yvonne

my husband had triple bypass in March. We will be going in Dec. 2002. Can he make the climb? How cold is the water?

John

&quot;Climbing&quot; Dunns River Falls is a lot of fun and not to be missed. I assume you are on a Cruise. If so take the Cruise ship excursion, even though it costs a little more.<BR>You meet up with a guide (mandatory) at the Falls and a go &quot;up the falls&quot; in a group. The base of the falls is beautiful and prvided the setting for the beach scenes in Dr NO. You are hand-in-hand and with the guide in the lead, snake around and up the falls. You are really wading and generally travel in water 1-2 ft deep. The foot holds are the key and going hand in hand keeps you steady from falling. You get pretty wet. The water is chilly but in Dec the warm sun will keep you from getting cold. <BR>As far as how strenuous, I wouldn't worry. Have your cardiologist clear your husband for &quot;light&quot; activity.<BR>The guides are good and gentle. They will carry your cameras and take pictures. It is amusing to see them carrying a dozen cameras and not get them wet. <BR>At the top of the falls you towel off and can shop.<BR>Get &quot;water socks&quot; to climb in. They rent them there or you can buy them at your local sporting shoe store for $10-15.<BR>Have a great trip.

tammy

It is very slippery so definitely get water shoes of some sort. We saw a person slip off the rocks and really get hurt. It does take some effort to do the climg. I think you can do part of the climb as there may be some spots to get off the rocks if you want to stop. Not sure about this though.

Eric

Yvonne,<BR><BR>I don't recommend it... I have done it with my wife before. The water is surprisingly chilly. There is a good chance of slipping. You climb the falls in a &quot;human chain&quot; - many people holding hands. There was a woman who had my (downhill) hand who I had to practially pull up the falls. On a number of occassions I had to stop her from falling. It is quite steep, and takes a while. It is the kind of climb that you would probably never consider if you didn't see others doing it...<BR><BR>I think you are not missing much in going, as it is very &quot;touristy&quot;, and you are basically herded through like cattle. Instead, consider getting a taxi to take you and your husband to Mayfield falls, or YS falls. They are less developed, and not such a climb. Renting a taxi will probably save you money (compared to the tours) and you can enjoy the sights at your own pace. <BR><BR>Enjoy,<BR>Eric

Deborah

A guide is 'mandatory?' Can we not enter the falls area without one? Can one be hired once there, or must we go with a group. We will have a car and wanted to see the sights on our own. Not possible?

debbie

My 7 year old did it with us and i did not find it slippery at all and you can go at your own pace. It is truly not to be missed. Stunningly beautiful! As far as the poster above i would not rent a car in Jamaica!!!! Hire a guide and you will have a much better time

Deborah

Dear Debbie:<BR><BR>Why not rent a car? We have driven in many foregin countries and my father was raised in Jamaica...... do you say this because the roads are bad? are they confusing? thank you for the comment......

Eric

It can be tough driving in Jamaica. They drive very fast, on the left. The steering wheels, however are on the Left side - very confusing if you aren't used to it...

xxx

Deborah: Just my humble opinion regarding driving in Jamaica...not if my life depended on it! But perhaps other posters have had positive experiences at it.

John

Dunns River Falls is acutally part of a Park. Admission is required. By all means, go on your own. A guide will be available. Not sure you can go it on your own. Due to the treaturous nature I would not want to. You could probably arrange to go in a small group.

John B

I climbed Dunn's River Falls a few years ago as part of a shore excursion with Princess Cruises. It was a fun way to see part of Jamaica, but it was definately a &quot;group&quot; activity. Everyone holds hands as you climb the falls, the water is a bit cold at first, but you get use to it as your climbing. A few people stopped as we went along for pictures and alittle &quot;dunking&quot; in the deeper parts of the Falls. You will get a good work out, and you probably should really LOVE water activities to have fun, but I would recommend it! From what I remember, if your just interested in seeing the falls, since you walk back down from the top, I think you can walk up a side trail as well and still enjoy all the beauty of the falls and not get wet. All in all it was a very fun day adventure, and most of the people in our group really had a great time!!

Lyn

I agree with Eric. If your idea of fun is holding hands with close to a thousand people while trying to climb slippery rocks up a waterfall then go ahead and attempt it. We didn't enjoy it and bailed out halfway up (which you can do). It might be fun if there weren't so many people there.

GM

I tried it - my one foot got caught between 2 rocks and I couldn't get it out and fell back a little. Thankfully my hubby was in back of me, but I kinda pulled the other folks down with me that were in front of me.<BR><BR>I sat at the bottom by the beach with a skinned ankle and bruises, while everyone else went up...it was a bummer. And the water is refreshingly 'cool.'<BR><BR>I agree with 'Eric' who posted about Mayfield Falls; very scenic and less touristy when we went, anyway.

Nicole

We did this on our honeymoon in the summer of '98. I think Dunn's River Falls is very overrated and I wouldn't bother to do it again. Like others said, they herd you through like cattle and you don't have a chance to stop and enjoy the sights at your own pace. Skip it!

opinions

Treacherous is abit of an exaggeration, John.<BR>I found the human chain added a huge safety factor. There was a guide and he definitely made safety the first priority.<BR>Go, see and decide for yourself when you get there!

whyAll

How stupid can you get, Lyn???? A thousand people!!!!<BR>GMAB!<BR>You will have perhaps 15 people in your group, Yvonne.

yvonne

WOW! thanks to everyone that has posted so far. It would be great to be able to go along beside it. I am still undecided about what to do. Bobby is 53 and we are both alittle overweight. But, I am in good shape. I work at the zoo so I am always walking and working with animal crates, etc. But, I want Bobby to enjoy it too. We leave on our cruise Dec. 14th. We will be on the Imagination.

Rex

Well it is obvious that Eric has no idea what he is talking about and his comments on the Falls are full of hooey. He says that the cars in Jamacia have left hand drive - he is so wrong. The majority of the cars have the steering wheel on the right side just like in England since they drive on the left side of the road. There are some left hand drive cars but most are right hand drive.<BR><BR>The main reason you don't want to drive in Jamaica is safety related since a tourist in a car may be targeted by the bad guys to be robbed etc. The roads are not so great either.<BR><BR>The falls are great fun to climb and unless you are afraid of getting wet you should do it.

yvonne

We won't be driving because we are on a cruise ship and they will take us to our excerusion. And I am not afraid of getting wet...but I am afraid that the climb may be too ahrd on my husband that had triple bypass in March.

Eric

Rex,<BR><BR>Have you even been to Jamaica? They drive on the Left, steering wheels on the Left... I've been there numerous times. Driving is tough there. As for the falls, I dont' suggest it for someone who just had triple bypass surgery - do you ?