A travel advisors first hand experience, from its stunning beauty to the genuine warmth of its people, Jamaica welcomed us with open arms.
I spent seven days in Montego Bay in mid-March, my friends and family cautioned me upon hearing I was headed there with only a girlfriend of mine. The US Department of State is advising reconsidering travel to Jamaica, noting it as an unsafe travel destination and placing it a Level 3 travel location.
Disclaimer: I am not claiming to know everything about the conditions in Jamaica and simply speaking from my own first hand experience.
I will begin by saying, during the entirety of our stay we felt welcomed and safe. Everyone at the resort was great, our transportation both from the airport and on our excursions were secure & comfortable too.
Background on Jamaica
According to Inter-American Development Bank, 31% of Jamaica's citizens are employed in the tourism industry. Their economy is dependent on tourism and our tour guide denoted that they happily welcome and survive off of tourism to Jamaica.
Jamaica has 14 parishes, they are similar to states in the U.S. Montego Bay is in St. James Parish, Ocho Rios (another popular tourist destination) is located in St. Ann Parish, and Negril is located in Westmoreland Parish. Kingston is on the southeastern coast of Jamaica, this is their capital & largest city.
Here is some brief information on each of the four cities:
Kingston: This is their "downtown" big city feel, it is more of a business/shipping city. It is less of a tourism area and marked as one of the dangerous parts of Jamaica, much like a wide variety of large cities. There is no real reason to go to Kingston as a tourist as their beaches are not as nice as those in Montego Bay anyway.
Ocho Rios: Dunn's River Falls is located in Ocho Rios, it is about 2 hours from Montego Bay. Our tour guide recommended staying in Montego Bay & taking excursions & day trips to Ocho Rios due to its proximity to the airport etc, noting it is a tad further away. I know people who absolutely LOVE this city though, so reach out & we can discuss which may be the best fit for you!
Montego Bay: This city is close to the airport and filled with resorts & beautiful beaches. This is a great place to stay to relax and its easy to hop over to Ocho Rios for excursions & to see the falls.
Negril: This is one of the safest cities in Jamaica for tourist, but also one of the most expensive. The resorts & views are incredible, but everything costs a little more. The taxi just to get there from the airport can be $200+. Negril is home to 7-mile beach and Blue Hole and one of the most popular destinations for high end travel.
Where I Stayed: RIU Montego Bay (all-inclusive, adult-only)
After reading about the advisory we opted for an all-inclusive property over an AirBnb just to be safe, but we met others on our excursions who were in condos and other surrounding resorts.
We stayed at the RIU Montego Bay all inclusive property, they are a 5-star, adult only resort. You can read my review of the property here. This property is right next to Riu Reggae & Riu Palace as well as Sandals Royal Caribbean / Sandals Cay. From RIU Montego Bay you can see the overwater bungalows at the Sandals, All of these properties are located in Mahee Bay.
Things to do:
Dunn's River Falls
We did this excursion, and it was breathtaking. It included a catamaran boat trip, lunch at Margaritaville, ziplining down the falls, and snorkeling. There are a variety of variations of this.
Adventure Tours: such as horseback riding, swimming with dolphins at Dolphin Cove or ATV tours.
Blue Hole: These are a series of limestone sink holes. It is located in Ocho Rios, but definitely will be adding this to my list for my next trip to Jamaica.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is it safe to do excursions?
Yes it is safe. I would as always ensure you book an excursion with a reputable travel group. There were excursion companies right at our hotel, all we had to do was look at their options & book the ones we wanted to go on. They then picked us up right at our hotel. I caution, like anywhere in the world, be smart and remain aware of your surroundings. This said, we never felt unsafe as two women on vacation in this beautiful place.
What are the ways to avoid dangerous situations?
Everything I read, said avoid driving at night and walking around alone at night (this second part is common sense). We opted not to leave the resort at night and being two girls, we did not go to the bars/clubs. The resort did have a bus that would take guests downtown to the clubs though and there were guests that did this. This was not the kind of trip we wanted, nor did it seem like the safest option. Upon going back, we would consider this so long as we had a larger group of us.
When is Jamaica's tourist season?
Their busiest tourist season runs from mid-October to mid-May. Depending on when you go and where you stay Jamaica can be a super affordable Caribbean destination. Contact me and we can look into this option.
Still have questions or concerns? Contact me:)
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