Sorry....hit the posting button by accident before I finished. The link at the bottom of my above post was from a portion of a recent trip report by someone who went to Benji's place last month and posted a nice set of pics to give you an idea of what it looks like now.

Hello Feeder,

Have a look at their website.

http://www.benjisparadise.com/

Then read the trip report. There should be no doubt that this is a place to spend the entire day and to realize that you are with the one you love and in a paradise.

http://www.jamaicans.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=21;t=000322;p=16

The originator of the report is a regular & very experienced visitor to the island.

If you do not want to spend the entire day, then you can make a combined trip to see and do other things as well.

Hope Wharf, closer to Sav-la-mar. http://www.lostbeach.com/index.html

http://www.mayfieldfalls.com

riverwalkatmayfield.com/specification.html

ROARING RIVER & BLUE HOLE.

jamaicans.com/tourist/articles_travel/roarin…

HORSE RIDING

LITTLE LONDON (towards Sav-la-mar)

Country Western Horse Riding Stables.

Garth and Rudy are great hosts. It is $50 pp

You can run the horses along the beach and then you go in the water and they swim while you are riding them.

You also get to try some coconut water.

Try this adventure as well.

http://jamaicarhinosafaris.com/

Have fun!

Johnny, Country Western has had to raise their prices...they now charge $60 per adult and $25 for children under 12. It actually keeps them in the same price range as Rhodes Hall which is about 20 minutes to the north of Negril. Not sure how the prices compare to the very popular Chukka Blue up in Sandy Bay, but both Country Western and Rhodes Hall have group sizes FAR smaller...anywhere from 2-10, rather than 50 and up, which I think contributes to a more personal experience. Also, there's more latitude for experienced riders as with a smaller group, the guides are more willing and able to do some "racing" if that's what the guests want.

I do agree, Rudy is fun and Dion is quiet but a most sincere and gentle man, both with people and the horses. I haven't had the pleasure of riding with Garth yet...seems he's always handling business off property or dealing with paperwork.

Hello Sienna,

Thank you so much for this updated info. It will be of great help when recommending this adventure.

Please feel free to correct any info that I place on this or any other forum. Frommers,+ jamaicans.com

It is always nice to have an experienced and well liked advisor to help us.

As you can see, we need all the help as this forum has grown and expanded.

Last year I joined to try and convince the tourists from not canceling after Hurricane Ivan hit Jamaica and especially Negril. One page on the forum would last about three days.

Now a page lasts about an hour or two.

Some visitors ask silly questions so I stay away from their threads. Others do their homework well and are a pleasure to deal with.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147309-i69-k13095…

Thank you and once again, WELCOME.

I look forward to learning from you as well.

ToTTT and Johnny,

Thank you very much for the information. I think it's a great idea to relax at Benji's after hiking the falls. I was planning on doing Benji's first, but your idea makes more sense.

How much would Talk of The Town charge for this day trip? As you said it will probably take 8 hours or so. I'm not sure of the mileage round trip, but it should make for an enjoyable day.

I think deep sea fishing might be out of the question at $400 for a half day. I might head to the pier or NYC and see what a local fisherman would charge to take us out.

I'm versed in the "smoking" laws of JA. I'm not going to be a rowdy spring breaker type while I'm down there...getting way way drunk and offending people in public with my exhale. I do plan on being descrete about it. I've tried the smoke in seven different countries, and JA is next on my list (it's all mostly the same, with some subtle differences). I just wanted to know about how much it would cost (I'm not one for paying tourist prices). $25 an oz sound reasonable?

Also, we are bringing some school supplies down. Our AI has a school program that accepts donations, but I would rather visit a school and drop them off. I wanted to see what kind of facilities Negril schools use. Any suggestions about what school to visit? Can we just drop in?

Thanks for the help guys,

Jason

TOTT can do the school thing if you go out to the falls etc with them.

I'm not sure what AI you're at but the school that has been "adopted" by Sandals is private. I was about to take a whole lot of supplies there that had been donated by a large group and was glad to find that out first, I took them to a gov't school instead where there are fewer resources.

Outside of Negril, in the hills and beyond, the schools get far less donations, from tourists at least.

Ohliz,

Thanks for that info. Sandals is the place we're staying. I didn't want to just hand over the supplies to them just in case Sandals decided that it needed a soccer ball or two for the resort and some pens for the office. I wanted to make sure, personally, that the gifts made it to the place where they were intended.

I'm really glad that you informed me about the private school thing.

Peace

Johnny, with the cost of dial up phone line time, and personal obligations, I found I almost totally dropped away from message boards this year....as mentioned, I dropped in on this one at multiple requests and some insistant prodding from one of the members. Jamaicans.com was my old stomping grounds...was asked to moderate the tourist forum 10 years ago, and stayed with it until late last year when I realized I was no longer able to keep up with service of use, and "retired." I do miss the camraderie of some message boards, and with a little bit more free time now, have enjoyed seeing what is still going on. As with yourself, I too hope that anytime I post something that others find needs correcting/updating, they will do so.

"One page on the forum would last about three days.

Now a page lasts about an hour or two."

I think the lessening of time may be due to so much traffic, and the volumes of information that's out there! When I first logged on to this forum, I wanted to go back as far as possible to the earliest posts to see the evolution of questions, but again, while Cable & Wireless would love my hours logged on, my pocketbook won't!

"Some visitors ask silly questions so I stay away from their threads. Others do their homework well and are a pleasure to deal with."

As with all message boards like this one, each new traveler will come up with certain standard questions. It occurred to me today that maybe, among all of us, we could come up with a couple of 'sticky topics' that stay posted at the top of the list...topics that may help both new comers to Jamaica and even some repeat visitors. Things like "WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THE ISLAND BEFORE MY TRIP"..or "HOW COULD I HAVE BEST DEALT WITH A CERTAIN SITUATION"....or "WHAT MOST SURPRISED ME ABOUT THE ISLAND/CERTAIN CITY etc. Random thoughts here late tonight, but maybe you catch my drift...there are times now when I forget my first impressions, but seeing the island through first timers eyes when we're out on an excursion brings some of it back...be it a sense of wonderment, or suprise, or puzzlement.

..........................................................................................

Jason, I would be breaking board rules to post prices here on the board. It would be considered advertising/self promotion and I respect what this board is trying to accomplish and will not cross the line. The best I can tell you is that the price of tours depends on factors like time, distance, road conditions, number of people going to the same place at the same time. You are welcome to get in touch with your particulars if you like, and either Soloman or I or both of us will be happy to take time to give you the information you seek on any topic we can.

As to just dropping in to a school, I find that teachers and principals are diplomatic when this happens, but it can be highly disruptive to the classrooms. We usually contact a school first to find out what time is best. Also, it helps to know what you have and how you'd like to handle it. Many teachers prefer that people do not drop in and randomly start passing out goodies if there are not enough of what is brought to reach all children. Better that the donations/gifts are given to the principal or a particular teacher to dispense as best fits the students.

Also, I highly encourage people to come prepared to perhaps share something with the students/teachers in the way of time...read a story/lead a discussion...share a song...share pictures from where you live and do an impromptu geography lesson...teach an art project to accompany the art supplies brought...etc. The "lessons" don't have to be long...20 minutes is probably just about right but could be shorter. Your creativity is welcome and the donation of time just as welcome as any supplies that could be brought, if you are so inclined.

Hello all,

@Feeder: my husband and I are travelling to SATP the same time (15-29 Sept) and I am definitely going to plan a trip to Mayfield and Benji's and will contact TTTT privately... watch this space.

@ all: We find ourselves extremely limited with baggage (coming from UK on charter flight) but really want to spend money on the children who need it... Do you know of any trusted organisation to whom we can give monetary gifts or perhaps buy the supplies when we get there?

Peace!