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Most bars want you to spend the sunset with
them and provide drinks promotions or happy hours as an
incentive. As the cliffs give the best view, bars along the
West End tend to be livelier at dusk, with the action moving
to the beach after dark. The larger places are distinctly
tourist-oriented; if you want some local flavor, try the
rum bars and beer shacks along Sheffield Road or
West End Road near the roundabout.
Jungles
is the only proper club in town, but there's also
week-night dancing at the beach bars, which use their
portions of sand as dance floors. DJs play dancehall or
Euro-disco, and the live music usually consists of a
no-name reggae band singing Bob Marley covers. Ask around to
see what's on each night.
Large stage shows featuring well-known reggae artists
are advertised on roadside billboards and through a
car-with-megaphone system. Main venues for large
shows are Roots Bamboo on the beach and MXIII
in the West End. The Samsara Hotel and Central
Park (both on West End Road) have occasional live
events. Stage shows rarely begin before 11pm and often go on
until 3 or 4am; cover charge is usually about US$7.
West End Road
LTU Pub
Very cool bar, vastly superior to next-door Rick's,
offers Cliffside drinking, diving, snorkeling and food to
boot. Ask the barman to make you a Bob Marley - and then try
and drink it.
Mi Yard
High-rise bar that's tourist-friendly but positively
Jamaican. Open 24-hours for music, dominoes, drinking and
jerk; always packed after 2am.
Pickled Parrot
The cliffside venue with water slide and swing gets very
busy during the daily happy hour (3-5pm) and is an essential
stop-off for sunset cruisers. If nude hedonists and
seriously misbehaving swingers (don't ask) are not your
chosen drinking companions, then this isn't the place for
you.
Rick's Café
Overpriced tourist trap puts on the West End's main sunset
event. An appallingly tuneless band plays reggae while local
boys dive from the high cliffs.
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Yacht Club
Large thatched bar overlooking the sea. Cheap Red Stripe all
day until 7pm, live music on weekends and wonderfully shady
clientele. Come for a heavy drinking session with the
hippies who "discovered" Negril and other local characters;
the staff is helpful and friendly. It's surprisingly safe
and often great fun.
Norman Manley Boulevard
Alfred's Ocean Palace
Busiest bar on the beach with thrice-weekly live reggae and
crowds of happy holidaymakers dancing on the sand. This is
where all the action is, and it's great fun, but watch out
for the hustlers, particularly on gig nights.
De Buss
The trademark London bus used in Live and Let Die
stands outside; inside there's piped or live music every
night in a covered area and a section of the beach. The jerk
chicken is famously good.
Errol's
Small 24-hour beach bar with reggae videos, an overdose of
fairy lights and hard-core drinking by guests who rent basic
but adequate rooms in the yard behind the bar.
Jungles
tel 876/957-4005. Negril's only true club is a fairly lavish
place with a smoky, packed indoor dance floor downstairs and
a breezy upper deck with pool, table tennis and a
restaurant. Each night has a different theme and music.
Cover charge US$10. Closed Mon and Tues.
Margaritaville
Large beach bar with nightly bonfire, beach volleyball,
two-for-one drink offers and big TV screens for sports fans.
Karaoke on Sundays and Mondays and an all-inclusive party on
Friday evenings (US$34 per person). Hugely popular with
American students.
Risky Business
Popular American-style beach bar complete with big-screen
sports via satellite, Thursday two-for-one drinks offers,
and Ladies' Nights on Mondays and Saturdays (women drink for
free).
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Jamaica
Travel Guide
Montego Bay, Kingston, Ocho Rios, Negril, Blue Mountains, Portland
Jamaica map
- Google Maps
Caribbean Travel Guide
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