Jamaica · Americas

Explore Westmoreland: Negril's Beach & West End Cliffs

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  • Code:10
  • Type:parish

Introduction

Westmoreland is Negril's parish — Jamaica's sunset coast, genuinely two different towns in one: a long resort beach on one side, and a scatter of cliff-top guesthouses on the other, with a wetland wilderness behind both that most visitors never see.

Overview

Negril didn't start as a resort town. Through the 1960s and 70s it was a remote fishing village that drew a different crowd first — backpackers, artists and back-to-nature travellers who found their way down an unpaved coast road looking for something unstructured, and the laid-back, informal ethos that took root then is still detectable in Negril's character even after decades of resort development transformed Seven Mile Beach into one of the Caribbean's most built-up stretches of all-inclusive coastline. That history explains why Negril still reads as two genuinely different towns rather than one: the Beach, lined with resorts of every size and budget, and the West End, a strip of small cliff-top guesthouses, bars and restaurants perched directly above the sea south of the town centre, with a slower, more independent character that draws travellers who'd rather not stay inside a resort gate for the whole trip. Behind both, largely unseen by beach-bound visitors, the Great Morass is one of Jamaica's largest wetlands — a mangrove and marsh ecosystem home to crocodiles, egrets and a genuine density of birdlife, protected in part as the Royal Palm Reserve and reachable on a guided boat or boardwalk tour that shows a side of Westmoreland the beach never suggests exists.

Discover Westmoreland

Negril genuinely functions as two different towns. The Beach side runs along Seven Mile Beach itself, lined with resorts from budget to luxury, most of them all-inclusive — arrive, stay inside the gate, and the entire trip can happen without leaving the property. The West End, south along the cliffs, is the deliberate opposite: small guesthouses, cliff-top bars and independent restaurants with no resort wall between you and the town, a slower and more social way to experience Negril that draws travellers who came specifically to avoid the all-inclusive format. Rick's Café, at the West End's southern tip, is the ritual sunset spot — cliff divers leaping from platforms into the sea below as the sun goes down, a tradition that grew organically from a local swimming spot into one of Jamaica's most recognisable tourist rituals.

Ways to Experience This Destination

Seven Mile Beach & the West End

All-inclusive resorts along the beach, independent cliff-top guesthouses at the West End, and Rick's Café's sunset cliff-diving ritual.

The Great Morass

A vast mangrove and marsh wetland behind the coast, home to crocodiles and abundant birdlife — reachable by guided boat or boardwalk tour.

Negril's Independent Character

A 1960s-70s bohemian-retreat history still visible in the West End's guesthouse culture, distinct from the resort-strip image.

Frequently asked questions

The Beach side runs along Seven Mile Beach itself, dominated by all-inclusive resorts where a whole trip can happen without leaving the property. The West End, along the cliffs to the south, has small independent guesthouses and bars with no resort wall — a slower, more social way to experience the town.

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