thinking jamaica..

mishkuu · May 2012

i want somewhere memorable for our honeymoon next year. my fiancee has never been out of the country. i have been to the dominican republic (week vacation with family in 2005), and stayed in japan for 4 months (study abroad in 2006). i also checked out okinawa on my own for 8 days in 2009. - all before meeting my guy. i love adventures, new areas, and cultures!

i have been thinking somewhere outside of the country for our honeymoon next year. he seems to be ok with anywhere, including within the states. although i want him to experience something totally new.

now, i'm not beating any honeymoon ideas down within the states, not at all - but this may be our only chance to get out of the country. (if not, then it will be a while..)

the honeymoon would probably be early july next year (our wedding is the last weekend of june) - and i'm trying to think of different areas/packages that may be close in price to a trip within the states. if the price is somewhat comparable - we got a chance. (adding flights, hotel, possible rental car, food, activities, for an in-state trip)

i'm looking for all-inclusive, beach-y areas -- where the flight, hotel, and food is included. somewhere that is still close (no Europe) too (we are in ohio). when we went to the DR it was thru Appletours and we had a great time.

- so far thinking jamaica. i've heard of other pretty beach-y areas, but where the beach is the only thing to do (like st.lucia). someplace that is romantic, where it has things to do - but is as easy as relaxing at the beach when we want to.

opinions of where you went will be very helpful! i only know Appletours, who have you booked with? i want this to be a very memorable trip, not only for our honeymoon - but for his first out of the US experience.
thanks!!
-m

PS. hawaii and puerto rico are in the running too - they aren't 'within' the states.

jmflaherty · May 2012

We're staying at Sandals Grande Riviera in Ochoa Rios in a couple of weeks. Sandals is always running terrific deals and it's all inclusive.

shelby8020 · May 2012

Check out couples swept away in negril, it's on 7 mile beach and you can walk to shops/margaritaville/restaurants.......this is also an all inclusive property and the rooms are more like tropical villas, it's absolutely beautiful. You can nothing at all or everything. They have various tours available as well as free catamaran cruises;)

jsarver14 · May 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_thinking-jamaica?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:96423d42-3d70-4bf9-b8d9-7c562205ebc3Post:9d336d55-9180-430b-bc55-0f24f68ff4bd">Re: thinking jamaica..</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>Check out couples swept away in negril</strong>, it's on 7 mile beach and you can walk to shops/margaritaville/restaurants.......this is also an all inclusive property and the rooms are more like tropical villas, it's absolutely beautiful. You can nothing at all or everything. They have various tours available as well as free catamaran cruises;)
Posted by shelby8020[/QUOTE]

We're doing this in October! I'm so excited! The package was very manageable for a honeymoon, considering it's an all inclusive. FI and I wanted to find something for around $3500, and we did. A whole week of nothing but beach, relaxing, and drinks :)

WVgalinNYC · May 2012

Jamaica is really great, you will love it. It is much more affordable than some of the other islands, and has a more "Caribbeany" vibe. We've stayed at Sandals Whitehouse, Grande Riviera, and Royal Plantation- all within an 18 months span. of those Grande Riviera and Royal Plantation were our favorite, but they are completely different resorts.
Grande Riviera is huge with tons of options within the resort on where to eat, swim, relax, etc. Even though it is huge it isn't overwhelming and you can definitely find private areas.
Royal Plantation is really small and intimate. It a short walk down the beach from Grande Riviera but a totally different vibe. The service there is what really sells it.

We picked the resorts based on what we were looking for with each vacation. Our travel agent gave us tons of info on each resort and helped us to pick the one that best satisfied what we wanted. We really enjoyed all the recommendations. She always recommends Couples resorts as well, but because we have/had the Sandals points, we've just gone Sandals.
(We are actually thinking of going to Negril this winter.) If you want a TA recommendation, PM me and I can send you her info. She works primarily online.

@

jmflaherty

: Our TA recommended finding a guy named "Shelvin" in a little john boat that hangs out on the beach at Grande Riviera. We found him and paid him like $20 to take us out and ride along the coast line. My hubby and him went out fishing twice. He's a lot cheaper than fishing through the resort and you are doing it with the locals. It was a different experience, really fun--- if you are open to it, might be worth finding him. (I think the boat was red??).

Good luck!!

melfacto · May 2012

We are going to Secret Wild Orchid in Jamaica for 2 weeks! Can't wait! We've been to Jamaica before and travel usually twice a year out of Canada and this has been our favorite Caribbean vacation thus far, so easy choice for our HM! This is also an all inclusive, newer property. Jamaica has many great excursions and the people are great! GL in your planning!

cmgefert · May 2012

We are going to Secrets St James ( Which is on the same property as Secrets Wild Orchid) for two weeks this July and it looks AMAZING!!! Check out some reviews and pictures onTrip Advisor!

frantastic12 · May 2012

We're also doing Secrets Wild Orchid, in August. We're in Ohio too, and we actually just used Expedia to book it as a package.

mishkuu · May 2012

loving all of these ideas, thank you!

i'm also curious on the time frame we would be there. i'm concerned about the rainy season. is july a good time to go to jamaica? when i went to okinawa, it was the rainy season (june)- but it didn't affect me badly at all. hardly noticed it. if jamaica - is there a certain part of the island where it isn't as bad?

bah, sorry for all the questions. i just want to get this right. thanks!

polim22 · May 2012

My fiance and I went to Jamaica last January and stayed at the Sandals Whitehouse Resort. January is one of the cooler months (and by cooler I mean high 80s). July and August are the hottest months. They really don't have a "rainy" season. We paid about $3500 for the entire trip (that's flying out of boston, resort, food, drinks). It was the first time we had vacationed at an "all - inclusive" so there are definitely lots of pluses. The accomodations were beautiful, the beach was great. There were daily activities on either the beach or in the pool. My fiance played in a volleyball game a few times - while I lounged poolside. There are glassbottom boat rides and snorkeling. We were advised not to leave the resort - and to be honest it appeared a bit scary - we took a walk to the very end of the beach at the resort and it is gated off with a bob-wire fence and an armed guard. They have a very big crime problem in Jamaica - so venturing off the resort is not the best idea.

PS - No Bud Light at the resort. If your fiance has this as a favorite beverage (as mine does) they don't serve it on the island.

Hope this helps.

[Deleted User] · May 2012

Jamaica is awesome. I've been going there since I was eighteen. Contrary to what is frequently posted on this board, you absolutely can leave the resorts and you should. It's perfectly safe as long as you are not buying drugs, flashing wads of cash and engaging in reckless behavior. In other words, just use the same common sense as you would in any new environment.

Negril is my favorite because I love Seven Mile Beach and the Cliffs. I prefer smaller boutique hotels, both AI and non-AI. The Caves is very romantic and secluded.

Make sure you sample some local cuisine, even if you do stay an AI. I also recommend taking a few excursions into the interior of Jamaica. The "bush" is full of beautiful jungles, waterfalls and rivers.

thegreeneyedkri · May 2012

Another vote for Couples if you'll be going to Jamaica. I thought they were super reasonably priced. I've only been to Couples Tower Isle, but I've heard really great things about their other resorts as well. This was my fiance's first experience at an all-inclusive and he really really liked it, so much so that we already booked for next year too. It had some excursions included, which was the first time I'd seen that in an all-inclusive. The whole "no tipping" thing was also really different, but I liked it (after having been to all-inclusives in Mexico numerous times, where you're expected to tip for everything). The staff was really friendly and awesome. I also could be partial because I got engaged at Couples. It was funny, afterward random staff kept stopping my now fiance and giving him a high five, or asking how it went and what I said.

Although I will say, the "continental breakfast" you can order the night before to be delivered the next monring NEVER came ontime (showed up around 7:10-7:30 when we requested 6:30-6:45). We had no problem with regular room service though!

We went off resort quite a few times and really enjoyed it. Best meal we had was off resort at Scotchies (not that Couples food is bad, its actually really great, but Scotchies made my fiance and Father talk about how to import all spice trees so they can replicate it at home!)

Santorini2011 · May 2012

I completely disagree with winniethepiglet. I have traveled all over the world and tend to explore. I am smart about how to travel. However, Jamaica was the ONLY place that made me leery. I would not suggest wandering around.

I stayed in Montego bay for a week in Dec and wasn't impressed wth the people. The resort (Iberostar) was fine and pretty normal. Beach and water were so-so. The people outside of the resort were pushy, called out to me, etc. It was not that great. Check out the other Caribbean islands. Even Peurto Rico, once you left San Juan, was much better.

thinking jamaica..

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