Montego Bay to Ocho Rios

There is lots to do if you want a more active vacation, golf, water sports, horse back riding, and walks along the beach. There is nothing better than relaxing poolside or on the beach. There is also plenty of nightlife in Montego Bay - on the "Hip Strip"

Quick Tips:

If considering an all inclusive resort, try to find one that offers a variety of dining. Many of the deluxe resorts will have a la carte dining options in additional to the buffets, which gets very tiresome after a few days.

Best Way To Get Around:

For travel from the airport, many of the resorts will provide ground transportation. The trip takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours for the resorts of Trelawny, Runaway Bay and Ocho Rios. The roads are not in very good condition, and are very narrow and winding in spots so don't consider renting a car.

Hedonism 3, is an all inclusive adult resort for ages 18 years and older. It is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from the Montego Bay Airport. It is a very nice, newer hotel (opened 1999) located beachfront. There was a wide range of ages from early 20's to early 70's and many repeat travellers.

The ground are beautifully landscaped. There rooms are in 4 story buildings clustered around the property. Views range from coutyard, au natural beach and garden view. There is a unique see thru waterslide that goes through the disco. The waterslide was busiest late at night, with au natural sliders) There are two beach areas, 3 pools, and a see thru Jacuzzi.

Rooms are large, all with Jacuzzi tubs with mirrored ceilings (above the tub and the bed) All rooms have coffee makers, irons, and ironing boards. Rooms are very brightly/tropically decorated. I was suprised with the resort being so new that the marble in the bathroom was already chipped and cracking.

There is an open air buffet restaurant, plus two a la carte restaurants, Italian and Japanese. The Italian restaurant was excellent and I highly reccommend the pizza appetizer. There are numerous bars located throughout the property. There is also nightly entertainment, a piano bar, theme nights (toga, pj party) and a disco (opens at 11PM).

The days tended to be quiet and laid back and the evenings were a non stop party. This resort is definitly for the outgoing and adventurous.

The Grand Lido San Souci in Ocho Rios is a deluxe all inclusive spa resort for ages 16 and older. The resort is set on a hillside and there is lots of walking and lots of stairs. Not suitable for anyone who has difficulty walking or managing stairs.

All of the rooms are suites and are brightly decorated with a separate bedroom area. Rooms have coffee maker, CD player, full bathroom with jacuzzi bath, hair dryer, and a living room with a siting area. 24 hour room service is also offered. There is extensive spa facilities; massages, manicures, mineral pool, body scrubs and facials.

There is a small main beach area and a larger/separate au natural beach area. There are a lot of water activities/instruction provided including scuba, snorkeling, sailing, and windsurfing. Tennis and golf are also included, as are weddings.

There are three a la carte restaurants, a buffet, and two clubhouses that offer 24 hours snacks and drinks.

Overall it is a very quiet resort. There is no disco, but there are bars located throughout the property.

The Trelawny is located about 30 minutes east of Montego Bay and is an all inclusive resort.

Rooms had recently been renovated are were very bright and clean, (except for the bathroom). Recent renovations included new flooring, new furniture, bedspreads and curtains. The bathrooms were horrible – very dark and grimy looking. I didn''t even feel comfortable closing the bathroom door. They are in the middle of renovations so hopefully this will improve in time.

Buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Buffet was not that great, not much variety. There were lots of wasps flying around the food, especially near the soda machines. There is also and Italian a la carte restaurant and it was much better than the buffet, but it was only open for supper and reservations were required. There is nightly entertainment, a band, singers, as well as a piano bar, and a disco. The disco did not open until 11PM.

There is a beachfront pool area. The beach area was okay but not great, lots of seaweed. Many of the beach chairs were broken and dirty.

Overall I was not impressed with this hotel. Perhaps once renovations are finished and improvements made to the food it will be better. I stayed here for two nights and that was enough. After two days I tired of the isolated location and the food.

I did not stay here but did visit for the day and toured the rooms and facilities. It is an all-inclusive hotel for ages 16 and older. It is a small hotel with only 124 rooms. Most rooms are quite small (especially the cabin rooms, which are really only large enough for one person). Go for the deluxe ocean view, the view and extra space are well worth the extra cost. Only the deluxe ocean view and the suites have patios. All rooms had a tv, vcr, cd player, hair dryer, iron and ironing board, coffee maker and saftey deposit boxes.

There is a small pool area and a roof top jacuzzi that overlooks the beach. The hotel is lcoated in a very busy area of Montego Bay. Breeze''s is located on Doctor‘s Cave Beach, a public beach. Doctors Cave Beach is a beautiful wide beach with fine white sand. It is beleived to have healing waters. There is security at the beach entrance to the hotel so you will need to show your key or resort ID to back on to the property. Watersport activities included are, sailboats, windsurfing, kayaks, snorkeling, and water skiing.

Buffet restaurant and Italian restaurant (open for dinner only, reservations required), and a beachfront grill.

Hurricanes Disco is on the top floor and is open to the public. It is one of the more popular discos in Montego Bay.

The street outside Breeze''s is known as the Hip Stip, and there is lots of nightclubs, restaurants (if you get tired of the all-inclusive) and shopping nearby.

Rafting on the Martha Brae is a leisurely rafting trip down a calm narrow river, in the Trelawny area on the North coast of Jamacia.

The raft is a two seater, 30 feet long, hand-made out of bamboo, and your raft captain guides it down the river. The trip takes about 1 1/2 hours to cover the 3 mile trip.

For those that want the raft captain will pull over along the way for swims.

The distracting part of this trip is the people along the way that are constantly yelling at the rafts to pull over to buy crafts, drinks or snacks. That detracts a bit from the peacefulness of the trip.

The Rose Hall Great House is a plantation house and the former home of Annie Palmer, the white witch of Rose Hall. The house has undergone a multi million dollar renovations to bring it back to its former opulence. The house has been restored with antique furnishing, wallpapers, floorings and photos.

The house is said to be haunted by Annie Palmer whose three husbands died at her hands. She was also murdered in early 1800's.

The tour ends in the cellar, where there are letters and photos from past visitors, who say there are visions appearing in their photos, thus continuing the legend of Rose Hall.

Tours are offered daily from 9AM to 6PM. The fee is approx. $15 per person (couldn't remember the exact amount about but it was between $10-15).