Jamaica

At this point, our children are grown and college is paid off. We have started traveling whenever I have a break. I am a teacher, so our trips usually are summer, winter break and spring break. We have wanted to go to Jamaica since our honeymoon, but we couldn’t afford it then. On a whim (and short notice planning wise for me), we decided to go for spring break. We went another route for this trip and just went to Delta Vacations. I had not tried this before, but it is so easy! You can get your plane ticket, hotel and transfers all in one stop. I wanted an all inclusive. I just wanted to sit on the beach, having drinks and have food all taken care of. No planning on my part once I arrived. We had stayed at 2 different all-inclusive places in Mexico before and liked the ease of it. I was looking for a deal as I did not plan this very far in advance. I looked at a couple of places and decided that I wanted an adults only place. We ended up at the Riu Montego Bay. Let’s just say that the pictures on their website are deceiving. Another thing I wasn’t thinking of was an adults only place at spring break. It was loud at night and the pool with the bar is a place none of us would step foot in. We did end up with an ocean view room with balcony and had a lot of places to sit that were shaded. They also offered yoga, water aerobics and other activities. What they really lacked was a beach. It was very small and there were no chairs put out like they showed on their website. The food was not really good and especially for that many days. Tip: Do your research. Had I researched more there was a Hyatt Zilara that was recommended to us as we left when I said that I wanted adults only, all inclusive without a party atmosphere. We did, however, manage to book some excursions that were really fun. We went to the house Bob Marley lived in as a little boy. We went on a boat ride with snorkeling to Rick’s Cafe. And we also took a boat to Luminous Lagoon and got in the water! The tours were definitely worth it and broke up some of the hotel time. They really added to our trip. This was also our first vacation with extended family. We had a great time with them and actually have another trip planned. Hopefully this time we get a bigger beach!!!! This trip is proof that not everything needs to be perfect. A vacation is what you make of it.