I went to Jamaica for my birthday last year and it was definitely one of my favorite trips thus far. I have a friend who vacations there often, so she knew all the spots to go to, including where to stay and which excursions to do. She even made friends down there who had their own tour service that we all agreed to use. Now at the time, Jamaica still had a curfew and we couldn't be outside past 10pm. Let's just say we were outside every day past that time. Their curfew is now lifted for those who are wondering.
We booked literally EVERYTHING through Island Treasure Tours: https://islandtreasuretours.com . They provide airport transportation and transportation in general, and they also have lists of tours and activities. From the very first day we met them at the airport, they came with good and high energy.
We stayed at the Riu Reggae hotel which is an all-inclusive adults-only resort. We booked our stay through Cheap Caribbeans, which is recommended for larger parties. We ended up booking one double room, which included two double beds and costed us around $850 per person for 5 days. Upon check in, you get a wristband that allows you access to the other resorts connected to the one you're staying in. Now I'm always skeptical about resorts because there is a certain authenticity they lack. My first time on a resort was in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Although the resort was beautiful, the food did not meet my expectations. So, after that, I decided no more resorts and stayed in Airbnbs every international trip afterwards. Since my friend vacations to Jamaica a lot and stayed at the Riu before, we decided to give it a try and it definitely exceeded our expectations. Our room was beautiful and spacious and they even set up little decorations on the bed since it was my birthday. The food on the resort was amazing, (of course not better than the food off the resort though).
Since we landed in the afternoon, we spent our first day on the resort. There wasn't a lot of people in the pool outside our hotel, so spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool in the Riu Palace.
We went out our first night to a lounge called Donway. The place was small, but nice and they played good music. What I liked most about the place was the access to the roof, which is where we spent most of the night. The next day was our "excursion" day. We paid $100 per person for both ATV and doom buggies AND complementary lunch at a place in St. Ann. After that, we went hiking at Blue Hole ($25 per person), which included a hike to the waterfall and a mud massage afterwards. Later that night, we met a couple of our friend's friends and went out again to a few other places, one of them called the Big Apple. This place was much bigger than Donway and had multiple rooms.
The next day was the day we were mentally preparing for. The plan was to do the boat tour and the bamboo rafts. The weather was cloudy that day and had rain on the forecast, so we decided to push the rafts back a day. Now my friend warned us about the boat tour and how "turnt" it would be. We made sure we ate a nice breakfast before leaving so we would be prepared. We booked the tour through Dreamer Catamarans, which costed around $100 per person and the tour ended with lunch at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. What I did like about the boat tour was that you had the option to book a private tour with or one with others. We did the boat with others and it was such a great time. I remember getting to Margarita Ville, taking a few shots (or more than a few), eating and then getting back on the boat. I'm not sure where things went left, but they did lol. Let's just say I passed out, BUT I woke up in time to still get cute, go to dinner AND go out that night!
The very next day was a calmer day. We went to another Margarita Ville and then to Rick's Cafe afterwards. This Margarita Ville was different than the one we went to on the boat tour. This one had access to the beach and was much bigger. I feel like if there's one place you HAVE to visit when you go to Jamaica, it's Rick's Cafe. Watching the sunset around great people and music was definitely an experience. You can also watch people jump off the cliffs (which I sat out this time). If you have to ask, yes we went out that night as well to a place called Rehab, which might have been one of the best places out of all the clubs/lounges we went to. The people there actually DANCED danced.
Now in between some of those excursions and hitting the streets, we did get to taste authentic Jamaican food: fritters (which were AMAZING), sautéed fish, Jamaican apples, and curry chicken and rice. Due to the curfew, we weren't able to really enjoy the nightlife like we wanted to so we're planning to go back to get the full experience lol. Let me know in the comments if you been or plan on going.
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