My Trip to Jamaica and Two Things you NEED to know when planning your Next Vacay!

Last week, I shared with you all a small sample of my trip to Jamaica. I wanted to come back and share with you more about my trip! We booked our trip on bookit.com and I can say that this website is perfect for people who are on a budget, but still want to travel! This website offer options to pay later by putting a small deposit and paying monthly or paying when you arrive at the hotel. They even allow you to split the trip between two credit cards! I know great right?!!

The Resort:

We stayed at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort. Overall, this is a great starter travel resort. It is VERY kid friendly! The room was small, but it worked for us since we spent more time on day excursions and out on the beach. We had the all inclusive package with unlimited food and drinks. The food was ok overall, the restaurants that require reservations of course were much better!

Take away of the resort: It served its purpose to be budget-friendly, but next time we will invest in an adults-only resort.

The Day Excursions:

We went on three day trips while in Jamaica.

The first was Catamaran Cruise to Dunn’s River Falls, we rode a bus to Ocho Rios had lunch on a private beach and cruised over to the Waterfall. On the way, we were able to go snorkeling! On the way back, we had a Rum Punch Party!

Trip to Negril, Jamaica to the 7 Mile Beach and Rick’s Cafe, we spent the entire day laying on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, 7 miles of WHITE sand and blue water.

Shopping Trip on the “Hip Strip” and local Craft Market, I got to purchase handmade souvenirs, made by local people! On each international vacation I take, my goal is to invest in the local economy and buy authentic goods from local businesses owners. I found great jewelry, hand woven straw bags and wooden carvings.

Two Things I Learned:

Plan Ahead- Plan in advance the excursions you want to go on and BUDGET for them. The day trips we went on took a significant amount out of our budget. Lastly, make sure you get to sample some authentic food! Even though we stayed at an all-inclusive resort, make sure you research local places where you can get the opportunity to sample some authentic food for the area that you are visiting! Tripadvisor.com was a great source for me to research both of these things!
Stop Worrying about how you will look in a Swimsuit! I shopped for about 2 to 3 months before the vacation, looking for swimsuits and worrying about how I would look out on the beach! Of course I kept it classy, but honestly the main thing I learned from this trip is that vacations are about RELAXING and spending time with those that you care about. I accepted my body and LOVE the skin I’m in I think I looked great in each swimsuit that I wore.

Overall, I am so happy that I was able to take this vacation and give myself a much needed BREAK! This trip gave me the opportunity to get to know my boyfriend better, strengthen our relationship and think about personal and professional goals that I have for myself. I have come back to work refreshed and ready to conquer challenges in a new way!

Check out some of my pictures of my trip to PARADISE below! I had an amazing trip! I wish we could have stayed longer!