Top Things to do in Santa Cruz
Top 5 Things to do in Santa Cruz, Jamaica
Discover the best top things to do in Santa Cruz, Jamaica including Appleton Estate Rum Tour, Lovers' Leap, Accompong Village, Jamaica Birding Day Tour, Bubbling Spring Mineral Bath.
Restaurants in Santa Cruz
1. Appleton Estate Rum Tour
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 706 reviews
The Appleton Estate Rum Tour offers unique insight into a part of Jamaica's History and rich complex culture. The estate is home to the legendary Appleton Distillary, rum makers since 1749. Located in the picturesque Nassau Valley in St. Elizabeth, on Jamaica's South Coast. During the rum tour you will experience first hand, the historic production process of Appleton Estates' Rums. You will be able to see and experience some of the earliest methods of extracting juice from sugarcane, learn about the unique distillation process in our 200 year old pot stills and visit one of our barrel houses where the rums age to perfection. After the rum tour, you will begin to understand why Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum is the finest in the world.
Reviewed By rugbyplaer - New York City, New York
Appleton Estates
The drive from Kingston, Jamaica to the Appleton Estates is a very interesting drive! The drive takes about 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the part of Kingston you depart from. The drive from Kingston to just pass May Pen, is very routine, but once you leave the highway and drive the local roads the “A2 to B6” you get a chance to see the real Jamaica and experience its people. You drive through towns like Porus, Shiloh, Balaclava and Comfort Hall is the real Jamaica. The fresh fruits, the people and the scenery. The roads are very winding and pothole ridden but the experienced cannot be beat – Yes you do have to be aware of the other drivers, but they are all aware and do share the road. Make a quick stop is to see the ‘Duppy Church’ a old church that is supposed to be haunted. One of the more interesting part of this drive is return drive to Kingston, when school is out. It was interesting to see children as young as 5 or 6, crossing the road on their own and being cautious of the traffic around them. The children all seemed well behaved while walking on the road with no horsing around. It was noted that they all wore school uniforms, with the older girls wearing skirts that ended below the knee.
The roads to Appleton Estates are very well signed and you should not have a problem finding it. On arrival at the gate house the attendant instructed us, we will be greeted by a Mr. Armstrong at the front door. And we were. After a greeting and explaining to us, the basics of the tour, he lead us over to the cashier. The tour is $30 US for a 2 hour tour of the Joy Spence Appleton Estate Rum Experience. The cashier will also give you the option of purchasing a lunch for $15 US. At the time of payment, you receive a coin that you can trade in for a rum cocktail at the bar across the lobby. The bar was well stocked with several types of Appleton Rum. The bartender offered a few suggestions but I did my favorite – Red Rum and Cranberry. My traveling companion had purchased the lunch option and decided to eat before the tour. The meals offered to us( The NEW Appleton Experience had only opened the start of the 2018 new year) included jerk chicken or pork, and jerk sausage, with a choice of several sides. The cafeteria was very light and airy. The options for desert was 1! Bread pudding for $10! A tad expensive. I presume as they continue to ramp up the activity at the Appleton Experience, they will enlarge the offerings at the restaurant. After lunch we returned to the Lobby to be joined by the rest of the tour group, about 12 souls from a variety of countries.
The 1st part of the tour was a brief video about Joy Spencer and her involvement with Appleton Estates as a Master Blender. We then preceded outside to do a ‘walking tour’ of the distillery. The tour is a introduction on how rum is made. The second stop of the tour offered a ‘pour your own’ sampling of rum punch, that was mixed quite potent. A few of the tour participants went for seconds and thirds with very full glasses. After a stop at the distillery itself we ventured we ventured into the warehouse to see the various aging sequences of rum. The final stop was a sampling room. In the sampling room we were given 4 samples of Appleton Rum to sample. Which was very educational on how to drink the various types of Appleton Rum. We also learnt that the 50 year old Appleton goes for several thousand dollars.
A brief stop in the souvenir shop was a bit disappointing as the items seemed so overpriced. I would give the tour 4 out of 5. But the experience of driving and seeing rural Jamaica was a awesome. During our drive to and from the Appleton Estates we made a few stops and it made the tour day more exciting to talk to people and learn from them.
2. Lovers' Leap
Overall Ratings
4 based on 109 reviews
Two lovers, separated by slavery, leaped to their deaths over these cliffs.
Reviewed By heldo99 - Toronto, Canada
This is a little hidden gem on the coast. The views are spectacular and the story of the lovers who leapt is both heartbreaking and romantic.
There is not a whole lot to do here so don't plan for a whole day here but it's definitely worth a visit for an hour or so.
3. Accompong Village
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 19 reviews
Reviewed By Simone01 - Toronto
Accompong is a lovely little village on the edge of Cockpit Country. What is special about the village is that it belongs to the Maroons, and has enjoyed an autonomous state since a treaty was signed with the British in 1739. The area is something of a Jamaican frontier land, Cockpit Country is covered with small rounded hills and deep Valleys. Very few roads penetrate here with Accompong being on the edge and one of the last accessable towns. Indeed the roads to Accompong are worse than those in other parts of Jamaica--on many winding roads, if two vehicles meet one will most likely have to back up to a place where they can pass eachother. We drove to Accompong on January 6th to Celebrate the birthday of Cudjoe, a historical leader who is credited for uniting the Maroons together to fight for and preserve thier freedom and autonomy in the 18th century. This is a very, very busy day in Accompong and it took a good while just to reach the town as the roads were crammed with visitors for this festival. However it was worth it just to take in this wonderfully cultural and fun-filled event. As with most Jamaican festivals there is lots of food, vendors, music and a general sense of human fellowship.
For my husband, who originally comes from Grenada, this day trip was very special for him--It was here in Accompong that he learned that not all Africans robbed from thier homeland were destined to remain as slaves in the Caribbean for hundreds of years. The strength, cunning and determinism of the Maroons in the face of the powerful and cruel colonial powers should be inspirational to all people of African decent in the Western hemisphere--as well as to all of us who understand the continuing struggle for freedom and respect that oppressed people still face all over the world. Go to Accompong and learn.
4. Jamaica Birding Day Tour
Overall Ratings
5 based on 5 reviews
Excellent birding and nature tours
Reviewed By Edna A - Los Angeles
In March of 2014, I took a 6 day birding tour of Jamaica with RAJ [Reliable Adventures Jamaica]. It was simply wonderful! Our leader, Veda, was extraordinarily skilled at locating the birds and making sure that everyone had a good look at each bird. All endemics were located and well seen. Veda was also attentive to all administrative details and very aware of the well-being of each guest. And, of course, traveling with a local guide, we got to go to the best jerk restaurants and eat at small spots along the coast where there were no other tourists. I highly recommend RAJ for a birding trip to Jamaica
5. Bubbling Spring Mineral Bath
Overall Ratings
3 based on 8 reviews
Bubbling Spring Mineral Bath is ideal for ailments such as arthritis pain, back pain, pain in the knees and hips, swollen feet, headaches, reduces redness of the skin caused by sunburn,etc and for recreational purposes.Activities includes: Water volleyball, Paddle boats, Water slide, Sand slide, Kiddies pool, Go carting, Table tennis, Merry go round, Swings, See-saw, Football and more.
Reviewed By Clarpo - Birmingham, United Kingdom
My mother has visited several times previously and raved about it, however we found it very sad and run down. The mineral bath itself was very good, despite being very cold, I am assured it is very therapeutic, however every time we went past it was deserted and was on the day we visited. The high (for what you got) entrance fee does not appear to have been reinvested in the facility. Being so close to my family we did not eat here so not able to comment on the catering facilities.
