Winter Sun, Beach Walks and Dancing Shows! / Jamaica 2023

A girls trip holiday to Jamaica to celebrate my mum’s 60th birthday! Part 1 is day 1 - 4. 

Click here to watch the vlog or see below. 

Day 1: Travel Day, Welcome Jamaica and White Party 
We set off bright and early on Saturday morning. We woke up at 5am to set off for 6am. The flight was at 10am, but as it was an international long haul flight, we had to arrive 3 hours early. 

I always say that my holiday begins when the suitcase is loaded into the car, but I know a lot of people find travelling quite stressful and worrying. We ended up getting through check in and security, having a little time for shopping and then having breakfast at one of the restaurants. We didn’t have much time to spare before the flight, until it was delayed nearly an hour. 

Once we were finally on, we enjoyed watching films and I was pleasantly surprised to find that all drinks on the flight were free too. I also enjoyed the meal of pepper chicken and rice, followed by a sandwich for afternoon tea towards the end of the flight. 

The arrival into Montego Bay airport was the worst part. It took hours to get through arrivals and it was honestly torture to queue for so long. When we went to get our luggage, there was nothing left on the conveyor belt initially so we were a little shocked to say the least. Thankfully, there was a handful of suitcases removed and waiting at the end and all three of ours were there. 

The final leg of the journey was the coach to Negril. We got on and we’re the first stop, 2 hours later. Jess and mum fell asleep quite quickly, and whilst I enjoyed looking my around for the first 30 minutes, after that it was pitch black and I also fell asleep because the next thing I knew we were there and I was waking everyone up. 

We checked in to the hotel, headed to the room and then mum and I went to the buffet. There was so much choice and I just wanted a little snack before bed. By this point, we’d already been awake almost 24 hours, with very little sleep. The flight itself was 10 hours long, with over a 1 hour delay, but luckily Jamaica is 5 hours behind UK time, so it was pretty much only just bed time. 

Day 2: Beach Walks, Mandalay Restaurant and Live Music 
Waking up in Jamaica felt surreal. I thought we’d all have a lie in but it was 8.30am when we headed to breakfast, after unpacking the suitcases, showering, dressing and getting all loaded up on suncream. We headed to the buffet and walked along the beach and pulls, surprised to see the two next to each other. It was beautiful. 

After breakfast, we went to the pool and set up our base for the day. From what we could see, there were two main large pools in the central area. One with a swim up bar which turned out to be an adults only pool and another with a water feature, which was the only pool children were allowed in. We didn’t stay there long before heading to the TUI Rep meeting to be welcomed to the resort and informed off possible trips to add to the itinerary. 

I was quite keen to do the Rum trip, dolphin trip or a island boat trip but mum didn’t want to do an al day trip and Jess didn’t want to do a boat as she got sea sick. We left it to decide later, but ultimately made the whole trip all about sunbathing, swimming, reading and relaxing. 

Aqua aerobics was on most days at midday, following which we dried off and headed to the lunch buffet. Again, another beautiful setting and looking out onto the sea and white sand beach. It was after lunch we took our first walk along the beach, walking the entire length. There were so many fish just off the shore and the water was so clear and beautiful. 

In the evening, we headed to one of the five main restaurants available for tea. We hadn’t quite sussed out the timing system so first headed to the Steakhouse which was full, before trying the Chinese restaurant called “Mandalay”. I was pleasantly surprised to find enough food I liked to fill me and whilst we did have to wait a little while for a table to become available, it was definitely worth it. 

The evening show was missed due to our late eating, but we did enjoy the live music from a true Jamaican band before heading to bed exhausted. Jess wasn’t feeling very well so headed to bed early, so it was just mum and I who stayed to enjoy the night. 

Day 3: Finding Rhythm, Gourmet Restaurant and Dance Show 
The days became all about relaxing and I honestly didn’t vlog all that much, just taking snippets here and there. The days started with a breakfast buffet, sunbathing, reading, aqua aerobics and swimming. After lunch, more sunbathing, pool games and then bingo. 

On Monday night we headed to the gourmet restaurant called “Kulinarium”. This was the fancy restaurant and also one that had table service. We managed to get seated straight away and whilst the food was nice, I wasn’t super impressed and had to pick around most of it. The dessert however was good. 

The evening show began with a men vs women quiz. It was actually super fun to watch and of course…the ladies won! Rounds involved a word anagram muddle, an airplane making competition, a sound off and a dance battle. The men were shocking so watch the dance to see how epic it was. 

The actual show was incredible. It was a dance presentation and each was so different and beautiful. It was quite fun to see the entertainment team from a different perspective but I really enjoyed it. Every night they also have a DJ play 10.30 - midnight which was far too late for us, but I secretly think mum wished she’d have stayed. 

Day 4: Beach Sunbathing, Chocolate Fountain and Jamaican Day 

We started the day sunbathing by the pool, before moving to the beach after lunch. The beach was a little cloudy, but we did get to enjoy some local beach buskers who serenaded everyone up and down. 

We tried queuing for the steakhouse, starting 45 minutes before opening, but sadly just missed out and so ended up just going to the buffet which I was quite happy about. Every night seems to bring different food options and caters for everyone. There was even a chocolate fountain which was delicious. 

The theme all day had been a Jamaican day on the resort and the show for the night took us behind the Jamaican history. Through a mix of dancing and comedy skits, they visited Mento, Rock Strary, Bob Marley and Reggae. It was the final two dances which wowed me the most.