In my previous post I told you I was invited on a birthday trip in October of 2019, well this is the story all about how I visited Jamaica! INCOMING FIRST: For my first trip to Jamaica the birthday girl decided she wanted to stay in an all inclusive resort! Being new to the idea of an all inclusive resort I noted that I pay one price and EVERYTHING IS INCLUDED except for anything outside of the resort. This price included: the flight, stay, food (including all restaurants), all drinks (including alcoholic drinks), and canoes on the Caribbean Sea. Not really sure how much we spent but this was a precovid trip so it couldn’t have been too expensive especially because this was before I applied for a travel credit card! 

While on the resort in Jamaica I enjoyed their swim up bar EVERYDAY as well as relaxed poolside while eating on their beach grilled meals like jerked chicken, pork, and for most late nights grilled burgers; the food prepared at these resorts a more geared towards the majority so less salt, less spice, and as you can imagine less Jamaican but still delicious! If authentic food is what you desire I recommend getting some food away from resort. 

What Happened? Trip Highlights 

What went well?

-We were pretty adventurous on this trip which made the trip so much fun! The ladies really connected with some of the male workers of the resort, almost every night we used their connection to explore off of the resort to some lounges they had in Jamaica for the locals. While they had a great vibe going, reggie all night is really not my vibe but still fun

-The birthday girl made us shirts for her birthday excursion which included horseback riding, ATV riding, and zip-lining over the Dunn’s River Falls! It was a completely full day of these things back to back, this day was a break from all my relaxing poolside activities!

What could’ve gone better?

-When it comes to vacation I really enjoy a well planned itinerary with links and everything prepaid so when we arrive at the vacation there’s no questioning what is happening on what day and how much everything costs. I would’ve enjoy this vacation more if I could’ve received taste of that vibe, I don’t believe I came with enough money for a lot of the things I would’ve liked to do for my first trip to Jamaica

What we didn’t plan for but turned out great?

There was a day where the other ladies wanted to go Jamaican bobsledding as an excursion that you purchase at the resort, I decided the activity wasn’t worth it for myself to attend and I explored Turtle River Park solo which is a park that has free roaming wildlife and I was able to try some authentic Jamaican patties which were indeed spicy but delicious! After that I went back to the hotel and noticed that along the beach some locals were renting their jet skis to people on the water and being solo at this time they allowed me to try them for free!

With all of this international travel happening back to back my wallet needed a break to catch-up, so for my first birthday with a passport I decided I would spend the weekend in New Orleans with one of my friends! This birthday turned out to be so magical and is easily described as one of the best trips I’ve taken for my birthday. This trip was the last international vacation before the pandemic…