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Martha brae river rafting

martha brae river rafting

Trip down the Martha Brae River aboard a bamboo raft with captain

What’s included
  • Guided tour on a private raft for two
  • Round-trip transportation from Montego Bay is included
  • Travel in the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle
  • Private experience for just you and your party

NOTE: BRING CASH FOR Drink, Souvenirs or Food. UNFORTUNATELY CARD MACHINE DOES NOT WORK IN THAT AREA

The rafts may look unstable, but you’ll be surprised at how well balanced they are. Getting on and off will be a breeze.

The seats are well padded so this will be a comfortable journey.

Even if you cant swim, you can still come and enjoy the ride. Life vests are provided just in case, but chances are you wont need them.

The depth of the river is only 4 feet most of the year anyway so you can relax. Only in rainy season does it get up to around 12 feet.

The captain of your raft is very knowledgable about the river and the surrounding area so feel free to ask him anything you want.

Be sure to ask him to point out Jamaica’s national fruit, the ackee. If you’re in Jamaica, I’m sure you’ve tried it. So now you can see how it grows.

Or if you’d prefer a romantic getaway, he’s far enough to the front of the raft for you to have some privacy.

And they know the drill. He wont be turning around to take peeks at you.

There are about 80 rafts with well trained rafting guides on site so you’ll never have to go there and wait.

Many of these guides are talented craftsmen so be ready to get offered some of their crafts for sale. The prices are usually much cheaper than people expect so have a look.

There are bars on site, so grab yourself an ice cold Red Stripe beer.

You’ll also come across a natural herb garden that has some of the worlds most sought after healing herbs.

This will be the perfect romantic day for you and your significant other but if you bring children along, they’ll get a thrill from being on the raft.

The story goes, Martha Brae was a Taino witch who was tortured by Spanish settlers until she told them where gold was hidden along the 48-mile river that runs to the ocean. After telling them, it is said, she changed the course of the river, killing the settlers and blocking up the cave where supposedly the gold is still hidden.

During the plantation and slavery era, the river was used to connect the sugar plantations in Trelawny to the port town of Falmouth–long bamboo rafts were used to float the sugar and other crops to the harbor and ocean-going vessels bound for Europe.

Today, those same long 30-foot bamboo rafts are used to float visitors down a three-mile stretch of river past purple banana trees, bamboo, flowering trees with bright red flowers called Flaming Forest, coconut trees… Mango… Breadfruit, Nesberry (looks like Kiwi but we’re told is sweeter) and the Trumpet Tree used to make tea for high blood pressure.

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