Bob Marley Nine Mile Tour, Jamaica

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
Bob Marley


If you’re in Jamaica and you’re a big fan of Bob Marley, you might find it well worth the long, rather expensive trek to Nine Mile, Jamaica to visit the birthplace and resting place of the legendary reggae musician.

copyright Rum Therapy
While staying in Runaway Bay during our recent Jamaica trip, we hired a driver to take us to Scotchies to sample what we heard was some of the best jerk on the island. While driving to Scotchies, our driver Rodney asked if we were going to make the trek up to Nine Mile. He proceeded to tell us about the tour and then said for an extra $100, he’d take us up himself.

We’d already looked into taking a tour through our hotel or renting a car and driving up ourselves, and honestly, $100 seemed like a pretty good deal for a private ride there and back so we agreed. It turned out to be a great decision.

copyright Rum Therapy
From Scotchies (close to Ocho Rios) it was a little more than an hour and a half drive to Nine Mile. The drive was scenic, passing through several small towns and incredibly lush Jamaican mountainside – a stark contrast from the busy tourist areas and a part of Jamaica that many people don’t get the chance to see.

copyright Rum Therapy
Rodney was a good tour guide – full of information about his country, and stopped whenever we wanted to take a picture or just check out the view. We were so glad we didn’t rent a car and try to find Nine Mile on our own. There weren’t many signs and the roads were quite windy and bumpy.

Shortly after arriving in the town of Nine Mile, we pulled up to two massive gates which opened up to let us in and then quickly shut behind us.

copyright Rum Therapy
From the parking lot, we walked up to the gift shop to pay our entrance fee (about $19 pp) and made our way up to meet our tour guide.

copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy

Before the tour, we were given the opportunity to enjoy some food or a beverage in the bar and we opted for a specialty Bob Marley shot (we got to keep the shot glasses). Our bartender masterfully layered our glasses with red, yellow and green and then lit them on fire!

copyright Rum Therapy
We were instructed to stick a straw in the glass and suck it right down, which we did, and thankfully the flame extinguished itself before ingested!

copyright Rum Therapy
Shortly thereafter, we met our tour guide who led us and two others to our first stop – a room containing many of Bob’s awards, including gold and platinum albums, paintings of Bob and a piano he used to play.

copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
copyright Rum Therapy
From there, we moved to a stage where we enjoyed some music from local musicians.

copyright Rum Therapy
And then through another gate and up to the house where Bob Marley lived…

copyright Rum Therapy
Marley-Tour-14--O
Marley-Tour-15--O
It’s requested that shoes are removed prior to entering the house and mausoleum.

Marley-Tour-16--O
Entrance to Bob’s childhood home

Marley-Tour-18--O
The room mentioned in Bob’s song “Is This Love”

We’ll be together, with a roof right over our heads,
We’ll share the shelter, of my single bed.

Marley-Tour-19--O
Mt. Zion Rock or Pillow Rock – a place Bob would sit to read his Bible and get inspiration for his songs. Pillow Rock is mentioned in his song “Talkin’ Blues”.

Cold ground was my bed last night
And rock was my pillow, too.

copyright Rum Therapy
Marley-Tour-20--O
Bob was laid to rest inside one of the mausoleums on property along with his guitar. At the request of his mother, his half-brother was laid to rest with Bob.

Marley-Tour-22--O

All in all, we spent about $172 to drive to Nine Mile and take the tour – which is less than we would have spent on a larger tour. ($100 taxi, $36 entry fee, $26 for two specialty shots, $5 tip for musicians, $5 tip for tour guide)

Although the Nine Mile experience is a bit expensive, we felt the opportunity to see the places  that influenced the reggae legend and learn more about the man who stood for peace, respect and freedom was… priceless.

Find the Bob Marley Mausoleum on our Jamaica Map

To see more posts on Jamaica and other islands, check out our Island Blog Directory

 

Copyright©Rum Therapy
Pictures and other content may not be re-used without written consent from Rum Therapy, LLC

4 Replies to “Bob Marley Nine Mile Tour, Jamaica”

  1. Hi Sherry! We’re very glad you found the info useful! Yes, I would check at your hotel to see if they have a recommendation for a driver. When in Negril, we used Carlton at http://www.turnertaxisandtoursjamaica.com and he arranged a day trip for just the two of us to YS Falls (close to where you are staying) Appleton Rum Factory and Floyd’s Pelican Bar (a LOT of fun). It was an excellent way to explore that part of the island and we’d recommend it! Have a great trip! We’d love to hear what you experience and love while in Jamaica!

    1. Thanks for the info Pamela and John! I have already booked a tour to Black River and YS Falls through Island Routes. Are you familiar with that company? I wasn’t sure about the Appleton Rum Factory since it was kinda pricey and I’m not sure it would be worth it. What is there to see and do there? Floyd’s Pelican Bar looks interesting though.

      1. Some folks we met at our resort in Runaway Bay used Island Routes for one of their tours and really enjoyed it. We enjoyed the Appleton tour because the plantation is gorgeous, the history was interesting and the rum tasting was delicious – but we’re into rum, so it was worth the expense for us! We haven’t written a post on Appleton or the Pelican Bar yet, but should get them up soon. In the meantime, you can check out our YS Falls post and a few other Jamaica posts we’ve done by looking under Jamaica here: http://www.rumtherapy.com/rum-therapyblog-directory-by-island/

        We thought the drive to YS, Appleton and Pelican was so interesting. Part of the area is considered “The Breadbasket of Jamaica” due to all the agriculture and you’ll see many roadside stands with breadfruit, ackee, nuts, and of course bananas and other fruits. It’s a part of Jamaica that most people don’t get to see and it’s really beautiful! Enjoy your trip!!

Comments are closed.