Ocho Rios in the north of Jamaica is one of the main tourist areas on the island. DIving is pretty good with a nice Katherine wreck that was sunk on purpose for helping to create a reef for divers, and very impressive reef formations. Video has the highlights.
We dove it in May of 2023 and then in May of 2024. Major bleaching took place all around the Caribbean starting in August 2023. And then in winter of 2024 major storms hit the area. We could clearly see the impact of all of these events. The wreck was pushed around, some of the structures damaged and many sponges and other growth broke off. On the bright side, it was good to see that some of the coral recovered by May, though many did not make it.
Logistics
Ocho Rios can be reached in a little more than an hour from Kingston on the toll road. There are many large and small resorts along the coast around the town of Ocho Rios. It does not have a long beach like Negril and you cannot really move easily from one place to the next unless you are driving along the main road.
We dove with Garfield. It is a small basic dive shop in Ocho Rios marina. A couple of big all inclusive resorts in the area also have dive shops. One can also stay in Ocho Rios and explore some of the other dive areas in Oracabessa and Runaway Bay.