Montego Bay to Negril, the hard way
I initially refused the 50USD airport pickup offer in favour of finding my own way. I know from experience that local busses and shuttles are a fraction of the cost, and exponentially more adventurous. Call me crazy, but there’s something I love about being crammed into a 28-passenger van with 45 people for 4 hours, speeding down narrow mountain roads for 4 dollars. I realize that novelty comes from the privilege of this not being my daily commute, and I’ve never had the patience for commuting in any economy, but I would expect a stranger to the TTC would be equally amused by the sardines at rush-hour.
Landing in MBJ, after a brief delay at customs, I had missed any connecting busses to Negril. Taxi drivers were offering me rides starting at 100USD for just myself, going down all the way to 60USD. That $50 ride was starting to look pretty good, if it were still available. I called my guesthouse host for assistance, and she was out of options – no one was available last minute. I was on my own now.
It was too late to wander downtown in the dark, encumbered by my backpack. I waited for the next flight to come in, an American Airlines jet with the next round of vacationers destined for resorts with their pre-arranged transportation. Slim chances any of them would be going my way.
As I stood in arrivals asking, “Negril? Negril?”, I was greeted by hurried individuals and shaking heads. I wasn’t the only one trying to hustle a ride, and the cabbies and bus drivers were not impressed. They were already visibly discontent that I had refused their inflated offers, and one driver took me aside to shut me down. He reiterated the price was the price, per person, and I was not going to get a deal by splitting on a ride with someone. He thought I was trying to poach his customers, but at this point I was just hoping to get lucky, maybe someone was returning and had their own vehicle. I was grasping at straws.
I went back to the bus counter, and finally got a break. One person had arrived and was also going to Negril. So they put me in a car that was also picking up another person on the way. The best part? We split and it was only 25USD! Winning? Barely.
Persistence paid off, but was it worth it to wait two hours with no certain outcome at the prospect of saving 25 bucks? No. Certainly not. What could I have done differently to save some money?
I could have arrived on an earlier flight, giving me enough time to scout a local bus in daylight hours. I could have not been delayed at customs by no-one’s-fault-but-mine (adventure!). I could have taken the original offer, knowing I’m in a new place and don’t yet have a lay-of-the-land. Lesson learned.