OT: MichaelAnn . . .

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-05-2004
OT: MichaelAnn . . .
7
Wed, 07-02-2008 - 9:16am

Hi MicahealAnn! How are you?!?! I hope to be back & posting some over the summer since I'm off from work.


I noticied that your ticker is counting down the days until your Jamician vacation! How awesome is that! Dh & I celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary this October & I want to go to an island. I haven't set a date yet but was thinking either sometime in November if I can get the time off from work (since I only work 10 months out of the year, I'm not sure I can get the time off) or during school february break (2/14/09-2/21/09). My sister is already lined up to watch the kids whenever we go.


I want to stay in a Sandals resort for the romantic (no kid rule!) aspect of it & its an all inclusive package (no need to worry about anything!).


Where are you going in Jamica? What resort are you at? Anything you can tell me would be great! I was looking at Jamica (Montego Bay) but dh has some hesitation about going to Jamica. Then I was looking at Antigua. My sister was married in Antigua 5 years ago & she loved it.


Can't wait to hear about your plans!


 

Doreen

Doreen

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-11-2008
Wed, 07-02-2008 - 10:25am

Hi,


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-05-2004
Wed, 07-02-2008 - 12:03pm

I appreciate your feedback. This type of information is exactly what I'm looking for :)


Did you have enough to do where you stayed? I don't think we want to have to rent a car & "look" for things to do. I sort of want everything to be at my fingertips wondering what to do first. Kinda like looking around & thinking "Where do I start?"


Good to know about the closeness to the airport bit. I would be

Doreen

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-11-2008
Wed, 07-02-2008 - 12:25pm

Definitely lots to do, though lounging on the beach and pool was our main activity.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-04-2006
Wed, 07-02-2008 - 12:25pm

Hey you! Its always great to see you here!

We wanted to do tropical for our anniversary too, some place with great beaches, etc. We also needed flights to be cheap, and Mexico and Jamaica are the closest to us, so the least expensive to fly to. Dh and I had both done Mexico in our high school days with friends, so we wanted something a little different, so Jamaica it was.

We're going to the Sandals resort in Ocho Rios. We also wanted a "no kids" thing, plus I liked the idea of an all inclusive, easier to plan for budget-wise. We seriously considered Couples resorts too, but they are a bit pricier, and we decided we wanted a longer stay vs. a fancier resort. We booked a villa room at Sandals w/semi-private pool (shared by 3 or 4 other villas). For 5 nights its costing us $3200 including airfare - so not too bad. We've added a few extra things like a private candlelight dinner on the beach on the night of our anniversary! REALLY looking forward to that! Plus we'll spend a little more on some excursions - we'll go to Dunn River Falls and possibly horseback riding on the beach, things like that are extra.

I'm not too worried about going there, especially since we are staying at an all-inclusive resort. Technically we don't even HAVE to leave the resort if we don't want to. Dh and I however are adventurous enough that we want to get out and see some of the "real" Jamaica too.

I HIGHLY recommend the forums and reviews at Trip Advisor. I've become addicted to it - I almost spend as much time there as I do at iVillage!! I don't think I'm allowed to post a link, but you can Google it. It was SO helpful for our recent trip to Vegas, I got tons of great advise there about restaurants, clubs, what to do/see. And it was all dead on. Plus they have tons of user photos of different resorts, so much nicer to see real people's pics rather than the staged professional resort photos.



















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belizesig1
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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-04-2006
Wed, 07-02-2008 - 12:34pm

If you go on the Sandals website you can see all the excursions offered. You can also check out Chukka Tours - they are really big and do a lot of excersions.

http://www.chukkacaribbean.com/jamaica.php

They have all sorts of stuff like zip-lining, horseback riding on the beach, river tubing, ATV tours, bike tours - you name it.

Most excursions will pick you up right at the hotel. If you want to go off resort for things like shopping, local restaurants, etc. then cabs are the way to go. I've never really heard of anyone renting a car there. We are getting a private driver one day to go do some shopping in Ochi, then go to a really popular/authentic local jerk chicken place that gets rave reviews. We also plan to go to Margaritaville one night (apparently its kind of touristy during the day but after 11pm it really gets going!), again, we'll take a cab.


Edited to add: all the excursions off resort are extra $. A lot of watersports are included though like snorkeling and even scuba (if you are already certified, if not you have to pay for a resort cert. course) We plan to split our time, 1/2 on resort at the beach/pool, the other half on activities.



















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Edited 7/2/2008 1:25 pm ET by firebird_mom


belizesig1
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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-05-2004
Wed, 07-02-2008 - 8:09pm

Ohhh, you're getting me real excited! I went to see a travel agency today for some information (got tons!) and she suggested either Nigril or Montego Bay. Any particular reason you chose Ocho Rios vs the others?

Doreen

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-04-2006
Wed, 07-02-2008 - 9:00pm

We chose Ocho Rios basically due to price. We could get more nights there for the same price as Mo Bay or Negril. Mo Bay would have been my first choice because of the nightlife/Hip Strip and all that, but the Sandals resort there is apparently pretty old (the original Sandals) plus its right by the airport and some say its noisy. I also like the set up at Ocho Rios, it used to be two resorts, so its HUGE - it has both beach and mountain sides, lush gardens, lots of "hidden" hot tubs, things like that. I liked the idea of the villas (they even have a stove/kitchenette - not that I plan on cooking, but just in case I am in a major, "oh my god I NEED something healthy" moment then I do have access to a kitchen if I need it) That isn't offered at the other Sandals. But basically, boiled down to price - I wanted that extra night LOL!

It is a drive from the airport - it used to be quite bad apparently (taking 2.5-3hrs) because the road was just dirt in some areas. They have a new road now and I've been told its much better. If you take the airport shuttle, its a 2hr drive including one rest stop for bathroom break, snack, Red Stripe, etc. That is included. But we decided to book private transportation from the airport. Apparently a private driver can usually do the drive in about 1hr 20min because they only stop if YOU ask them to, otherwise its straight through. Its costing us $80 for that and I booked directly through the driver -its not offered through Sandals. But I think it will be worth saving the hour and not having to be on someone else's schedule. I hear the drive is a great experience though. Most of it is along the coast so the scenery is great and you get to see some of the smaller Jamaican villages and a taste of the real Jamaica. The driver's are usually happy to give you lots of info about the area you are driving through, so I just plan on thinking of it like a tour.

The private dinner is NOT included. Its $160 extra. You get a 4-course meal, at a table on the beach, with your own private waiter, etc. Once you book your trip, you can log into the Sandal's website with your confirmation number and then you can reserve things like the dinner, spa treatments (those are extra too) and some excursions. I already booked/paid for our dinner, plus the catamaran cruise to Dunn River Falls. You can book this stuff when you get there too, but with the catamaran for example - it was already booked up for my first choice of days - and that was 4 weeks before our trip date.

I've gotten most of my info from the Ocho Rios forum at the Trip Advisor website. They have members there who have been to Jamaica many, many times and stayed a variety of resorts. There are even two members there who post often with advise who actually LIVE in Ochi right now. People will share info like phone numbers of private drivers they have used, favorite restaurants, best nights to go certain places, what days the cruise ships are in so you can avoid going to the tourist traps those days, etc. Plus they have hundreds of reviews of each resort, so you can see the good, bad and ugly so you are prepared for what to expect. Definitely check it out!



















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belizesig1
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