Dunns Falls & 75 year old

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backheidi

Guest
Leaving for Western Caribbean cruise in two weeks and looking at different excursions. My mother is 75 years old and I would like to take her to at least see the Dunns Rivers Falls in Jamaica. First of all, if we take a taxi there, does it drop you off at the top or bottom? Since my mother's walking is limited, are there wheelchairs or alternatives of some type available? Is there a walkway down the sides of the Falls (that she could maybe walk down)? Are there places to sit and rest? Thanks for any help you can give.
 
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RosieRosie

Guest
When we went to the Dunns River falls, we arrived by boat at the bottom of the falls. I believe most people arrive at the top of the falls. There are stairs so you can freely go up or down. I made it about 3/4 of the way up the falls and decided to take the stairs the rest of the way - I'm not crazy about heights and am proud that I made it as far as I did! If you're mom is not into climbing stairs, you might want to try a different excursion.
 
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Natalia

Guest
As Rosie said, when arriving by vehicle, you are dropped off at the top. You take the stairs down, then climb up the falls. There are a few places along the way that you can exit the falls and climb the stairs the rest of the way up. If your mother has walking limitations, Im betting she cant do this, probably not even the stairs. Its quite a climb, of average intensity for the fit, but I'd say not a good idea for anyone with mobility problems. Its been a few years since I was there last, and I do not recall any provisions for those who are in wheelchairs - remember, we're talking about Jamaica. If you would like her to at least be able to see the falls, do what Rosie did and take some sort of tour that will bring you to the falls in a boat. That was she could at least see it, and maybe stay aboard the boat while the rest of you do the climb. She could even take photos or video for you.
 
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ljeanbrown

Guest
As mentioned above you are dropped off at the top of the falls and it is a very..... long way down the stairs, I would not suggest this with your mother, far to much for her to walk down not to mention trying to climb back up. There is the boat ride mentioned that you could take and she could look up at the falls from the beach. It is beautiful to look at, it runs right into the ocean and there is a small beach area.
 
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AJ coast

Guest
The stairs will be perfectly fine with your mother, but the falls may be a challenge.
 
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ljeanbrown

Guest
AJ coast,
I really don't think the stairs would be good for her mother, the reason I say this is she mentioned that her mother has limited walking capabilities and asked if there was a wheelchair available. I have back problems and my walking is some what limited, it was a challenge for me to climb the stairs at the falls. That is a lot of walking and climbing back up the stairs for a person that has limited walking abilities and is 75 years old, I think it is too much. I'm not saying the stairs are bad, they are very nice and there is a beautiful view of the falls and little spots to go into the falls from the walkway. I am just thinking that climbing back up may be too much for her mother. The falls are 600 feet and that is a lot of stairs and a long way up and down. I know my Mom who is 78 would not be able to do it, because of the climbing up the stairs, going down would be fine, but then she wouldn't be able to get back up. I guess it really depends on her Mom and just how limited her walking is and how well she can climb stairs, lots of stairs =shrug
 
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sailboat

Guest
Don't forget to take into account the heat, even though it is lessened somewhat when you are near or in the falls.Many older people don't tolerate heat very well. I took my 74 year old mom on a cruise last spring and she was happy enough to stay on the ship and chat with friends. I did get her to go on one catamaran cruise that involved walking down the catamaran stairway to the sea and wading ashore. Though she had the option of staying on the catamaran, she gamely went along, but I could see she was relieved to be back aboard both the catamaran and the ship! I've been to the falls. The view from below is better than the view from above. If you choose this option, just be sure that your tour involves the boat both going and returning.
 
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