Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea, comprising the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles. The island, 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island containing the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Jamaica is the fifth-largest island country in the Caribbean.
This was a vacation I took with my teenage niece and she picked the location and found the package deal and she did a good job. Montego Bay was not was it was many years and relies on it’s previous reputation to bring people in. The area and the resorts are still nice but the building could use some upkeep. Also, as soon as you stepped out of the resort there was someone there trying to sell you drugs. They were nice enough that once you said “no” they wouldn’t push but it was pretty common where ever we went on the island. You cannot criticize the property for that but it something to be prepared for.
Montego Bay and Dunn’s River Falls
We did take a day trip away from the resort, to take a bamboo raft down a river in the morning and then out to the famous Dunn’s River Falls in the afternoon. The last few days we were confined to the resort as a tropical storm was headed towards the island. This made for lots of sandbags in hallways and some good wind.
Logistics
This trip was organized by my niece and was the typical Caribbean resort package including airfare from Toronto and all-inclusive beach resort. Our resort was a Holiday Inn at Montego Bay (now a Catalonia Hotel) which was in a good location, however, I did have a few issues with the resort. Being very family oriented the food was pretty limited to what kids would eat, so lot’s of chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs. The nightly entertainment was also very family oriented, but again that is to be expected at a Holiday Inn resort. What I was not happy with is, I was travelling with my niece and they gave us a room with just one bed. I was a medium tier member with their loyalty program and the best they could offer me was a cot in the room for a couple of nights until another room would be available. I was not impressed and have stopped using Holiday Inn. 🙁
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