“Jamaica, Jamaica!” 🎶

I was so excited for my trip to Jamaica. We traveled to Negril for my childhood friend, Nia and her husband, Rob’s wedding. Originally, their wedding was supposed to be this past May, but COVID has really toyed with people’s plans to reschedule events. I’ve been to Jamaica before. The last time I went to Negril, I was a senior in college. I must say, traveling as a broke college student hits a lot different than traveling as an adult.

We stayed at Sandals, but the wedding was at Beaches resort. You had the option to stay at either resort. They did provide a shuttle for their wedding guests which was a great idea!

How To Prepare During COVID?

All visitors entering Jamaica are required to have a negative COVID test taken 3 days prior to travel. The list of accepted tests are below. You must have a copy of the test (take a picture or have the email in case you loose it!). In addition to testing you will need to obtain a pre-authorization from Jamaica prior to arrival - this can be done beginning 7 days prior to arrival. If you do not do this authorization prior to arrival it will delay you in getting through customs. The U.S. requires all travels coming back to the US to have a rapid test done 3 days or sooner before arriving home.

Accepted Test Types: A Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Test (RT-PCR) · A Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAA) · an RNA or molecular test · An Antigen test (Rapid test) Note: Only results from oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal samples will be accepted for PCR tests. Only results from nasopharyngeal samples will be accepted for Antigen tests
Antibody tests will NOT be accepted. Results from home-based test kits will NOT be accepted.

Emergency Lockdown

Within a day of our trip, we found out that Jamaica went on an emergency lockdown. The word “lockdown” has become triggering if you ask me. The Prime Minister said in a news conference that COVID cases started to increase and we were not allowed to leave our homes or the resort for a certain amount of time. The Prime Minister created a schedule of when the lockdown would start and end. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to leave the resort for excursions, but we were allowed to do any tours that the resort offered. If you plan on taking a trip here, make sure you follow up with their guidelines and restrictions. I wouldn’t book excursions until I get there.

Sandals Negril

Sandals an all-inclusive adults-only resort in Negril which has 7 fine dining restaurants, unlimited land and water sports and endless entertainment each night. This resort is along the island's legendary Seven-Mile Beach, putting you closer to the water than anywhere else in Negril. For sports, we picked the Glass Bottom Boat tour and tubing which was included in our package deal. You should make dinner reservations for the restaurants in advance since they get booked quickly. Do you have a Sandals membership? I just created an account and received points for my recent stay!

Beaches Negril

Beaches Negril is a family-friendly all-inclusive resort along gorgeous Seven Mile Beach. They have seven bars serving unlimited top-shelf liquor, including a swim-up bar, large swimming pools and fun water park with a lazy river, daily activities and entertainment such as live bands and talent shows, scuba diving and certification on-site, and ample free water sports, and destination wedding packages. A wide variety of room options are available, though all are spacious and contemporary, and have terraces, iPod docks, and coffeemakers.

Both resorts are beautiful. I tried all of the restaurants at Sandals and the food was amazing. You should book based off what your personal preference is. Beaches is family-friendly and Sandals is adults-only. If you can plan on walking from either location, it’s about a good 30 min walk on the beach. By car, it’s less than 5 mins.