Negril West End or Seven Mile Beach: Which Side of Negril to Stay On

Stay on Seven Mile Beach if you want to walk out of your room onto sand and into calm, shallow water. Stay on the Negril West End if you want cliffs, deep clear water you climb into off a ladder, and quiet evenings watching the sun drop into the sea. They are only a short drive apart, so you can stay on one side and spend afternoons on the other. We drive guests between the two every week.

What is the difference between the Negril West End and Seven Mile Beach?

Negril has one roundabout in the middle of town. Everything north of it is the beach: Long Bay and Bloody Bay, a long run of soft sand with the big resorts, the small guesthouses, the beach bars and the water sports huts. Most people call the whole stretch Seven Mile Beach.

Everything south of the roundabout is West End Road, which follows the coast along limestone cliffs out to the lighthouse. There is no beach here. The hotels and restaurants sit on the rock, and the sea below is deep, clear and blue. You get in and out by ladder, by stairs cut into the stone, or by jumping. Rick's Cafe is near the far end of this road, and that is where most visitors see the West End for the first time, at sunset, on a day trip.

Is the West End good for swimming?

Yes, when the sea is calm, and most days it is. The water off the Negril West End is some of the clearest on the island because there is no sand to stir up. Many cliff hotels and restaurants have their own ladder or steps, and a few have small sea caves you can swim into. Snorkeling right off the rock is good, with fish around the coral at the base of the cliffs.

Two things to know. First, there is no gradual entry. You go from standing on rock to swimming in deep water in one move, so it suits confident swimmers and older kids, not toddlers or anyone nervous in the sea. Second, when there is a swell, the hotels close the ladders. On those days the beach is still swimmable while the cliffs are not.

Which side is better for families?

The beach, almost every time. Seven Mile Beach shelves gently, the water is warm and calm, and the kids can play at the edge while you sit under a sea grape tree. Our drivers do a lot of beach drop-offs for families staying elsewhere in Jamaica: we leave you near a good stretch of sand with a beach bar for lunch, then collect you when you are done. You can book that as a 7 Mile Beach day from Montego Bay or Ocho Rios.

Families with teenagers who swim well can be happy on the cliffs. Teenagers love the jumping. Just read the rules at your hotel before anyone goes off the rock.

Which side is better for couples and sunsets?

Both sides face west, so you get the sunset over the water either way. On the beach you watch it with your feet in the sand and music coming from the bars. On the West End you watch it from a wooden deck above the sea with a drink in hand, and the sky turns pink and orange over the cliffs the way it does in our photo above. For couples, honeymoons and anyone who wants to read a book without a jet ski going past, the cliffs win.

If you are staying on the beach, you can still have a West End evening. We run a Rick's Cafe trip that gets you there about an hour before sunset for the cliff divers and the live band, and a sunset catamaran sail that ends under the Rick's cliffs. We wrote about the Rick's night in our post on a night out in Jamaica.

How far apart are they, and how do you get between them?

From the middle of Seven Mile Beach to Rick's Cafe is about ten to fifteen minutes by car, depending on traffic at the roundabout. From the beach to the first restaurants on the West End is closer to five minutes. Route taxis cover both roads in the day, but for dinner on the cliffs arrange a driver who brings you back, so you are not standing on a dark road at ten at night trying to flag a car.

Coming from the airport, both sides are about an hour and a half from Montego Bay. We covered the road in our post on the Montego Bay to Negril transfer.

What should you check before booking a cliff hotel?

Western Jamaica was hit hard by Hurricane Melissa in late October 2025, and some properties on the cliffs and the beach spent months rebuilding. Before you book, ask the hotel directly whether their ladders, decks and restaurant are back in use. Ask whether the room has air conditioning too, because many of the smaller cliff places rely on sea breeze and fans, which is fine in January and less fine in August.

Pack water shoes for the cliffs. The rock is sharp and the ladders are slippery. Bring a dry bag or a phone pouch, since there is no sand to leave your things on.

Our honest advice

First trip to Negril, travelling with kids, or you want to swim every day no matter the weather: stay on Seven Mile Beach and let us drive you to the West End for one sunset. Second trip, a couple, or you want quiet: stay on the cliffs and take a beach afternoon when you feel like it. Either way, tell us where you are staying and we will set up your private airport transfer from Montego Bay, or book a tour for your Negril days.