Ochie is one of the island's most popular tourist hot spots along with Montego Bay and Negril. Its development dates back to the late 1950s, but its mass tourism arrived with the development of a cruise ship marina that is running at full capacity. Five to ten of these monsters of the sea pour 1,000 to 2,500 passengers each week into Ocho Rios, which is ideally located equidistant from Port Antonio, Montego Bay and Kingston, making it a good base for exploring the island. Several times a week, the sirens of the cruise ships announce from afar the arrival of the flood of tourists, mostly North Americans, who take over the city for a few hours, flocking to the shopping malls in search of jewelry or duty-free perfumes, rushing to the handicraft markets in search of the object that will immortalize their lightning passage on the island. During these few hours, the city lives in a frenzy that falls as soon as the siren sounds again, at dusk, to call on board the express visitors. A word of advice: avoid planning a shopping trip or a classic visit on those days and just enjoy the beach and water sports.. A city of many attractions and extraordinary natural resources, it has lush botanical gardens, the country's most beautiful waterfalls, thriving plantations and beautiful sandy beaches. However, its layout as well as its architecture are singularly lacking in charm. The city stretches over several kilometers from east to west, the beaches having almost all been annexed by luxury all-inclusive hotels, leaving the local population with very limited access to the coastline... It's a real shame, although new sites are being developed to mitigate this dated concept that is unfair to the locals (such as the Fishing Village renovated in 2018 with restaurants and stores) A coastal city, Ocho Rios nevertheless barely sees the sea. Main Street runs the length of the city and opens onto a large, bustling plaza planted with a blue clock, the best place to get a taste of the popular atmosphere. From the main artery, a few short streets branch off to create the downtown area, dominated by concrete towers and anarchic architecture. The city's main beach, Bay Beach/Turtle Beach, lies in the shadow of the huge twin buildings of the Moon Palace Hotel. Hotels, restaurants and bars are plentiful, offering a wide range of possibilities to the visitor eager to go out.

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Vue sur la baie d'Ocho Rios. Chloé OBARA
Découvrez la faune et la flore de Prospect Plantation. Jamaica Tourist Board
Découvrez la faune et la flore de Prospect Plantation. Jamaica Tourist Board
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