Shopping
To shop downtown is to help the true local economy and Ochi has plazas, shops, street vendors and pushcarts coming out of its ears, the very thought of which makes us squeal with delight.
Coming shortly…
Once we’ve better gathered the latest info, expect a more comprehensive listing of the Ochi stores, and certainly the plazas and what’s in them.
Only ‘tourist-friendly’ outlets will be included of course. For example: products such as clothing, rum, wood carvings and smoking paraphernalia will be in — machetes, chicken parts, and Toyota Corolla window rubbers will not.
Crafts & Souvenirs
For all your ganja-leaf-print beach towel, sunhat, bag and t-shirt needs, souvenir sellers are all over the town.
The two main craft markets are located on opposite sides of Main Street, both in fenced enclosures, stalls groaning under the weight of glorious paintings and impressive carvings.
OLDE MARKET CRAFT SHOPPES — look on the map for Green 1 ►
OCHO RIOS CRAFT PARK — look on the map for Green 2 ►
PINEAPPLE CRAFT MARKET is a short distance to the east of the town centre — look on the map for Green 21 ►
For all the ‘Made in Jamaica’ proof you need, some of the stalls have craftsmen at work skillfully carving their wares right there in front of your beady eyes.
You will be charmed by every friendly stallholder and his mother to purchase something, so do be courteous and at least take a look at what they offer.
Endless are the desirable treasures you’ll want to take home but hiked-up are the prices to take advantage of wealthy tourists and therefore some reasonable and respectful haggling is expected of you!
As an old West African saying goes, “Don’t haggle with the poor woman, sitting in the sun trying to sell you a banana.”
And try to keep things in perspective... if, say, you find you are being over-charged a few dollars, that small amount is probably no big deal to you, but would really benefit the seller working in the heat all day, trying to make ends meet.
(Thanks for inspiration, Sampson Jerry!)
Main Street & Some Plazas
MAIN STREET
Our first port-of-call if you want to get down with the townsfolk on the trail of a bargain is simply Main Street which, for our purposes, runs from the little neat plaza by Sandcastles to the little row of shops towards the brow of the hill just before the beautiful RC church.
Ochi’s main thoroughfare is lined all along with small plazas and shops, stalls and individuals selling affordable souvenirs and clothing, a couple of typical department stores, and too-many-to-list supermarkets for stocking up on value liquor, food supplies, and essentials (whatever your particular essentials might be).
OCEAN VILLAGE
Well appointed, multi-coloured plaza (pictured) with a network of covered walkways around a triangular green. Clothing, shoes, bookstore, stationery, cambio, internet café, ice cream and eateries, and the Ochi branch of the JTB. Enjoy your ‘box lunch’ and view your purchases at tables under the central gazebo. Green 3 ►
EIGHT RIVERS TOWN CENTRE
Those elusive ‘eight rivers’ lend their name to this large recently built shopping centre on the other side of the Ochi Bypass. This pristine plaza (is it a plaza or a mall?) has stores offering clothing, shoes, a pharmacy, and various big name fast food outlets. Green 5 ►
The Market & Farmers’ Market
Open daily for fruit, vegetables and ground provisions, clothing, music, shoes, and bottles of strange looking home-made herbal potions!
The Market area sprawls out from Main Street right across to the Transport Centre.
There is a large covered section inside a big shed, but the outside bits are the most vibrant, especially on Fridays and Saturdays when sellers come down from the countryside and all over Jamaica for the busy Farmers’ Market.
This is one place in Ocho Rios for which we would love the authorities to apportion more of a regeneration budget to tidy up and pave over the rubbly Market, to make life far more pleasant for stallholders and visitors. Thankfully the section off Main Street has been repaved — hopefully the rest will follow.
This area should be swarming with tourists daily, for here is the true centre of Ochi and it is in need of some love. Green 4 ►
Read affable market seller Donovan Gordon’s ★ OCHI INSIDER ★ page.
Department Stores
For all you could want — that isn’t food-related — under one roof. We love that sort of ‘period feel’ associated with established Department Stores.
Clothing & Boutiques
Sophia’s Ladies’ Fashions at 67 Main Street, the yellow one with the loud music pumping away behind the ATM. Instagram. Green 11 ►
TK Raffine Boutique for Men’s and Ladies’ Fashions at 19 Main Street, a little to the east towards Mahogany Beach. Instagram. Green 12 ►
Girlfriends House of Fashion sells Accessories and Handbags at Shop 12, Simmonds Plaza, 73 Main Street. Facebook and Instagram. Green 13 ►
Sports Unlimited for Footwear and Clothing at 1 James Avenue, Jack Ruby Plaza. Facebook and Instagram. Green 14 ►
The Rage Ladies’ Fashions, Shop 67A, Ocean Village. Facebook. Green 15 ►
Engen Clothing sells Men’s and Ladies’ Fashions at Shop 45, Ocean Village. Facebook and Instagram. Green 16 ►
Melloney Hair for Ladies’ Fashions and Hair Products, upstairs at Shop 18, Island ‘Burger King’ Plaza. Facebook and Instagram. Green 17 ►
Upscale sells Men’s and Ladies’ Fashions at Shop 2 at the Island ‘Burger King’ Plaza. Facebook and Instagram. Green 18 ►
Dreams Couture Boutique sells Fashions for Men and Women at Shop 8, Island ‘Burger King’ Plaza. Facebook and Instagram. Green 19 ►
Leah’s Boutique for Ladies’ Swimwear. Ochi-based, no store but the Instagram profile is the shop window and Leah will deliver island wide.
Prince Crown Leather
★ OCHI INSIDER ★
Wonderful hand-crafted, all-Jamaican quality Leather Hats to contain your dreadlocks at the D-Indigenous Herbal Shop, Shop 4, Sandcastles Plaza... and Etsy too! Instagram and Facebook. Green 20
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Pharmacies
When pharmaceuticals are on the menu, it’s medicament a-go-go all across town. We’ll add this lot to the map and a few more details shortly.
New Ocho Rios Pharmacy
Shop C, Rexo Plaza
Hue’s Professional Pharmacy
70 Main Street, Mutual Security Mall
Lifestyle Pharmacy
Ocean Village
New Pine Grove Pharmacy
3 Brown’s Plaza, 61 Main Street
Pine Grove Pharmacy
Shop 5, Simmonds Plaza, 73 Main Street
Fontana Pharmacy
Eight Rivers Town Centre
Footnote: ‘Duty Free’ things to watch out for!
If your idea of holiday fun and frolics is perusing the ‘duty frees’ for gifts and personal adornments, a visit to one of three dedicated plazas within easy reach of the cruise ships — Harbour Shops just off the jetty, the pseudo domes of Taj Mahal, or Soni’s Plaza behind a peachy Spanishy facade across from Moon Palace — should float your boat; though why one of them (guess which) was built in Jamaica to resemble a South Asian mausoleum is beyond us.
With reference to negative comments posted to TripAdvisor, it seems a few stores are making a bad reputation for not just these plazas but for all Jamaican tourism.
Browsing so-called ‘duty free’ goods might be a bit of fun but much of what you see is genuinely available cheaper elsewhere. Granted, you may be brought along as part of a Tour Excursion in which case “Time is the Master” and you will only have a limited window to grab something Rasta-ish for the folks back home.
Do not be manipulated by pushy sales staff. Certain stores have no prices displayed — why is this, and what are they hiding? Beware of high mark-ups on any ‘duty free’ items, be aware of what it is you are buying, and know the actual price before you agree to a sale.
If having something wrapped by the store away from your gaze, make sure they do wrap what it was you bought. Check there and then — it will be too late to fix when you are back on the ship.
