Wet and Wild - Blue Hole and Dunn's River

I found BJ Island Tours through my Oracabessa villa rental via VRBO; our villa host put us in touch with BJ directly as our dedicated driver during a one-week stay in December 2024 during the Christmas and Boxing Day holidays. I traveled to Jamaica with my family of 12 (some Jamaican, most American first-time visitors), and we were driven nearly every day by either Tim (BJ's brother and co-owner), or Steven/Romario, another one of the company's drivers. Tim or Romario took us on day trips from Oracabessa to Kingston, Portland, Ocho Rios, and to/from the airport in Montego Bay. We felt so incredibly safe and cared for throughout the trip, with both drivers navigating very difficult traffic patterns, heavy holiday traffic, or tight/narrow spaces with confidence and expertise! Both Tim and Romario also acted as informal tour guides, giving us historical and current facts about the island, stopping to show us little-known sights or scenic views and photo ops, or pulling plants and fruits for us to see and experience. They reviewed our itinerary and gave us helpful feedback including better suggestions for restaurants and attractions, even calling ahead to get pricing or reserve spaces for us. The vehicles were very clean and well-air conditioned so my group was always comfortable. Tim and Romario even handled accessibility needs in our group with ease, making sure to give us extra time for people who needed to move on the slower side. Service was always timely, with any small delays communicated immediately. Tim and Romario truly felt like family during our weeklong stay. BJ, Tim, and Romario were all very responsive via WhatsApp and communicated clearly. All transportation pricing was eminently reasonable, which also allowed us to tip generously for such incredible service. I cannot recommend BJ Island Tours enough; we will be contacting them for our driving needs anytime we visit the island again!

A little trouble meeting up with our guide. Switched ports and had trouble with communication, but port security was super helpful and got us connected quickly. Both places were beautiful and guides were super friendly and helpful. An extra 30 minutes at Blue Hole would have been nice, but otherwise pretty cool. Plan for $40 picture packages and individual tips for several guides at each location. $120ish total. Locals were fairly aggressive with sales, but "No Thank You" seemed to work well for us. Two rules. (1) Nothing is free (2) Don't touch it unless you plan to pay for it.

This was the highlight of our trip. Pick-up and drop-off were super convenient and we were taken care of every step of the way. I would highly recommend this for anyone visiting Jamaica. Remember your water-proof phone cases and water shoes and only wear what you want to get soaked because it's worth it!