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Ocho Rios
The Eastern Caribbean's busiest cruise port, Ocho Rios surrenders its shops, jerk stands, and tourist attractions to seagoing hordes nearly every day in high season. But the town's princely hotels and lush environs provide ample refuge for landlubbing honeymooners. Clinging to the north shore midway between Montego Bay and Kingston, Ochi (as the locals call it) is also a strategic base for exploring the island.

Claims to Fame
Missing Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica is like skipping the Empire State Building in New York City. Scamper up the 600 feet of water-slicked rocks, where scenes were shot for the James Bond classic Dr. No.

Another day, head for the Fern Gully — a sprawl of emerald-canopied rain forest about ten minutes from town. Five hundred years ago, a visiting Christopher Columbus had to hack his way through on foot — you can cruise right along Highway A-3. Equally mesmerizing is the Coyaba River Garden at Shaw Park. This jumble of wooden bridges, small benches, placid ponds, and botanical gardens is perfect for sunburned romantics. Pop into the museum, which traces Jamaica's history from the first Indian settlers to the rise of reggae king Bob Marley.

Forty-five minutes from town, you can meander through Firefly, Sir Noël Coward's onetime Caribbean hideaway. With the lyricist and playwright's Coppertone suntan lotion, Hawaiian shirts, and foot powder in view, you'll half expect him to traipse in behind you, martini in hand. But alas, he's been buried since 1973 in the very garden where he often sipped brandy with pals Laurence Olivier and Errol Flynn.

Offbeat Adventures
On a clear day at Prospect Plantation, you can see forever — or at least to Cuba, with a pair of strong binoculars. Ride a jitney through the grounds and try to guess which trees were planted by Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin when they visited. At Harmony Hall, a gingerbread-style plantation house near Ocho Rios, you can pick up island spices and brightly colored wall sculptures for deserving souls back home.

Island Eats
Not far from Coyaba River Garden, the Ruins rakes in romance points with its tables beside a freshwater pool and its location right at the base of towering Turtle Falls. The food — a combination of Jamaican and Chinese — isn't bad either.

Lobster lovers swoon for the Almond Tree, where their favorite shellfish is served stewed in white wine, Thermidor style, or set aflame in cognac. Traditional American dishes are also served in the dining room, which is decorated à la Valentine's Day with red tableclothes and crisp white napkins.

For a down-home Jamaican lunch, nothing beats the Double V, where jerk chicken and pork are slow broiled on a raft of sweetwood sticks and pimento wood. Seat yourselves at a picnic table and eat jerk like the locals do — sans silverware, using "festivals" (golden dumplings) to sop up the spicy sauce.

Ocho Rios: Resorts
If you thought his proposal was romantic, wait until you see Sans Souci Lido 's mineral springs, wrought-iron love seats, and hammocks overlooking a shimmering slice of sand. Even the massages come with a view and the classical strains of a strolling flutist. Though the paths threading from the beach to your hillside room are nature's own StairMaster, you'll also find one of the island's best gyms on the premises. Massages, facials, and more are covered in the all-inclusive rates.

Love means never having to leave your villa. And why should you, at Ciboney Ocho Rios Resort, where honeymoon villa suites come with a private housekeeper and pool, Jacuzzi, kitchen, and VCR? Junior villa suites are also gracious, but share attendants and pools.

Old Britannia still casts its spell at Jamaica Inn, a genteel Georgian mansion that feels more like a private club than a hotel. A piano topped with family pictures and a mahogany-paneled pub are balanced out by a chef trained at London's chic La Gavroche. The pièce de résistance: your antique-filled room with a terrace outfitted like an open-air living room.

Ocho Rios also sports a terrific selection of all-inclusive, all-couples resorts. Laid-back romantics love the friendly ambience, free-form gardens, and simple, spacious rooms at Sandals Ocho Rios. Ten minutes away, Sandals Dunn's River is all splash, with its lavish Italianate entrance, four restaurants, nonstop water sports, and big pool with a replica of Dunn's River Falls.  The granddaddy of couples-only resorts, Couples draws a steady mix of repeat guests and honeymooners. Some romantic touches are hokey (towels twisted into swan shapes, paintings of embracing lovers), and some are downright wonderful (weddings are on the house).

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