Negril Jamaica

Negril, originally named Negrillo by the Spanish in 1494, is a small but beautiful beach resort town, situated on the western section of the island of Jamaica, world renowned for its magnificent beaches. The beaches of Negril, known as the Seven Mile Beach, stretches from the Negril river, to the south, to Rutland Point on the north coast of the Island. Although the stretch of beach is known as the Seven Mile Beach, it is actually only about 4 miles in length.

To the north end of the beach lie a number of large all-inclusive resorts while to the southern section there exists the smaller, family-run hotels. The town is not as developed as its neighbor to the east, Montego Bay, but it provides a wonderful, tranquil and relaxing atmosphere for those who want to get away from the fast pace life of major towns and cities.

One of the main draws of Negril is how relaxed an environment it possesses, owed to the fact that development of the town is relatively new. Negril was woodland, cut off from the main thoroughfares by dreadful roads and swamps with the beach being the more popular route of transportation, but the slow development of the town really began to take fruition in the 1950’s.

The development, and its popularity, got a major boost in the 1960’s when it became a destination of choice for North Americans inclined to the ‘Hippie’ culture who were attracted to the laid back lifestyle, beaches and the small sparse population. With the lack of hotels, there was a shortage of accommodation at the time hence, the locals used to rent rooms, or provide yard space to pitch a tent, to visitors. But as time passed by the area has become a getaway for all walks of life.

Nestled along the coastline and amongst the towering trees now exist a number of guest houses and hotels, which is a stark contrast to the early days of the resort town. Hotels such as Sandals, Beaches, Couples Negril and Breezes Grand Resort and Spa now line the Seven Mile beach.  Despite the development in recent times the atmosphere of the resort town is still far from the hustle and bustle of the city life. The West End, south of the town and known as the cliff area, has also seen a lot of development with a number of restaurants, bars, shops and privacy oriented resorts. They also present the opportunity to visitors to enjoy water sports such as diving and snorkeling.

With the modern development comes new environmental challenges to the once untouched gem of Negril but there have been efforts over the years to try and preserve the natural beauty that Negril has now become famous for. Marine parks have been established to help maintain a healthy marine population and protect the reefs. Building codes, to protect the natural beauty, are also in place and there are also projects to clean and try to maintain the beaches of Negril.

Article written for www.negriltour.com