my road to travel…the road “more” traveled

If you dream of a Caribbean vacation which offers more than sandy beaches, blue waters, whispering palms, and rum-based drinks at poolside, then a Jamaican vacation might be perfect for you.  Jamaica, the third-largest of the Caribbean islands, is a place of intense color and contrast, where jungle-covered mountains descend to unspoiled beaches, and where family-friendly resorts compete for business with adult-only hotels off-limits to the under-18 set for very good reasons.

Jamaica is a country where the all-inclusive resort began, and an all-inclusive Jamaican vacation will find you having your every whim catered to behind the guarded gates of a complex offering every conceivable vacation activity.  Your meals, drinks, entertainment, transportation, and outdoor activities will be included in the cost of your accommodations, and in most instances, you will be able to fill every minute of your vacation without ever having to leave your resort.  Should you venture out to shop or see the sights, you may be able to include the cost of your tour in your Jamaica vacation package.

If, for example, you arrange your Jamaica vacation package at the Beaches Negril Resort and Spa,

you will spend your days on 20 glorious acres along the widest stretch of Seven Mile Beach.  Just on the chance that you decide to get a taste of Jamaica beyond the gates of the resort, you can reserve a spot on the Black River Safari.  Perhaps you get a glimpse of one of the rivers rare crocodiles, or take a swim in one of its safer spots. 

Visit the Appleton Estatenear Negril, and sample some of their authentic Jamaican rum. Negril also has much to offer the shopper in you, with plenty of authentic Jamaican crafts and artifacts.  Be prepared to bargain for your purchases, and do not be intimidated by the aggressiveness of the Jamaican merchants.  Take the time to enjoy the colorful street performers and calypso bands which are a part of the Jamaican vacation shopping experience.

Perhaps you will be tempted to leave your Jamaica vacation resort for a trip to the Blue Mountains in central Jamaica, where Blue Mountain coffee is grown.  The mountains offer miles and miles of hiking trails, as well as miles and miles of rivers for rafting and some of the most spectacular scenery in all the Caribbean.

While you may assume that the best sunbathing during your Jamaica vacation will be what you do at your resort, do not overlook the chance to cool off in one of the rock pools formed at the base of the waterfalls along the mountain rivers.  Immerse yourself not only in the water, but in the sounds of the surrounding jungle.
Your entry point to the Blue Mountains will almost certainly be through the port city of Ocho Rios, where you should make time to visit Dunn’s River Falls.  The falls descend more than 600 feet where the river empties from the mountains into the ocean. 

If you find the tourist atmosphere at the falls unappealing, head 2 miles west of Ocho Rios to the Coyaba River Garden and Museum.  The museum displays trace the history of the island from the days of its pre-Columbia people to the days of the African slave trade and colonial times.  The gardens are a cool and quiet retreat on 4 1/2 acres of lush landscaping.

One of the things you are certain to learn during your first Jamaica vacation is that you will not want it to be your only one.  There is simply no where else on Earth like Jamaica.  So arrive there prepared for the vacation of a lifetime and remember to book your next Jamaica vacation at myroadtotravel.com

Book your Jamaica vacation at myroadtotravel

The island of Jamaica is rapidly becoming one of the hottest tourist destinations in the entire Caribbean.  With an atmosphere as vibrant as the reggae music for which the island is famous, Jamaica has everything a tropical island should have.  Endless white sand beaches, soaring misty blue mountains, jungles and rivers, miles and miles of hiking and equestrian trails, and marvelous dining. 

With so much to see and do in Jamaica, purchasing a Jamaica vacation package is your best way of ensuring that you spend your time enjoying the attractions instead of trying to decide where you will stay and what you will do next.  Simply ask your travel agent to provide you with information on the different Jamaica vacation packages available depending on whether you are traveling by yourself, as a newlywed on a honeymoon, with your family, or with friends.

If you are planning a honeymoon in Jamaica, for example, consider the Tropical Wedding Package.  This wedding package will provide you and your beloved seven unforgettable nights at Coral Cove, one of Jamaica’s premier resorts on Little Bay, just a few miles south of Negril.   You’ll stay in one of the resort’s villas, the Starlight, the Starbright, or the Doctorbird.  The Tropical Wedding Package, if you wish, will also provide a Jamaican official who can actually marry you during your stay on the island.

If you are heading to Jamaica for a romantic getaway, one excellent Jamaican vacation package is the Love Romance Package.  You will again have your choice of a stay at the Coral Cove’s Starlight, Doctorbird, or Starbright Villas, where you will be greeted with a fresh flower bouquet, chilled champagne, and fresh fruit.  You be welcomed with a special gift from the Coral Cove Resort.

You will also receive in your Love Romance Jamaica vacation package a 60-minute couple’s massage, a guided tour of Little Bay, and candlelight dinners at your choice of Coral Cove’s restaurants.  If you would like a more active Jamaica vacation package, consider booking a Local Tour package.

A Local Tour Jamaica vacation package will include accommodations at one of the islands beach resorts, as well as all your meals, snacks, and drinks.  It will also cover the fees for a variety of water sports including scuba diving, and greens fees at one of Jamaica’s magnificent golf courses.

During your Local Tour package, your resort will let you sample the best Jamaican drinks, and Caribbean rum.  Some of these local tours can arrange your wedding, while others are designed for families with kids.  The family resort RIU Ocho Rios offers Jamaica vacation packages designed for families, including all meals and snacks.  Your room will have a minibar, and your tour package will include beach activities like snorkeling, windsurfing, and sailing.

If you want to escape to Jamaica, visit us at myroadtotravel

Book your Jamaica Vacation

While its dazzling white beaches are not much different from those you will find on a dozen other Caribbean islands, Jamaica’s remarkably dense tropical landscape and soaring Blue Mountains, with their perfect coffee-growing terrain, has far more than the sun, ocean, and sand, to recommend it as a cruise destination.  Jamaica has more than 100 rivers plunging and tumbling from their mountain sources on their way to the sea, miles of hiking and equestrian trails, and jungle canopy tours to appeal to the most adventuresome cruise enthusiasts.

Jamaica’s beach resorts are, of course, its most popular tourist destination.  Seven Mile Beach at Negril, on the island’s westernmost point, is famous for its rugged cliffs and unforgettable sunsets.  Negril, however, lacks a harbor, so your sailing cruise ship will have to leave from one of Jamaica’s three ports-of-call.

Jamaica’s northern coast is where you find Mo’ (for Montego) Bay and Ocho Rios, its two busiest resort towns.  Montego Bay is home to the “Hip Strip,” formerly known as Gloucester Avenue, where you will find plenty of shops, restaurants, and clubs.  If you want a natural healing experience, you could head for the mineral springs at Montego Bay’s Doctor’s Cave Beach.

A more family-friendly port-of-call, Ocho Rios is home to one of Jamaica’s biggest craft markets, along with an abundance of duty-free shops and a generally more relaxed lifestyle.  Perhaps the most stunning of all Jamaica’s three ports-of-call, however, is its smallest one.  Port Antonio, on Jamaica’s north east coast was, in days gone by, a magnet for Hollywood elite and the favorite hideaway for Errol Flynn.  

Far removed from its three most popular ports of call is Jamaica’s capital city of Kingston, which is also the largest English-speaking city in the Caribbean.  Jamaica has a rather turbulent history, beginning with its reputation for harboring pirates centuries ago.

Port Antonio Jamaica

Most Jamaican sailing cruises are scheduled between January and March, which is also Jamaica’s peak tourist season.  You probably will not be able to book a Jamaica sailing cruise between July and November, when the heat, heavy rains, and possible cyclone conditions make it too dangerous to sail.

When making arrangements for your Jamaica sailing cruise, pay attention to the legal details.  Once you have reached Jamaica, you will have to let customs know that you have arrived and give them access to your ship for inspection.  They will ask you, or whoever is managing your Jamaica sailing cruise, to supply information which includes your cruise ship’s registration, team list and affirmation, a record of the ship’s stores, and your departure permission. While many amateur sailors arrive at Jamaica in their own yachts, the great majority of tourists taking Jamaican sailing cruise vacations simply rent their boats.  Most of these sailing cruises last between seven and 10 days, departing from Montego Bay, the site of Jamaica’s airport. Negril, however, is another ideal departure point for a Jamaica sailing cruise.

You have a choice of three different types of ships for your Jamaican sailing cruise.  There are crewed charters, skippered bareboats, and, if you are an accomplished sailor, bareboats.  If you’re new to Jamaica, getting a skippered or crewed boat will ensure that your sailing cruise hits the largest number of attractions.  Having a crew on board will also give you as much free time as you like to enjoy Jamaica’s remarkable beauty!

Book your Jamaica vacation at www.myroadtotravel.com

What to Include in Your All Inclusive Jamaica Negril Vacation

The island of Jamaica is many things, but none of them are understated.  Jamaica seduces like a peacock in a barnyard full of hens.  In its long and turbulent history, Jamaica has seduced everyone from Christopher Columbus and the Spaniard and British colonists to Errol Flynn.  Ian Fleming, who gave the world James Bond, lived on Jamaica’s North Shore. Noel Coward, something of a peacock himself, had a mansion on a hill overlooking Port Maria.

Jamaica is dominated by a range of rugged hills and mountains which include Blue Mountain Peak, rising over 7400 feet above sea level.  Jamaica has a remarkable 120 rivers, all of which begin in those mountins before emptying along Jamaica’s coasts.  For all the glory of the Jamaican mountains, its primary tourist attractions remain its beaches, with the towns of Port Antonio, Montego Bay, and Ocho Rios qualifying as genuine hotbeds of tourism.

The most stunning of all Jamaica’s beaches, however, is at the western coast town of Negril.  The sun on the white sands of Negril’s Seven Mile Beach sparkles against the deep blue of the ocean like sun sparkling on newly-fallen snow against a deep blue winter sky.  But there the comparison between Seven Mile Beach and a northern winter must end, because on its coldest days Jamaica’s waterfront temperatures seldom fall below the 70s.

While the overwhelming majority of tourists visiting Negril and Seven Mile Beach are there to soak up the sun and cool off through a variety of water sports like scuba diving, sailing, and waterskiing, Negril does have other attractions.  The enormous wetlands surrounding Negril are home to the 300-acre Royal Palm Reserve.  By strolling along the boardwalk which passes through the reserve, you will be able to view a wide number of bird species, including ospreys, Jamaican woodpeckers, egrets, and the endangered black parakeet. 

The birds, however, are vastly outnumbered by the mosquitoes, so come prepared with lots of bug repellent.  Take the time to visit the Reserve’s nature museum at Cotton Tree Lake, and if you work up an appetite treat yourself to lunch on authentic Jamaican cuisine at the lakeside restaurant.

Negril can be your jumping off point to the Jamaican interior when you would like a break from the beach scene.  If your favorite way to see the world is from the back of a horse, head 3 miles north of Negril to the Rhodes Hall Plantation, where you will be matched with a mount  suitable for your riding ability.  The two-hour horseback tour will travel well up into the hills, passing through groves of banana and coconut trees, and stopping to view crocodiles.  The plantation also offers opportunities for fishing and scuba diving.

Recover from your day of outdoor activity by treating yourself to some of Negril’s legendary nightlife.   Into reggae?  Try Alfred’s on Norman Manley Boulevard, where you won’t have to worry about a cover charge on Saturdays, Monday’s, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
No vacation is complete without lots of shopping.  Negril obliges with the newly-opened Times Sqare Mall, where you can browse through several duty-free shops and stop for a drink at the Courtyard Café.  You’ll find a terrific selection of designer watches and jewelry, perfume, cigarettes, liquor, as well as the world-famous Blue Mountain coffee.  Pick up a box of authentic Cuban cigars at Cigar World.
Where should you stay during your visit to Negril?  If you want to pull out all the stops, stay where the VIPs do:  at The Caves.  You’ll pay for the privilege, and you’ll have to take a 12-minute cab ride to get to the beach, but you’ll have all the atmosphere and elegance you could possibly desire.

The Caves’ five thatched-roof cottages are situated on 2 acres at the top of cliffs within walking distance of Negril’s lighthouse and Jamaica’s westernmost point, with sea breezes replacing air-conditioning and no television unless you request one.  Your stay at The Caves, however, will be all-inclusive with the cost of your lodging including both gourmet meals and drinks from the bar.

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