Ocho Rios would seem to be Spanish for "eight rivers," but it is most likely a corruption of the Spanish word chorreras, which means "waterfalls." Jamaicans refer to it fondly as Ochee. The second-most important tourist town on the north coast, it offers the island's best shopping, plenty of regional attractions, varied nightlife and fairly good (though often crowded) beaches. It sits on the edge of the jungle in a sheltered bay with a mountainous backdrop—truly lovely. Ocho Rios is Jamaica's most visited cruise-ship port, and many noncruisers frequent the all-inclusive resorts in the area. Our only regret is that Ocho Rios can be crowded, especially when the cruise ships are in port, and as it continues to develop, it is losing the charm that made it so popular in the first place. Recently, however, there has been a town-wide drive to crack down on hustlers and illegal vendors and to encourage residents to take more pride in their city and property, with regular maintenance and decorative plantings.
Sights—Dunn's River Falls, with its series of cascades that can be climbed; Fern Gulley, a narrow gorge lined with ferns; Shaw Park Gardens, with 25 acres/10 hectares of tropical gardens; Cranbrook Flower Forest, where the well-tended tropical gardens are superbly laid out and accessed along manicured trails; the natural stalactites and stalagmites at Green Grotto Caves.
Museums—The Bob Marley museum at Nine Miles, where the legendary reggae superstar was born and is buried, in the mountains south of Ocho Rios; Reggae Xplosion to learn more about Marley and the development of Jamaica's music.
Memorable Meals—Nouvelle cuisine at Cafe Aubergine; Italian fare at Toscanini; jerk chicken, fish or pork from local restaurants.
Late Night—Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for its great waterslide and music.
Walks—West along Highway A3 to explore the rocky coastline, Dolphin Cove and Dunn's River Falls.
Especially for Kids—Swimming with dolphins at Dolphin Cove; whizzing through the rain forest on a zipline at Chukka Caribbean Adventure.
Ocho Rios sits at the foot of the Dry Harbour Mountains, midway along Jamaica's north shore, about 70 mi/115 km east of Montego Bay. The hills crowd down to the shore west of town. The coastline is deeply indented with small coves and bays. Many are, from a practical standpoint, the private reserves of hotels and all-inclusive resorts.
There is little order to the town's irregular layout. Main Street winds along the shorefront and is lined with tourist amenities, including the main crafts market, bars, restaurants and sundry hotels. Highway A3 (the main coastal highway) bypasses town as DaCosta Road and runs along the shore (west to Montego Bay and east to Port Antonio). Milford Road runs south from DaCosta Road and snakes into the highlands, linking the north coast to Kingston.
In 1494, Christopher Columbus landed about 8 mi/12 km west of today's Ocho Rios in a bay he named Santa Gloria (he was stranded at the same site nine years later, when his worm-infested ships sank). The Spanish initiated their first settlement—Sevilla la Nueva—on the site in 1509.
In the 17th century, local Spanish governor Don Christobel Arnaldo de Yssasi refused to give up control of the area to the British after they gained control of the island in 1655. Bloody battles ensued at Dunn's River in 1657, Rio Nuevo in 1658 and Shaw Park in 1659. Yssasi fled the island in a dugout canoe in April 1660.
The British farmed pimento, lumber and cattle, but Ocho Rios never developed into a major fruit-shipping port like other towns. It remained little more than a small town with a fishing harbor until the 20th century, when tourism and bauxite became mainstays of the local economy. In 1923, Shaw Park great house, located on a struggling citrus plantation, became Jamaica's first exclusive hotel. By 1948, it was joined by similar establishments, including Sans Souci and Silver Seas. Meanwhile, chemical analysis revealed that the local soil contained high levels of bauxite, the chief raw material used to produce aluminum. Following this discovery, the bauxite mining industry took off, thanks to the efforts of foreign investors, Reynolds and Kaiser. This led to dredging and expanding the harbor, which served both the bauxite export and the cruise-ship industries.
The contemporary look of Ocho Rios was initiated in the 1960s, when the St. Ann Development Council sponsored tourism development, including shopping malls. As one of Jamaica's foremost tourist resorts, Ocho Rios has recently taken steps to further upgrade its facilities to meet the demands of 21st-century travelers.
The Green Grotto Caves were once used as a hideout by runaway slaves.
The Seville Great House, just outside of Ocho Rios, is more than 260 years old and houses artifacts from the 1600s.
The Arawak population (Tainos) was decimated by disease after the Spaniards discovered them and forced them into slavery.
Dunn's River Falls is one of the Caribbean's most famous natural attractions.