A friend and I recently took a girls trip to Jamaica. We stayed in an all-inclusive resort, booked a couple of tours, and basked in the sun. It was lovely. I’ve never done an all-inclusive resort before because it’s really not how I like to travel. I’m usually the one that wants to get the full cultural experience, save money, and sleep wherever.
However, I definitely think if you want to do the resort thing, this is the place for it. Everyone at the resort was Jamaican and like I said we went on a couple of tours to get us out of the resort. We stayed at the Jewel Grande and it was fantastic. They also had great food and drinks. I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for all-inclusive.
Regardless of how you holiday in Jamaica, you should still go and I’m sharing 10 reasons why Jamaica needs to be on your bucket list below.
Before we get to the 10 reasons, there is one big piece of advice I want to share. Before we left I had read that we should take some Jamaican dollars with us so we converted our USD and went prepared. This was a mistake. Not only did they not want Jamaican dollars they listed everything in USD.
Most of the time, they had to scramble to find change in Jamaican dollars. It was the one thing we were consistently irritated with, so my advice is, just take USD. Take smaller bills though so they don’t have to make change.
Now let’s talk Bucket List…
10 Reasons to Put Jamaica on Your Bucket List
1. Friendly Locals
Jamaicans are very kind and helpful. They were also eager to share their country with you. It’s lovely. This is one of our tour guides below showing us how they like to relax in their gorgeous trees.
2. Fun Sayings
“Ya mon” and “No problem” are just two of the delightful sayings you’ll hear while in Jamaica. They also have a language called Patwah that sounds like a mix of english, french, and slang.
3. Jerk Chicken
Jerk chicken is basically a way of cooking the chicken and the sauce they add. What’s great is that it’s different everywhere because everyone does it differently. You can also put it on everything. We had it on pizza, quesadillas, and on its own. The quesadillas were my personal favorite.
4. Awesome Plants
There are so many plants in Jamaica, and they do all sorts of things, and are good for a lot of medicinal purposes. The coolest one we saw closes up on itself and produces thorns when touched. Check out a video of it here.
5. Gorgeous Flowers
Along with the plants there are also loads of gorgeous flowers as well. The colors are so rich against the greenery.
6. Delicious Fruit
Fruit is all over Jamaica. The unique looking one below is Ackee, the national fruit and it’s poisonous if eaten too early. So be sure it’s ready! We also had honey bananas that were delicious, pineapple, and so much more, it’s really endless.
7. Crystal Clear Ocean
You’ll probably expect that Jamaica would have crystal clear water. It is an island and should have this. However, it’s still worth mentioning. I’ve seen a lot of islands and a lot of beaches and after a while they start to look a lot alike. Nonetheless, the ocean constantly took my breath away. As cheesy as that sounds.
8. Rum
Jamaica is the home of rum and it’s delicious. We took a trip out to the Appleton Estate and it was really quite good. I was surprised at how nice it was and how in-depth the tour was as well. They give you a welcome drink, a couple of tastings during the tour and then a sit down tasting of three different rums at the end. You will definitely leave full of rum.
9. Waterfalls
The most common and tourist waterfall in Jamaica is Dunn’s River. People head out there, hike up and swim in the lovely water. I’ve seen it before on a cruise and it was lovely. However, I wanted to go some place a little less touristy but still stunning. We took a trip out to YS Falls. It’s still touristy but gorgeous as well. You don’t have to hike up the actual waterfall here, there are stairs so it’s also easier.
10. Crocodiles
The last reason I’m giving you is the crocodiles. Wait, what? Yes, crocodiles. Don’t worry, they are freshwater so they’re much nicer. You don’t have to swim with them, but you should do a boat ride out and see them. They’re really amazing animals. Plus, the boat ride along Black River is truly lovely as well.
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