Best Things About Jamaica

I just got back from an amazing trip to Jamaica mon. Yes it’s true they say mon after everything.  Thank you mon, yeah mon, no mon. You get the picture.

While the language is fun and entertaining to listen to, there are lots of other things about Jamaica that I really enjoyed.

We stayed at the Iberostar Resort in Montego Bay.  If you go to Jamaica be prepared to tip.  I mean you are expected to tip as soon as you get off the bus from the airport.  It is expected and most of the hotel workers, taxi drivers, etc will straight out ask you for it and wait.  Make sure you bring change, becasue they won’t give you any.  If you have a twenty and want to tip five, they won’t give you change, but might just wait for you to give them the twenty or they’ll hit you up the next time they see you. 

My favorite thing we did was going ziplining.  I had never been and while I’ll admit I was kind of nervous, as soon as I met the zipline tour guides, I was very comfortable.  They were extremely safe and assured us about all of the equipment.  The zipline tour we used was called Jaimaca Zipline Tours.

They are located out in the middle of nowhere so getting there can be a little scary if you aren’t familiar with the road.  If you aren’t careful you’ll hit a goat or chicken. Once you arrive you’ll be relieved to know that the company is owned by an American. A guy from back east actually travels around the world and builds these ziplines. What a great job! Anyway, after you get your training it’s time to get you off the ground. They take you through a series of six lines with the first one being super short. If you weigh less than 150 pounds, you might want to think about buddying up with someone so you can go faster. The max weight is 250, but if you are too light you won’t make it to the landing platform and they have to reel you in. Kind of takes the fun out of it.  About mid way you stop to rest and eat some of the best sugar cane and pineapple you will ever have.  Followed by some coconut water.

This is about a four hour affair and costs about $90 per person that is well worth it. Kids as young as five zipped with us and yes they take credit cards.

After ziplining we made our way through a huge rainstorm down to Rick’s Cafe. This place is world famous for it’s view of the sunset and cliff diving.

A few things to note before you come here. Again, BRING CHANGE. No matter how much you want to buy a drink. If you only have a $50 dollar bill, forget it. They won’t break it.  Also, the guys up in the trees, they expect tips for that and aren’t shy about asking you for it. As far as the sunset there, well it was gorgeous, but I really was so annoyed about the fact that I couldn’t have a drink, I really didn’t enjoy myself too much.

There’s a cool strip in Negril with a Margaritaville and some more bars and shops.  If you go to Margaritaville don’t drink this:

I can’t remember what it’s called, but it’s disgusting.  Make sure you bring your suits and towels so you can jump on the trampoline in the ocean.

There is a lot of poverty on the island, but as long as you stay in the tourist spots you should be ok.  It’s true they sell pot there. All over the place.  Guys will sit out in the ocean and wait and ask you if you want some ganga.  Jamaican people love Kentucky Fried Chicken.  In fact, we drove buy one that was two stories high and actually was packed. The people of Jamaica are beautiful.  We saw some of the most fit men and women ever there and man can they move their hips! Remember that they drive on the opposite side of the street there, so before you cross the street look to your right.  And finally, expect to see lots of Bob Marley stuff down there, he is everywhere and they play his music all the time.

We had a great time and will most likely go back at some point. As far as the Iberostar resort, it was ok.  Just like any other all inclusive.  The rooms were pretty nice though and the lobby was really nice and big and had a lot of comfy couches all over the place.