Exotic Jamaican honeymoon!

For our honeymoon in Sept 2009 we chose an all-inclusive resort, The Riu Palace, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. All-inclusive means that all food, drinks, tips, and some activites are included in the price of the room. So if you like to drink and eat a lot, all-inclusive is definitely the way to go!

We were lucky enough to get a free upgrade to an ocean-front, king-size room. Ocean front means that the entire balcony on your room faces out over the ocean, whereas ocean view can mean any view of the ocean, even a very obstructed view. We would definitely reccomend the ocean-front room because we spent a great deal of time relaxing on our balcony enjoying the view, especially the amazing sunsets each night.

The resort has a huge swimming pool, with a swim-up bar (we spent most of our vacation enjoying the swim-up bar), built-in pool loungers, and built in tables and seats. The resort is also right on the beach, and there are beach lounger chairs that you can lay on, and even move into the water.

Our room had a liquor dispensor, along with mixers in the fridge, and bottled water and beer. These items were stocked every 2-3 days, free of charge. There was also a sports bar that was open 24 hours/day where you could always get alcoholic beverages and snacks. Other than that, there were bars throughout the resort, and wine and beer was always available at the buffets. There is also a disco club that is open each night for dancing, and there is a nightly entertainment show that the staff puts on, free of charge. They typically try to get the audience involved in the show, so if you don't want to end up on stage, sit in the back!

Dining. There is a main buffet for breakfast and dinner. There is a smaller buffet for lunch, as well as a jerk chicken hut on the beach. We loved the jerk chicken hut, it was the best food there! The sauce is really spicy though, so be careful! And for dinner there are also 3 restaurants, for which you needed a reservation, which seemed a bit hard to come by. There is a steak house, which I felt was the best quality food. There is an Asian restaurant and an Italian restaurant. To be honest, the food got old quickly, and it was not the best. We were there for 2 weeks, so that was a long time to be eating the same food! We walked across the street to Burger King one night and it was so much better than the resort food!

The activities that are included in the all-inclusive price are the use of paddle-boats, kayaks, and sail boats, as well as the beach volleyball court. The sail boats are small and you must know how to sail to use them, otherwise you have to pay for a lesson.

There are also activities available that you must pay for. For $50/person you can participate in the Booze Cruise. This is a sunset cruise, where you stop to snorkel at an amazing spot, and then head to Margaritaville to use the water trampolines, water slide, and to do some shopping. Rum punch is provided for the entire cruise. You may want to ask for a life preserver when snorkeling, especially after consuming all that rum punch! We had a great time on this trip, and the price was very reasonable.

We also took a day trip over to Ocho Rios, to hike Dunnes River Falls. If you are anywhere in Jamaica, this is a must-do! The temperature of the water is incredible, and such a nice break from the humidity! You hike up the actual waterfall with a guide, and it is really fun and beautiful! We paid about $118 per person for this day trip. On our boat trip to Ocho Rios, we got to stop to snorkel. We were also fed lunch. And on the boat trip back they provide lots of rum punch, and lots of Jamaican dancing and partyting! This was a great trip, and ended up being our favorite day of our honeymoon.

We also took a half-day trip to go zip-lining on the lingest zip line in the Carribbean. It was incredible! This cost us about $85 per person but was well worth it! We drove way up into the jungle, and took a jungle safari trip even further up, and we got to ride on 5 different zip lines, working our way up to the longest one at 16,000 feet. The guides were incredible, so funny and entertaining, yet knowledgeable and very into safety. They served us fresh coconut water, and we got to watch them hack the coconut open with a machete. My only complaint about this trip is that the mosquitos were terrible! Bring bug spray!!

Another trip you must make if vacationing in Jamaica is to Negril. Negril is known to have the 7th most beautiful beach in the entire world. White sand, clear blue water, gorgeous!! We actually took a private day trip with the guides who took us to Ocho Rios previously. We became friends with them and arranged a private day trip to Negril with them. This worked out better for everyone, the guides make more money this way, and charge us less than if we had booked a public trip through the company. We spent the morning at Margaritaville, eating, drinking, sun-bathing, and using the water trampolines. It was a perfect day! Then we moved on to Rick's Cafe. This is a must!!! Rick's cafe is known for cliff diving, and the amazing sunset views. You can jump off a small cliff, about 10 feet high, or the tallest one, about 40 feet high. There are men there who ask for tips, and then they will jump off the highest point, a tree that they climb that is about a 90-foot drop. This is amazing to watch! One guy dove off this tree for us, it is breath-taking, and so is the amazing sunset at Rick's!

We also did an afternoon of golfing. They have some good golf deals available at the front desk. I can't remember what we paid, but the golf course was beautiful. Half of the course was on the ocean, the other hald in the jungle. Most Jamaican golf courses require a caddy, and ours was very interesting!

Rum punch is a very popular Jamaican beverage, and in fact anything with rum is popular! Rum cream is something we were introduced too and it is delish! It is similar to Baileys, and is great in coffee. We were also lucky enough to be introduced to the top secret "Bob Marley" shots. These are not supposed to be served, but if you make friends with the staff then they may serve them to you. They are layered, colorful shots, that are Jamaican colors. One layer is grenadine (red), one is banana liquer (yellow), another is creme de menthe (green), and the top layer is overproof rum (similar to 151). Then you light the shot on fire, eventually blow the fire out, and suck the shot up through a straw. They are awesome and so pretty!

We made an amazing group of friends at our resort, from all over. We met a Belgian couple who got married the same day we did, and were there the same amount of days that we were, so we spent a lot of time with them. I know we made friends for life on this trip!

Overall Jamaica is an amazing vacation spot. It's gorgeous, with a lot of fun activities to do, and the locals are very friendly! The street vendors can be a bit pushy, so if you're not interested in buying anything from them, your best bet would be to completely ignore them. Even smiling at them, or greeting them, will make them think you're interested and they will hound you until you buy something!!

We became friends with a lot of the staff members at our resort. Tips are not required, but we would always tip our favorite bartenders, and we definitely got special VIP treatment in return! However, if traveling to Jamaica, don't forget the bug spray! The mosquitos are terrible! I had 57 mosquito bites on me at one time! I was miserable the 1st few days, so swollen and itchy, and learned my lesson quickly. Do not go outside without being covered head-to-toe in big spray. Not everyone needs to do this, my husband only got on bug bite the entire trip and he never used bug spray. But bring it just incase! I guess I am just one of those people who taste extra sweet to the mosquitos!

If you find yourself vacationing in Jamaica I hope this blog helps you decide what to do while there! Make sure to check out my photos above for examples and pictures of all of our amazing experiences!