Jamaica in March was fabulous.
Reasonably cheap and still lots of sunshine, average 30C. It is certainly on my list to visit again.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Montego Bay. Speaking to many visitors there, we heard that some of the rooms needed a bit of loving care as they were in the older building, but we had no such complaints.
All our food was provided from breakfast until bedtime and at every meal there was a huge selection that catered to every taste. Indoor and outdoor bars supplied soft drinks, beer and exciting cocktails.
There was entertainment in the evening around the meandering pool and barbecues on the beach. They also had dancing, games and ‘crab races’.
The ocean was steps away across a beautiful sandy beach. A small island not far out created shallow wading water which was ideal for children. There were plenty of deckchairs provided on the beach and on the island. Beyond the island the waves would roll up on the coral and was excellent for snorkeling.
The hotel offered many sight seeing trips, but we hired our own taxi driver and had a wonderful day combining some of the sights together and thus saving a lot of money.
We visited Dunn’s Falls and had a great day climbing to the top of them through the cascading cold water. Once changed out of our wet clothing we were off in the taxi to Magic Mountain where we took part in the Jamaican Bobsleigh Run. There is also a swimming pool at the top of the mountain which hangs over the bobsleigh run and the edge of the mountain and gives you an excellent view of the huge liner ships docking in Ocho Rios below.
We did take one trip offered by the hotel to Negril. There were two choices, a full day or half a day. We chose the latter but regretted it almost immediately after boarding the coach.
We were first taken to Margaritaville where we drank and had fun in the ocean. A huge trampoline was anchored off shore and became a great source of excitement. We also collected many starfish off the ocean floor but we returned them before we left. We enjoyed the ocean so much we had to run for the coach in our bathing suits and change as we traveled on to Negril.
Stopping at the local shops they gave us just 30 minutes to pick up some souvenirs then we proceeded on to Ricks Bar on the beach. The bar was so crowded it was impossible to order anything to eat, we just didn’t have the time to wait for the order.
Instead we went over to the cliff edge and spent the time we had watching marvelous feats of diving by the locals and tourists. They not only dived from the cliffs but from tops of trees adorning the cliffs.
To end the day we watched a beautiful sunset over the ocean before climbing into the coach for the journey back to the hotel. It would have been a much more relaxing day if we had opted for the full day trip and we would not have been so hungry. Thankfully, we could still pick up some snacks in the hotel when we got back.
There are many other places of interest we want to see in Jamaica, so hope it is not too long before we return.
