Traveling to Jamaica | Vacation Experience in Jamaica

I recently came back from vacationing in Jamaica. It was one of the most amazing experiences to say the least. I went on a week long girls trip that was much needed! I wanted to take time today and chat with you about my experience there. If you have been thinking of traveling to Jamaica this post will definitely provide you with some insight. Or if you are just curious on how my vacation was…I got all the deets for you too 😉

Booking and resort

The trip was booked through cheapcaribbean.com. Our booking was all-inclusive meaning it included flight (through Jet Blue), food, drinks, travel, and resort stay. For details on what was included on the resort check here. We booked the trip far in advance. The great thing about booking through cheapcarribbean.com is that they allow you to make interest free payments if you wish. I found that everything went pretty smooth from the booking side.

The resort we stayed at while in Jamaica was Luxury Bahia Principe Runaway Bay. Check out the site for photos of the full property. This place is massive! It has an adults only side and a family side. We booked the adults only side but we were still able to use either side of the resort. The adults only side was way more chill lol. That's where we spent most of our time while on the resort.

Bahia Principe had multiple pools, bars, buffets and lots of entertainment. It pretty much had something for everyone! If you felt like laying on the beach or learning how to "break ya back" in the dance classes it was all there. They also have souvenir shops on the property. My favorite shops were on the Grand side (family side). Items on that side are more reasonable in price and there is much more variety.

Food and being tricked (kinda…)

Patties, curry and more patties!!!! Lol! My foodie dreams were made in Jamaica. The food that I had was excellent. The main buffet that we ate at was the Jazmin. This was 5 star! There was a large variety of food but I'm not traveling to Jamaica for American food. I went straight for the Jamaican food section. I ate lots of curries, jerk chicken, rice, plantain, steamed cabbage, soups, patties, and desserts.

One of my favorite things was the fresh juices. The fruit punch I had multiple times a day lol. It was basically a mix of fresh juice that tasted like watermelon, mango, and cantaloupe (to me). I never asked what was actually in it cause I was too busy drinking it. They also had some of the best fresh mangoes I've tasted in life! They also had fresh coconuts that were cut open right in front of you to drink the water.

Jamaican beef and chicken patties were really good. We would grab some from the Coconut Bar at the resort and go sit on the beach. The only other time I had patties and coco bread in another province was when I went shopping in the village.

Girl! Here's the short story…

The driver that took us to the village was talking to us about getting "Juici Patties". This whole time I was thinking "yessss…I'm about to eat some amazing local "juicy beef patties".  We had already ate our food and were headed back to the resort when we started seeing Juici Patty places everywhere. Yeah it was definitely a chain patty spot lol! So much for the non-tourist experience with that.

The village

On that same day we went to the village to go shopping for souvenirs. We had a tour guide (I guess you would call him) that was suggested by our driver (convinced they were all in on it).  So we first looked around in the duty-free shop that had decent prices. They would also hold your items as you shop at other places. After that we went to eat (I just told you that story). So he took us shopping.

Unbeknownst to us he walked us over to "his" shop and "his" sisters shop and "his" cousins shop. There we were swarmed by other vendors asking us to take a look at merchandise. Gotta admire the hustle lol! It was all good though! We had so much fun and we all got a good laugh out of it. I do wish we could have explored different parts of the village but we didn't have much time after we got stuck in that one area. Next time though!

Catamaran

On the catamaran in Ocho Rios we went to Dunn's River Falls and climbed up it to do ziplining. FIRST OF ALL…I had no idea we would be hiking up the falls lol! I was NOT ready for that! When we booked the tour our coordinator just told us we would need water shoes and shorts. Dats it! It was an amazing and nerve racking experience going up the falls. I wouldn't change it though.

This was my first time ziplining so I had no idea what to expect. It was so great and I plan on doing it again. I'll be making a blog post about that later to discuss all the details.

So there was Dunn's River, ziplining, and on the way back from the falls you could snorkel. I choose not to because I was tired at that point lol! The catamaran had a DJ and they served drinks as we headed back to land. (Bruno Mars was on heavy repeat I noticed while I was here lol) When we docked they served us a dinner at Margaritaville. I had jerk chicken, island rice, coleslaw and a fritter. The food was amazing as usual!

The catamaran was not included in our original booking nor was the trip to the village. We paid separately for those trips.

Resort chillin'

The resort had plenty of things to do, but I tried to relax as much as possible. I laid out on the beautiful beach and hung out at the pool. I ate a lot of delicious food from the buffets as well as the restaurants that you have to make a reservation for (also included). 

We went to the evening entertainment which was so fun. There was a resort planned event every night. We went out dancing and to the Michael Jackson impersonation show. The man who played Michael Jackson killed it!

Not to be forgotten, I had tons of girl talk, laughs, and memories that I will cherish forever!

Brief history and culture

Traveling to Jamaica was a dream come true. I felt so welcomed there. I was greeted with the term sister and I had the opportunity to talk to many local people. It's one thing to travel for vacation but I wanted to learn as much as possible about the culture and the beautiful island. I made it my mission to talk to everyone and ask as many questions as I could. My friends and I all had the same mindset which is really dope. We spent a good part of our trip discussing what we had learned from Jamaicans we met. It is humbling to learn about Jamaica through the eyes of Jamaicans and not through a tourist pamphlet.

Things I learned:

• Taíno people were the principle inhabitants of Jamaica.
• Jamaicans speak Patwah (Patois), which is a dialect of English. Slaves combined all their languages so they could communicate without the master being able to understand. (Official language is English)
• Britain colonized Jamaica which is why they drive on "the wrong side" of the road.

• Unfinished homes are commonly seen because they are built room by room. Homeowners will contract for the next room once they are ready to pay for it. (these homes are sturdy and built to last through hazardous weather)
• People are generally very friendly and laid back although it is difficult finding good work.
• "Pharmaceuticals" are illegal but they are not criminalized. (possibly a big part of what attributes to happiness lol)
• You can barter everywhere (similar to the Tijuana border in Mexico lol). You can negotiate a fair price for most things.
• Irie, Yeah Mon, and Up Top are all real things that are said on a daily in Jamaica. Up Top is a newer term that the younger generation uses. I'm cool like that so I used it too lol!

I never wanted to make anyone feel annoyed or disrespected by using the Jamaican lingo but I was always told embracing the one love spirit will always be welcomed.

Ugh! I just loved it there!!!!

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

XO Terreana