jamacia.

[McRib]

I wanna go next year!

I've done Cabo I've done cancun. Wanna plan a week trip to Jamaica now. All inclusive of course. Where and when do I get the most bang for my buck? Kingston? Negril? Montego? Ochos?

I've got a few bucks saved up and been itching to go some place for a couple of years now.

 

[wsuwrhr]

Where is Jamacia?

Brian

 

[riverrunner1984]

Never been to Jamaica but I know Dominican Republic has some great deals on all inclusive places. Been there twice and would def go again.
Stayed at the Majestic Elegance in Punta Cana.
May be something to look into...

 

[McRib]

Where is Jamacia?

Brian

Oops. I before Q except after pizza. My bad.

 

[scouter]

I've been to Jamaica twice and would not go back.

First time was on my first honeymoon, and it was part of a Caribbean cruise we were on. The minute we got off the ship, we were accosted by locals trying to sell us drugs. Total turn off.

The second time I went with my current wife cause she had never been and wanted to go. We stayed at a Sandals. Things we learned about Sandals:

1) The pictures online and in the brochures show big white sandy beaches with lounge chairs everywhere. When you get there, there is an ass in EVERY lounge chair (i.e. it was CROWDED).
2) As soon as you arrive on the property, the staff immediately puts the hard sell on signing you up for their Visa card (I think that's what it was). We had a very delayed flight getting there (took almost 24 hours) and the last thing we wanted upon arrival was a hard sell.
3) While it is "all inclusive", the bars didn't open until 11am or noon, which meant no bloody mary or mimosa with breakfast.
4) When the bar in the courtyard closes at 4am, the cleaning staff has no problem scraping the wrought iron furniture across the concrete waking us up EVERY morning of our 7 day stay (complaints to management fell on deaf ears).
5) Staying on the property, we were isolated from the "drug proprietors", but as soon as we went into the water at the private beach, we were met by these folks coming up on makeshift surf boards selling their wares..... :thumbsdown

We did participate in some awesome snorkeling excursions, and had some great food while we were there, but the rest just did not do it for me.....

 

[Boat211]

I've been to Jamaica twice and would not go back.

First time was on my first honeymoon, and it was part of a Caribbean cruise we were on. The minute we got off the ship, we were accosted by locals trying to sell us drugs. Total turn off.

The second time I went with my current wife cause she had never been and wanted to go. We stayed at a Sandals. Things we learned about Sandals:

1) The pictures online and in the brochures show big white sandy beaches with lounge chairs everywhere. When you get there, there is an ass in EVERY lounge chair (i.e. it was CROWDED).
2) As soon as you arrive on the property, the staff immediately puts the hard sell on signing you up for their Visa card (I think that's what it was). We had a very delayed flight getting there (took almost 24 hours) and the last thing we wanted upon arrival was a hard sell.
3) While it is "all inclusive", the bars didn't open until 11am or noon, which meant no bloody mary or mimosa with breakfast.
4) When the bar in the courtyard closes at 4am, the cleaning staff has no problem scraping the wrought iron furniture across the concrete waking us up EVERY morning of our 7 day stay (complaints to management fell on deaf ears).
5) Staying on the property, we were isolated from the "drug proprietors", but as soon as we went into the water at the private beach, we were met by these folks coming up on makeshift surf boards selling their wares..... :thumbsdown

We did participate in some awesome snorkeling excursions, and had some great food while we were there, but the rest just did not do it for me.....

We had a similar experience. No desire to go back personally.

 

[Bobby V]

We did Sandals Dunns River and Negril. Had a great time each trip. This was over12 years ago.

 

[Jefftowz]

What about a Caribbean cruise? We have found that cruises are the most bang for the buck and least amount of travel aggravation of any vaca we've been on.

 

[scouter]

We did Sandals Dunns River and Negril. Had a great time each trip. This was over12 years ago.

We were at Montego Bay, and the time frame is similar.....

 

[Sandlord]

Never again, reasons stated above and more negative than positive experiences.
I just go to Kauai or St Croix when I need an Island fix now.
Both American, and laid back.

 

[Motor Boater]

I've never been to Jamaica but I was just talking to a guy last week about these all inclusive resorts and he was telling about the lounge chair battles that ensue. He said its so crowded u have to get up at like 5am to secure your lounge chairs for the day. Then he said every time u get up to go in the water someone will toss your shit on the ground and take your chair. He said that creates arguments and he has nearly been in a few fights over it. Doesn't sound like much of a vacation to me.

 

[lakemadness]

We've been to Jamaica once, that is plenty for us. There are many places that are much more enjoyable. I think Jamaica is cheap to travel to and stay at in comparison to other resort Islands. My point is, you get what you pay for.

 

[Nord]

I've had 3 sets of customers go to Jamaica and say all that has already been said. Said outside the hotel was dangerous and they didn't feel safe. They got ripped off by a cab driver. It was like staying in a 3rd world country etc. they said inside the hotel was nice but they wanted to venture out.

 

[McRib]

Man I was hoping not to hear stories like this. I know about the locals and the drugs in town but never heard much about the lounge chair battle.

I'm not sure about a cruise down there. I'm sure it's great cause it's different than the Ensenada boozer. I'm sure it's worse in the ports than a resort. I hate the beggars in the Mexican ports. I can only imagine how bad it is in the islands. Ship food is just OK and then there is the Corona virus bullshit. The only upside is that it's probably the cheapest way to do the islands.

As far as Hawaii goes..... I'm NOT a fan! Wife wants to go real bad but I just can't. I lived there for a bit in the Corps and hated every minute of it. It's over expensive and over rated. It'd have to be redonkulous cheap for me to go back. Unless I had to support a good friends marriage.

Definitely can't afford the likes of tahiti and bora bora.

St Croix was mentioned. Maybe I'll look into that too.

 

[pronstar]

We got married in Negril. Loved it, will go back for sure.

We hired two drivers - one with a minivan for small groups, another who had a bus that would fit everyone - and spent most of the time off-resort, checking out the local scene. The drivers would hang with us to "interpret", participating in everything we did.

We thought the people were great, very genuine and friendly. It's a poor country but once away from the resort, we didn't get accosted for money very often.

Beautiful country.
We aren't really the type to stay chained to a resort.

As one example:
We went to a killer restaurant, hidden along a winding road. The driver pulled up to what looked like a wall of aluminum siding, covered in graffiti. One honk of the horn, and the siding parted, revealing an amazing restaurant overlooking a bay. It was like a post card. Never would have known about it without the local connection.

 

[RodnJen]

I'm with you on the Hawaii thing. I haven't been to the Caribean yet but want to. We're open to most of the islands but St. Croix and St. Lucia are in the running at the moment. As a compramise we are thinking South Florida next spring and day-tripping from there. Maybe do a VRBO then drive to the Keys, hit South Beach and other local beaches/islands.

 

[Bobby V]

I've had 3 sets of customers go to Jamaica and say all that has already been said. Said outside the hotel was dangerous and they didn't feel safe. They got ripped off by a cab driver. It was like staying in a 3rd world country etc. they said inside the hotel was nice but they wanted to venture out.

Thats because it is a 3rd world country. Yes the hotels are nice. You can venture out during the day but there is no reason to go out at night. You have all the entertainment at the hotel. I have been to 5 Sandals and never seen or heard about a problem with the beach chairs at 5am.

 

[YoPengo]

My wife and I did the Sandals in Antiqua for our 20th anniversary. We had a great time... After day two I got the lay of the land, figured out how to get the good drinks from the bartenders and where the good pool was. My wife got a good rate that wasn't big $. I would say I enjoyed it but don't really have a desire to go back. Kinda been there done that. I'm the same way with Hawaii. The trips that I enjoyed the most were with a group of friends in Cabo or Puerto Vallarta.

 

[Advantage 1]

Honeymooned with first wife... 1997.

Sandals Dunns River Falls and I think Ochos Rios...

I enjoyed holding hands with the locals when going up the falls

I was 26. Memory serves, I had a good time. I do remember a group of us were going 'off resort' to shop and had to be escorted by armed guards. And the booze cruise we took was the same. Just going around the island on a boat, the guards were hanging off the front of the catamaran.

 

[Sandlord]

Do some homework if you go to St Croix.
Its not very commercialized. Nobody selling stuff on streetcorners, or hawking timeshares.
The Christianstead harbor area is nice, compared to the Frederickstead side of the island.
We stayed at Renaissance St. Croix Carambola Beach Resort & Spa, which is probably the nicest place we saw, but secluded and miles from restaurants and bars. It has its own restaurant but its pricier than the bars of Christianstead. It has a nice beach and a few topless college girls when we were there. The Rum tour at Cruzan was fun.

 

[Inland Air Balance]

If you want to get your island on- St Thomas. Loved every damn minute of it and we didnt stay at a gated resort. Let VRBO be your friend 18.372659,-64.928952.
The only scary part is the driving on the wrong side of road, I had a hard time doing it, kept finding myself on the "wrong" side of the road.

 

[McRib]

Gonna start looking at St Lucia, St croix, Martinique, St Johns, Antigua, barbuda, St thomas, turks and caicos, and the Bahamas including nassau. Lol. If it doesn't work out we will hit cancun again. Lol

 

[Instigator]

Don't waste your time in Jamaica
We just came back from Belize, Ambergris Caye to be exact and loved it. Truth be told we are looking at a second home there.
http://ambergriscaye.com/index.php
As said before, look at VRBO.
Here is where we stayed.
http://ambergriscaye.com/index.php
Rented the whole house for 2 weeks in the 1st 2 weeks of may. It was off season and ZERO crowds. Best time would be after May 20th as Lobster season starts then.:thumbup: Easy 2 hour flight from Phoenix to Houston and another 2 hour flight to Belize City. Then either a 15 min. flight to San Pedro on the island or we took a Tropic Ferry Private Shuttle by boat right from the airport.
http://tropicferry.com/
Lots to do and very welcoming people. Hell, they speak more english there that we do in this country. If you want more information or pictures just send me a PM and I will help how ever I can.
BTW, The exchange rate is $ 1.00 USD = $ 2.00 BZD:thumbup:
Just my 2 cents.
Baja Mar Belize-House comes with onsite Caretakers included as well!

 

[Warlock1]

Hey Andrew, we are looking at going back to St Marteen. That was one of the stops on our cruise last year and we had a great time for the day. We talked to some of the locals and there was so much more to do that we just didn't have time to do it. It is either this or heading to Cancun. I'm turning 50 and this is going to be an all out vacation...:yikes

 

[Warlock1]

Don't waste your time in Jamaica
We just came back from Belize, Ambergris Caye to be exact and loved it. Truth be told we are looking at a second home there.
http://ambergriscaye.com/index.php
As said before, look at VRBO.
Here is where we stayed.
http://ambergriscaye.com/index.php
Rented the whole house for 2 weeks in the 1st 2 weeks of may. It was off season and ZERO crowds. Best time would be after May 20th as Lobster season starts then.:thumbup: Easy 2 hour flight from Phoenix to Houston and another 2 hour flight to Belize City. Then either a 15 min. flight to San Pedro on the island or we took a Tropic Ferry Private Shuttle by boat right from the airport.
http://tropicferry.com/
Lots to do and very welcoming people. Hell, they speak more english there that we do in this country. If you want more information or pictures just send me a PM and I will help how ever I can.
BTW, The exchange rate is $ 1.00 USD = $ 2.00 BZD:thumbup:
Just my 2 cents.

We did Belize on a crusie, wow it must have been 11 years ago. Clean but not much there at that time. I would be interested in hearing more about this trip.

 

[Rsqfxr]

Stayed in negril at sandals, I'll definitely go back

 

[Bobby V]

Gonna start looking at St Lucia, St croix, Martinique, St Johns, Antigua, barbuda, St thomas, turks and caicos, and the Bahamas including nassau. Lol. If it doesn't work out we will hit cancun again. Lol

When looking at the islands make sure to check out the flight times and if they are direct. We did a red eye to Jamaica which was nice. Took forever to get to St. Lucia with changing planes. Wasted a lot of time sitting in the airports.

 

[McRib]

When looking at the islands make sure to check out the flight times and if they are direct. We did a red eye to Jamaica which was nice. Took forever to get to St. Lucia with changing planes. Wasted a lot of time sitting in the airports.

Yeah. I'm seeing that. Seems to be a trek to get to the smaller islands.

 

[Mr. C]

We did St Croix, St. Johns and St Thomas for our honeymoon 25+ years ago.
I did not like St Thomas it was Like being in Santa Monica to me. to Crowded. We did have an incredible dinner at Blackbeards Castle.
Loved the other two places.
St Johns we had a room that was half on the beach half over the water :thumbup:
St, Croix was the Rockefeller Resort , Awesome as well. I think it is now Carambola Beach resort.

 

[Waterjunky]

If you open you options a little Belize is a wonderful area. Did my honeymoon there, None of he downs mentioned above. Just honest (generally I am assuming) good people and incredible beaches and diving / snorkeling. If you want somewhere truly impressive check out the Turneffe Island Resort. Not cheap but probably not that different than Sandals or something. Truly an impressive experience.

 

[Waterjunky]

YES!!!

Don't waste your time in Jamaica
We just came back from Belize, Ambergris Caye to be exact and loved it. Truth be told we are looking at a second home there.
http://ambergriscaye.com/index.php
As said before, look at VRBO.
Here is where we stayed.
http://ambergriscaye.com/index.php
Rented the whole house for 2 weeks in the 1st 2 weeks of may. It was off season and ZERO crowds. Best time would be after May 20th as Lobster season starts then.:thumbup: Easy 2 hour flight from Phoenix to Houston and another 2 hour flight to Belize City. Then either a 15 min. flight to San Pedro on the island or we took a Tropic Ferry Private Shuttle by boat right from the airport.
http://tropicferry.com/
Lots to do and very welcoming people. Hell, they speak more english there that we do in this country. If you want more information or pictures just send me a PM and I will help how ever I can.
BTW, The exchange rate is $ 1.00 USD = $ 2.00 BZD:thumbup:
Just my 2 cents.
Baja Mar Belize-House comes with onsite Caretakers included as well!
View attachment 430914

 

[941Punk]

Go to Hedonism II in Negril and look at boobs all day & night. :boobeyes:

 

[catman]

Mc Ribby,Check out this link and tell me what you think.St. James in Antigua is our favorite.The resort is on the far side of the island on its own peninsula.That means private beach with no beach peddlers and people trying to sell you drugs.It has the ocean on one side and Mamora Bay on the other.All inclusive with great food and drink.They have people driving golf cart bars up and down the beach so you don't have to even get up off your ass.Antigua is a nice island with 365 beaches.There is not a lot of night club action,but a place to go and just kick it.
Palm Island is a resort on its own island.If you are into just sitting on the beach all day and drinking or reading a book this is the place to go.Check out the link and see for yourself.A very good friend of mine owns all the resorts on the link.I can get any RDP ers a great price,plus a upgrade depending on what time of the year you want to go.If you have any questions on any of the resorts,please let me know.

http://www.eliteislandresorts.com

By the way Sandals sucks..

 

[Timmmmmy]

We did Sandals Dunns River and Negril. Had a great time each trip. This was over12 years ago.

X2

 

[GNKid]

Negril and Ocho Rios are a blast. Spent two weeks there. Locals are fun and friendly. I will be back.

 

[Ultra28]

Just got back from 10 days in Negril last night. My second time in Negril. Last time was Sandals, this time Beaches (brought the kids). Already booked to go back again in two years. Booked Antigua for next year at Sandals. Did Sandals Grand St. Lucia before too. Never had any problems anywhere. Yeah, it's a third world country and you need to have somebody you can trust take you if you're going off the resort. As for at the resort, I've never had any issues. They say you're not supposed to tip, but I always do and get hooked up with everything I need. Make friends with the staff the first day and you'll get taken care of the whole time. Pay the extra and get a butler suite if you want the total hook up. Then you really don't have to worry about fighting for chairs or anything.

 

[McRib]

Just got back from 10 days in Negril last night. My second time in Negril. Last time was Sandals, this time Beaches (brought the kids). Already booked to go back again in two years. Booked Antigua for next year at Sandals. Did Sandals Grand St. Lucia before too. Never had any problems anywhere. Yeah, it's a third world country and you need to have somebody you can trust take you if you're going off the resort. As for at the resort, I've never had any issues. They say you're not supposed to tip, but I always do and get hooked up with everything I need. Make friends with the staff the first day and you'll get taken care of the whole time. Pay the extra and get a butler suite if you want the total hook up. Then you really don't have to worry about fighting for chairs or anything. View attachment 431001

If you don't mind me asking.... how much was 10 days in Jamaica including airfare? ?

 

[McRib]

Funny thing today... this evening on my last job the drivers I picked up just happened to be from Jamaica. I asked lots of questions. Lol. The were both from the countryside and both said negril was the spot. I will look a bit deeper I think. I'm open for Belize as well. We almost went there instead of cancun a few yrs ago.

 

[Ultra28]

It was $14,000 for the 4 of us all charged as adults (two complete rooms) with first class airfare.

We booked Antigua Sandals for just my wife and I for our 25th anniversary. It came to $6,500 for 7 days in a private bungalow butler suite on the beach with our own pool. That doesn't count airfare.

We like to SCUBA dive a lot, so these resorts work out great for us, but I am looking at doing Belize (San Pedro) early next year which isn't all inclusive.

 

[Instigator]

We did Belize on a crusie, wow it must have been 11 years ago. Clean but not much there at that time. I would be interested in hearing more about this trip.

Check out Ambergris Caye on Google.
I think that it is better that Key Caulker as all the Europeans ( the locals call them " backpackers " because they carry EVERYTHING with them ALL the time ) go there and stay in flea bag sleeping lockers ( seriously think of a locker ) and are cheap skates.( They smell too ).:thumbsdown

If you want to snorkel you have the second largest barrier reef about 100 yards off the shore. If you want to Dive check out the Great Blue Hole.
http://greatbluehole.net/
Reef fishing, deep sea fishing all great. Here are some pics from our trip.




Short trip to the mainland and you have Mayan Ruins, Cave Tubing, Zip Lines and soo much more.

Great Place.:thumbup:

 

[Ziggy]

It was $14,000 for the 4 of us all charged as adults (two complete rooms) with first class airfare.

We booked Antigua Sandals for just my wife and I for our 25th anniversary. It came to $6,500 for 7 days in a private bungalow butler suite on the beach with our own pool. That doesn't count airfare.

We like to SCUBA dive a lot, so these resorts work out great for us, but I am looking at doing Belize (San Pedro) early next year which isn't all inclusive.

We just went to Antigua in May for our 25th too. We didn't go with butler service but our room was fully stocked, great walk out room....think it was called concierge club???
Not really a big issue getting chairs on beach.
Pool bar made good drinks[emoji106]

 

[pronstar]

I think we got spoiled living at the beach...

These days when we go on vacation, the last thing we want to do is chill at the resort...sure, we'll spend a few hours here and there chillin', but usually we're looking for the cool shit off-property that's off the beaten (tourist) path.

But we have noticed that when we make friends at the resort and convince them to head off-property, they sometimes get this doe-eyed gaze and can get pretty freaked-out at first LOL

Are we the only ones who really enjoy doing this? I guess it can be a bit "savory" in some areas, but if use your head and don't look like a victim things "usually" are cool

 

[Wombat]

I wanna go next year!

I've done Cabo I've done cancun. Wanna plan a week trip to Jamaica now. All inclusive of course. Where and when do I get the most bang for my buck? Kingston? Negril? Montego? Ochos?

I've got a few bucks saved up and been itching to go some place for a couple of years now.

How about the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland Australia
The 74 Whitsunday Islands lie between the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef, a massive stretch of coral teeming with marine life. Most of the islands are uninhabited, characterized by dense rain forest, hiking trails and wide beaches. Skipper-yourself ?bareboat? sailing is popular for island-hopping, since there are few other means of transportation.

Or

Kakadu National Park.
Kakadu National Park is an enormous, biodiverse nature preserve in Australia?s Northern Territory. With terrain encompassing wetlands, rivers and sandstone escarpments, it?s home to some 2,000 plant species and wildlife from saltwater crocodiles and Flatback turtles to hundreds of bird species. Aboriginal rock-art paintings dating to prehistoric times can be viewed at sites such as Nourlangie, Nanguluwur and Ubirr.

And because our dollar is SHIT at the moment you will be 30% ahead with the US Dollar.:thumbup:
Aussie girls love you Yanks and would welcome you with out stretched arms.:boobeyes:

 

[Timmmmmy]

I just got this email yesterday. I have always had a great time staying at Sandals

 

[SKIA36]

Sandals Montego Bay, we had a great time, beachside suite with butler, private section of beach with palapa set up with towels and drinks/breakfast every morning. 24 hour butler service with Bloody on demand every am. Food service(Tip em!!) and entertainment were good, (Club Med has the best shows), trips to golf, shopping in town, Ocho Rios were with a LARGE escort who made sure we were safe and not hassled. Beach, water, water sports- A+...$9k

Excellence Punta Cana DR. Killer resort, great service, excellent food, great beach, really nice rooms B+...$7k

Hard Rock Punta Cana, DR. Huge resort, average-poor service, rooms- nice, not great. Food- good, not great. Group rate for Zac Brown concert on the beach 2 days(INCREDIBLE). $8K

Secrets Maroma Bay, Cancun. The best yet. Killer resort, room, service, food. We bought into the vacation club it was so good. Promotional $1900/person for 8 days, no airfare. Vacation Club price for the next 30 years...190/night at any of the 50 Secrets resorts worldwide Excludes Zoetry($20k/week-celebrity privacy club). Includes Luxury Yacht package as well.

NON-ALL INCLUSIVES

Hawaii, Kauai , Hyatt Grand, Poipu, killer Hotel, food, service. Beach is rocky, water always rough.$$$$
Hawaii, Kauai, Condo in Princeville, nice,cheap, fun local restaurants, killer hikes and good beaches. $4k
Hawaii, Maui, Lahaina, Kapalua, Kanapali, Makena, all really nice, good beaches, nightlife, GREAT GOLF. $8k

Club Med-OK not like it used to be(Paradise Island, Turcs/Caicos)
Atlantis Bahamas $$$$$
Tahiti-Bora Bora. $$$$$ Not much night life- REAL QUIET
Australia, best country on the planet, Surfers Paradise, Great Barrier Reef, Sidney, Blue Mountains, Hawksbury River...on and on. They love Seppos, girls are REAL friendly, but they don't all look like Olivia Newton John unfortunately.
Cabo, La Paz, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Mazatlan, a lot of fun when I was younger. Now it depends on the resort. You get what you pay for. Save up and go 4/5 star, or don't bother.