Dolphin Cove Ocho Rios

The dolphin experience was unforgettable...definitely would go back. Love that they had other activities on the property...my only concern was the slippery tiles. The tiles in the restaurant was slippery, the ones leading to the lobby area, to the bathroom. Everyone kept slipping. PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT. But overall my family enjoyed the experience.

This was my second visit to Dolphin Cove, and I can see they've made a lot of improvements since my first visit many years ago. The place is very scenic, and the dolphin experience is absolutely top tier. It was a bit scary walking on the platform and getting into the water, but overall, it was an incredible interaction. That said, the staff experience left much to be desired. Almost all of the workers were not pleasant. There was an undertone in their attitude and a bit of roughness in how they spoke to guests. One staff member even told the man in front of me that she would laugh if he fell, and she repeatedly told people to turn back if they were afraid instead of reassuring them that they would be okay and that their life jackets would help. The platform in the water was also very slippery, which made it even more nerve-wracking. Despite that, I’m really glad my nieces pushed through their fear and went into the water. The pool area is lovely and provides a nice space for children to relax and play under supervision. They also have a restaurant and an ice cream parlor, though I didn't visit them. In the bird aviary, the men working there seemed uninterested and disengaged. I hate to think their attitude was due to us being locals, as I know many don’t tip, though I did. The lobby area was crowded and poorly managed, and again, the staff at registration were not welcoming. The beach area is very small, but the waterslide was lovely and fun. Despite the poor attitude from many of the staff, I would return for the experience itself and the beautiful surroundings.

The overall experience with the dolphins was great and the trainers were awesome. The setup of the entire premises was great I think It needs a little more polish. You have to park on the roadside but the shoulder on that side of the road was very wide so you are well off the road. The staff were all very nice and friendly. We had a good time at the mini zoo before the dolphin experience. There was a small beach where you could do kayaking, but the beach was very small and wasn't clean and I think given the facilities they had the beach could be made into a better experience. There seemed to be multiple restaurants and bars but they didn't all seem to be open when we were there. The water slide was not working at the time when were there. The pool seemed like it could have been cleaner and it looked like only 1 pump on the pool was working. The children seemed to love the pool though. The rates for the photos was high and I think the all or nothing approach to the photos needs to be looked at. They could possibly come up with a per photo pricing and allow you to choose the best 1 or 2 if you can't afford all the photos for everyone similar to what they do at mystic mountain. The food was a little on the expensive side and the burger and fries was very ordinary for the price. The did have a lunch special though for JMD $1300 which was actually very good and it was a decent portion size.

The dolphin interaction was fun and fairly priced compared to other Caribbean locations. However, the extras were excessive $230 for photos for a family of 4 (no phones/cameras allowed), $10 locker fee, $5 Coke ($10 with card), and only one lunch option included wasn’t even good. The water slide was closed, and the jungle trail consisted of just 8 parrots and 1 iguana. The music was also unnecessarily blasting for a kid-friendly park, especially right by the dolphins. To top it off, after paying for the pricey photo package, the photographer still asked for a tip. Disappointing add-ons to an otherwise enjoyable activity.

i want to love this place, because we really had a nice experience with our trainer. him and his dolphin Fay were well in tune. but... it is really hard not to feel bad for these beautiful animals couped up here, pushing and pulling around us small and very large humans. it's torturous. nonetheless... there are different areas to hang out, a small beach, and a variety of experiences. very small walk in the jungle with and animals you pay to take pictures with. but in Jamaica... everything is $$$. They push so hard to make you pay for everything, and pay for photo packages, and treat you differently in the water if you bought the package. and despite trying to charge me a disgusting amount for the pictures of my 4year old (refused to let me pay for pictures of just him beforehand because he can't be in a picture alone cuz hes 4.... so I'd have to pay for 2 people package >200$ USD)... after the experience I WAS able to pay a still overpriced amount for just my son's pictures and one printed. but still 90$usd. so... bring a friend with a zoom lens and let them sit out. honestly crazy. more people would buy the package if they were cheaper, rather than only selling a few at exorbitant prices.

Our family had an amazing time at Dolphin Cove! The trainers were very nice and helpful. Major shout out and thank you to Brittany, our group's photographer. She went above and beyond to help us get our pictures quickly so we could make it back to the cruiseship in time. Yes, pictures are pretty expensive at $200 for about 30 total pics of the three of us. But came with a souvenir frame and can be downloaded on an app for social media. Awesome memories and worth the price. We bought our dolphin experience on Groupon to save some money. The guys on the jungle trail were fun and introduced us to the birds and allowed photo opps as well. My son had a blast swimming too. Wish we could have spent more than a couple hours here and would definitely come back again.

Dolphin Cove was such a great experience for my little family. We had an exception time sharing an encounter with the dolphins. Trainer Ronaldo and Dolphin Pasteur were absolutely amazing!! I cannot recommend this pair enough. They made my family's day. We also got to swim, get some food and see Stingrays and Nurse Sharks. I wish we could have walked the trail before we had to leave. Would definitely do this experience again.

Horrible experience save your money this is a tourist trap. The staff is rude, misgendered my 5 year old son after being told multiple times he was a boy. I understand patwa so I heard the negative comments about my son and my body. They will try to squeeze every single penny you have out of you. I originally booked for the admissions plus for two adults and one child under 5. That was $137 total plus tax. It said online it included the mini jungle, sting ray , beach , water slide , kayaking, and food We received a purple wristband, we continued on to the gift shop the lady looked at us and her exact words were “ ok so you got that band ? The cheaper one. “ she then tried to sale me three pictures with the dolphin on a platform for $20 dollars each. It’s three of us that’s $60 dollars. I asked can we just take one family photo i didn’t need three pictures of us individually I just wanted one family picture she said no. I told my husband If we’re going to add the $60 dollars for three pictures we might as well just pay for the dolphin encounter. We went back downstairs and upgraded our tickets. My husband has a Jamaican passport, he presented his passport and he did not receive the local rate btw. I was told it would be $18 per person to upgrade the ticket to the dolphin encounter that’s a pink band. I paid $18x3 which I didn’t understand why I had to pay to upgrade my child who is under 5 when 1-5 years old is free with two paying adults Anyways. I was then told it would be $65 per person to add on photos and these photos are only digital no print outs. So we paid $195 for 3 shots per person. When your in the water you do three poses and they snap a shot of all three so your paying $65 for 3 digital shots. Which is ridiculous When you do the dolphin encounter they split you off into groups based off your wristbands. If you purchase the royal swimmer band they treat you like gold. Or if you’re white they treat you even better because they know you are going to tip them. We paid a total of $386 dollars for about 15 mins in the water with the dolphin. It was very rushed you do three poses with the dolphin and they give you education of the dolphin. And at the end of your experience our instructor asked for a tip. Which I was confused because after paying $386 dollars you shouldn’t be pressured to tip. We went to the mini jungle we saw two rabbits , the birds and an iguana. I was told if my son wanted to touch the birds or if we wanted to take a picture of the birds we had to tip. When we went to see the iguana and the bigger birds the instructor was sleep on the bench we woke him up and he told us if my son wanted to hold the iguana or if we wanted a picture with it we had to tip. At this point I was annoyed because everywhere we went we were pressured for tips after already paying a lot. The stingrays were cool but again after seeing the stingrays our instructor asked for a tip. Sharks weren’t available Kayaking wasn’t available The small beach has cabanas that were dirty. We arrived at 9am opening time so the beach should have been cleaned. The beach is also big rocks so you can’t step in. The meal Included was a piece of chicken rice and peas and veggies no drink. When I asked for my included drink the bartender told me I would have to hide it so others don’t ask. Just an overall horrible experience and complete waste of money. Mystic Mountain was wayyyy better you aren’t pressured for tips staff are friendly and will take pictures of you with your phone for free. I tried to take photos of the tip trays The manager was also not available either.