Last time,
I wrote about our honeymoon in Negril
and promised to write some tips and recommendations for those who might
be planning a honeymoon in Jamaica. We stayed at Couples Swept Away in
Negril, but I hope these tips are broad enough to apply to other
locations.
1. Room selection is important
Some
people say that so little time is spent in your room at a resort that a
basic reservation is all you really need. There were days when we left
our room early and didn't return until it was time to get ready for
dinner. However, there were days when we spent a lazy morning on our
patio with our breakfast (our resort offered breakfast in the
restaurants or room service).
At Couples Swept Away,
the lowest tier of rooms closest to the edge of the property that
bordered a major road. We read a few complaints online about traffic
noise from people who stayed in those rooms. Also keep in mind that
some of the the restaurants, pools, and bars at your resort will be
hives of activity. We talked to one couple who were originally staying
near a restaurant that stayed open until 5 AM. It was a natural
gathering spot for people who were partying late into the night. They
asked to switch rooms on their second day.
Marc
wanted a room that had a hammock and would be quiet. He picked a room
in a tier that was away from the road, but also away from the beach
front, where there was constant foot traffic all day long. There were
times when we felt like we were totally alone because of how quiet the
area around our room was.
Hammocks are necessar
2. Take naps, don't sleep in
The
radio/ipod dock in our room woke us up at 6 AM on our first morning in
Negril. We both thought it was totally insane that someone set an alarm
that early at a resort. Little did we know that early birds catch all
kinds of wonderful worms at resorts. So, while I think your honeymoon is
a great time for those of us who are sleep deprived to catch up, I
don't think that has to happen through going to bed early or sleeping
in. Naps are a wonderful thing.
In reality, that 6 AM
alarm might have been set for someone who was catching a flight.
However, there are people who leave their rooms as early as 5:30 AM to
reserve a beach cabana at Couples Swept Away. One merely needs to put
towels down on beach chairs and there's an unwritten code that people
will consider the chair yours for the day.
One morning
of our stay, Marc woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep. He
decided to grab a cabana. At 6:30 AM, only two cabanas were left and he
quickly put our towels, books, and sunscreen bottles down to claim it
before returning to our room to write a note directing me where to go. I
joined him at 9:00 AM and the beach was almost completely quiet. Just
before 10 AM, when the beach bars would open, a staff member walked the
beach serving fruit kabobs to all the early risers. It was a nice
touch!
Another benefit to waking up early is getting in
on some of the excursions that are popular (snorkeling) or require some
travel (golf, deep sea fishing).
The early bird catches the cabana and the fruit kabobs!
3. Leave the TV off, but use the WiFI
Some
people say that they want to be completely unplugged on their
honeymoon. I personally found the idea of returning to hundreds of
emails pretty unsettling. I used the resort WiFi to check my email
every morning. The simple act of deleting messages that didn't need
responses cut down the amount of email in my inboxes considerably. That
allowed me to enjoy myself a little more than I think I would if I was
totally out of touch.
Some of the rooms at Couples
Swept Away have TVs in them. I'm glad we didn't opt for a room that had
one. It was kind of funny to walk around at sunset and see the blue
glow of some rooms where people were watching TV. The real show was
outside!
4. Get off the resort...strategically
I
usually try to blend in when I travel and not look too, too much like a
tourist. I usually shun organized tour groups and strike it out on my
own to explore. As a redhead, it's pretty much impossible not hide that
one is a tourist in Jamaica. So, when exploring off the resort, it can
be smart to travel with others.
Originally, I was
perfectly content with staying at our resort through out honeymoon.
There were at least six restaurants, nine bars, and loads of activities
to occupy our time. Marc, having been to Negril before, insisted
that we get off the property.
One trip that I wish we
had planned differently was to what Marc called "the straw
market." The resorts operate shuttles to a large market where vendors
sell crafts and souvenirs. The shuttle schedule conflicted with
something else we wanted to do, so we took a cab to the market
ourselves, which was a mistake. There were precisely two other couples
at the market when we were there. This meant that we had to interact
with almost every single vendor. We felt a lot of pressure to look at
countless wood carvings and knick knacks with Jamaican flags or Bob
Marley's image on them. With many of the vendors sell very similar
things, this is exhausting.
Marc had been to this
market when it was crawling with tourists. He said it was a fun,
bustling place to visit. We still had fun, but we were so tired when we
finally emerged from the stalls.
The straw market
5. Step away from the buffet
When
it comes to food, you can certainly eat at the popular spots, but I
strongly suggest making reservations for a few nicer restaurants. We
went to one buffet at our resort and felt as though quantity won out
over quality. At Couples Swept Away, there were two reservation-only
restaurants. We booked ourselves at each when we arrived. Lemongrass,
the Thai restaurant was fine, but not extraordinary. Feathers, the fine
dining restaurant, was wonderful and we wish we had made more
reservations. By mid-week, they were completely booked. Part of me
wishes we had eaten there every single night!
We ate
outside of the resort a few times. Marc loves conch, shellfish that
is pretty common in the Caribbean. One restaurant at our resort served
conch fritters at night, but they were more pancake than fritter and
didn't have much conch in them. We asked the staff members where to go
and everyone sent us down the beach to Cosmos. Marc was over the
moon at how many conch dishes were on the menu. We also ate at
Rockhouse, which some staff members told us had a chef who went "Best in
Jamaica" for two years running. Rockhouse is a much smaller resort and
it was nice to get away from Couples for an evening.
Mr. Mink gets his conch
6. Adjust your expectations
I
guess this might be considered part of my bit about rooms, but it was
funny for us to learn that some people were critical of the overall
environment in Jamaica. Jamaica is, technically, a third world country.
People live simply. They depend on tourism in certain areas and they
are eager to talk to visitors. Some are very eager to sell things, but a
simple "no, thanks" is all that's needed if you aren't interested.
At
our resort, someone I encountered couldn't get over the fact that there
were no windows on our villas. Instead, there were screens and
floor-to-ceiling shutters. Closing the shutters kept the air
conditioning in and opening them let the fresh air and the wonderful
sounds of the ocean and tree frogs come in. There were also people who
didn't seem to want to see salamanders on their patios, stray cats
around the villas, or loose dogs wandering the beach, which are a
reality in Jamaica.
We named the salamander-chasing cat at our villa Orange Sherbet
7. Take note of who helps you
Most
all-inclusive resorts say they have a "no tipping" policy. Having
worked in the restaurant industry when he was younger, Marc is
pretty adamant about tipping service people well. We found ways to
leave money for people who helped us. We also learned that we'd get a
survey on our last night at the resort and it would ask for the names of
anyone who was especially helpful. Knowing this, I carried my iphone
with me everywhere and made a note of almost every staff member we
encountered. I hope putting their names down on the survey gave them
some nice perks with their supervisors.
8. Continue the honeymoon at home!
Red
Strip and Appleton's rum might be Jamaican staples, but a drink called
the Dirty Banana (called a Dirty Monkey at some resorts) became my go to
drink in Jamaica. I loved it so much that I scoured the web for recipes
and we are making them at home. For the last week, this yummy drink has
been easing me back into vacation mode.
The Dirty Banana
- 1 oz. rum cream (common brands are Rum Chata, Sangsters, and Cruzan)
- 1 oz. rum-based coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
- 1 oz. simple syrup (not critical, but adds a little sweetness)
- 4 oz. milk
- 1 banana
- 2 cups ice
Mix all ingredients in a blender, pour, and serve. Makes two servings.
Are there any other Jamaican honeymooners out there? What are your tips for people headed there for their honeymoon?
