After 55 unforgettable days in the United States and the Caribbean, it was time for us to explore new horizons. On the 5th of November, we flew from Miami to Montego Bay, Jamaica. We were super excited – after all, we have heard so many great things about this beautiful island. Jamaica is known (and for a good reason, as we soon found out) for its tropical weather, laid-back lifestyle, sandy beaches, beautiful waters, rich flora, the Rastafari movement, delicious coffee, Caribbean rum, great athletes, reggae music and of course the legendary Bob Marley. 🙂
Our seven-day Jamaica honeymoon itinerary (things to see and things to do)
DAY 1
So we were at the airport in Montego Bay, waiting for our luggage and it turned out that one of our backpacks was missing. Ha! What now? All of our shoes, toiletries, and medications (bandages, aspirin, motion sickness remedies, water purification tablets, antimalarial medications, insect repellents, hand sanitizers, sunscreen etc.) were in there. We’d have to spend a lot of time and money to replace all that. So my husband decided to report the missing luggage. He walked up to an official counter and addressed the employee – it was a man in a uniform (he might have been a cop). He told him that our backpack was missing. The employee made some phone calls and he finally informed us that it was left behind at Miami airport. He then carelessly shrugged his shoulders and added, that they’ll try to deliver it the next day in the afternoon or the day after that. Since we were planning to go to Negril first thing in the morning, we weren’t exactly thrilled about the news. And Matic politely asked the employee: “Could you please make sure we get the backpack as soon as possible? We’re planning to go to Negril tomorrow, so we’d really appreciate it if we could pick it up before leaving. You see… We really need the backpack, all of our shoes are in there and our personal items and our drugs.” I panicked… Drugs?! “We really need our drugs, we can’t go on without them. Drugs are really important!” he kept explaining to the man, who might have been a police officer. I started kicking him under the counter to shut him up, but he kept going. 😀 Just when I thought we were doomed when I was sure they’ll strip us naked and search us for non-pharmaceutical drugs and keep us at the airport for the whole week, the man started laughing and told Matic with his cool Jamaican accent: “You’ll get your drugs, man! And the next time, think before you speak!” Phew! 😀
We finally exited the airport and took a cab to the hotel. The taxi driver was dressed in rasta colors, he was listening to Bob Marley and had photos of marijuana leafs glued all over the car. 😀 It was an awesome ride. 😉 Once we reached the hotel, checked in and unpacked we went (as usually) straight to the beach – even though it was raining a little. At the beach, a friendly local approached us and asked if we needed any help. He showed us his collection of handmade bracelets and asked if we’d like to buy some. We politely declined, so he asked if we needed some snorkeling equipment, towels or maybe some weed. 😀 At first we were a little surprised, I mean it doesn’t happen every day that a stranger on the street tries to sell you marijuana. 🙂 But after the second, third and fourth local had approached us with the same question, we got used to it. 😀 Since we were already wet from the rain, we decided to jump in the warm Caribbean sea. We had a blast. 🙂 Afterwards, we went to a nice local restaurant, where we had some jerk meat and their native Red Stripe beer. At the restaurant, we observed the locals and realized that Jamaicans truly are the most relaxed, easy-going, carefree and good-humored people we have ever met. We loved it. 🙂
DAY 2
While waiting for our backpack to arrive in Jamaica, we decided to explore the city of Montego Bay. We soon realized that it’s full of hotels and resorts and very touristy in general. In hope of escaping the attractions, we visited the local market. The place was so colorful – the buildings, the clothes the locals were wearing, the items they were selling. It was beautiful.
When they finally delivered us our backpack – unharmed, we took a bus to Negril, one of the most popular beach resorts in Jamaica. It took us 1,5 hours to get there. First, we checked into our hotel, had lunch and later in the afternoon we went to the well-known Seven-mile beach. The beach isn’t actually seven miles long, but it is still very long and we walked its whole length. Every once in a while we stopped to have a bath, and at the end of our walk, we witnessed the most beautiful sunset at the sea we have ever seen. It was magical. Once the sun had set, a whole bunch of mosquitoes came out of the bushes so we had to run back to the hotel. 😀
DAY 3
The weather was nice and sunny, so naturally, we decided to spend the day at the beach. We were swimming, sunbathing, and trying out local specialties at waterfront restaurants.
In the evening we took a bus to Ocho Rios – one of the most popular tourist destinations in Jamaica. At the hotel, we met a nice couple from Estonia – Gerly and Silver. We had dinner together and we immediately hit it off.
DAY 4
Gerly and Silver invited us to visit the James Bond Beach together, which is located 12 miles (20 km) outside of Ocho Rios and so we went. White sand, beautiful Caribbean sea, palm trees and coconuts – it was a beautiful morning.
After returning to the hotel, our travel companions decided to have a nice quiet afternoon at the hotel, but not us – we were craving for adventure. We went to visit one of Jamaica’s national treasures – Dunn’s river falls. It’s not just a wonderful sight, they also offer you an amazing adventure – you can climb up the waterfalls. We did it on our own, but you can also hire an official tour guide. Had we done that, we probably wouldn’t have lost our flip-flops. 🙂 Overall it was an unforgettable experience, a definite must-do when in Jamaica. 😉
DAY 5
It was time to move on to our next destination – Port Antonio. Our Estonian friends had rented a car and they offered us a ride. We gratefully accepted. On our way to Port Antonio, we made a stop at the Blue Mountains National Park. There we met a local, who showed us the way to a wonderful waterfall and pond. Sometime in the afternoon, we arrived in Port Antonio. We settled in the hotel and went to the famously beautiful Frenchman’s Cove Beach. At sunset, we took a private boat tour along the stunning coast.
DAY 6
Beach day at Frenchman’s Cove Beach. By that time we had already seen some pretty amazing Jamaican beaches, but this one was by far our favorite. It’s located in a small bay, surrounded by tropical forests and decorated with a crystal-clear green river, that flows right into the wonderful Caribbean Sea. There are swings all along the river bank, which makes the place even more perfect. After a few hours, we got hungry and went to the restaurant right on the beach. There we were once again amazed at how slow life is in Jamaica – it took them an hour and a half to prepare a couple of sandwiches. 😀
Late in the afternoon, we met with our friends from Estonia and together we drove to the capital of Jamaica – Kingston. We reached our final destination in Jamaica sometime in the evening.
DAY 7
On our last day, we had a lazy morning. We only had time for a short stop on our way to the airport – we went to visit the Bob Marley Museum, which perfectly rounded up our amazing Jamaican experience. 😉 It was time to move on to our next amazing destination. 🙂
♥ Top romantic experience
We love sunsets, especially at the beach. Therefore the unexpected, beautiful sunset at the Seven-mile beach in Negril was the romantic highlight of our Jamaican honeymoon. And since Negril is located on the west side of the island, it’s pretty famous for spectacular sunsets. 😉
♥ Top adventure
Jamaica offers a long list of adventures. Our favorite was definitely the waterfall climbing adventure at Dunn’s River Falls.
Are you wondering about the daily budget, the best time to go, visa and immunization requirements, local customs, currency, electricity standards, safety tips and where to stay? Here you can find out all you need to know before visiting Jamaica.
Have you already been to Jamaica? We invite you to share your top romantic experience and top adventure in the comment section below. 😉
Next stop: unique Cuba! 😉
