, you are both going to the same place.

There are two Blue Holes in Jamaica. Which one are you booking?

This is the part that trips people up, and it is worth two minutes before you pay anybody.

The one above Ocho Rios is the river pools described here. The other is Blue Hole Mineral Spring, near Little Bay in Westmoreland, about 25 minutes from Negril. That one is a deep round hole punched straight down into the limestone. You jump about 22 feet into cold mineral water, or climb down a ladder if you would rather ease in. There is a bar and a pool up top.

Both are worth the trip. They are not the same thing, and they sit on opposite ends of the island, so booking the wrong one costs you a whole day. We run to both. Tell us which coast you are staying on and we will tell you which one makes sense.

Do you have to jump?

No. Nobody at the gate makes you jump off anything.

Plenty of our guests go in at the shallow end, float in the pools, stand under the small falls and never leave the ground. The guides are used to it and they do not push. If you want to work up to it, start at the five foot ledge, then the ten, and stop wherever you stop. We have had guests stand at the top for ten minutes and walk back down, and that is fine.

What are the jumps actually like?

The low ledges are the friendly ones, around five to ten feet, straight into deep water. The big one is around 20 to 25 feet depending on how much rain the river has had that week. The rope swing hangs over the main pool and it is the one most people end up doing twice.

The guide will point at the water and tell you exactly where to aim. Listen to him. The pools are deep where he says and shallower where he does not, and the limestone under the surface is not soft. Feet first, arms in.

What should you bring?

Water shoes with grip. That is the one that matters. The limestone is wet, sharp in places and slick in others, and flip flops will come off your feet in the current. You can usually buy a pair at the entrance, but bring your own if you have them.

After that: swimwear already on under your clothes, a towel, a dry change for the ride back, sunscreen, a waterproof pouch for your phone, and small US bills for the guide. The guides work for tips and they earn them. Leave the good camera in the van.

How much is it, and how long is the day?

Entrance is paid at the gate, usually around US$25 for an adult and about half that for children under 12. Prices move, so take that as a guide rather than a quote.

From Ocho Rios, count on about half a day once you add the drive both ways and time in the water. From Montego Bay it runs closer to a full day, since the drive is about two hours each way. Most people pair it with something else on the same run. White River tubing is close by, and Dunn's River Falls sits on the coast on the way back into town.

Blue Hole or Dunn's River Falls?

Different days, not competing ones.

Dunn's River is the big tiered waterfall you climb hand in hand with a guide, right on the coast, and it fills up when the cruise ships are in. Blue Hole is quieter and greener, and it is about jumping and swimming rather than climbing. If you only have room for one and you want the photo everybody recognises, take Dunn's River. If you want the one you will still be talking about on the plane home, take Blue Hole.

If you have the time, do both. Our drivers run them back to back all the time.

Booking it

We pick you up at your hotel or villa, wait while you are in the water, and bring you back. No coach, no strangers, no set departure time you have to run for. If you are still putting your week together, we also run private airport transfers from Sangster in Montego Bay and Ian Fleming in Ocho Rios.

Ready when you are. Book a tour and tell us which Blue Hole you want.