First destination: Montego Bay

Jamaica. The paradise everyone dreams of. Last summer I had the privilege of travelling there with my family. My expectations were extremely high, and I must say, they were definitely met. Waking up the morning of my flight was the most nerve racking experience. I had an eight hour flight ahead of me. That was, however, only the beginning of my adventure.

First destination: Montego Bay

Upon arrival, I could instantly feel the warm, humid air of the tropics. We breezed past airport security and then, finally, we were out. I took in the bright sunshine and beautiful mountains which surrounded me, or so I thought until I looked to my right a saw a huge, blue body of water which seemed to go on forever. The ocean, how much I had missed being around it.

After around 15 minutes or so we met with Samantha, our hostess for this portion of the trip. She drove us up a swirling hill until we reached our villa. The view from the villa was absolutely stunning. I could see everything. The thick, luscious forest, as well as the deep blue ocean. When ee entered the villa I was so thankful for the cool air flowing from the aircon. In a matter of minutes, I passed out, exhausted from my days trip.

The next morning I woke up bright and early at 5:00 am. You have got to love jet lag! Since we had all been knocked out cold the night before, there had not been any time to run to the shops and buy some emergency food. Instead of running to the shops, we lounged for hours, or so it felt, stomachs growling to be fed. Thankfully there was a restaurant, well I don’t know if I could say a restaurant, just down our street. We headed down there and luckily enough they had some pre-cooked authentic Jamaican chicken with rice and peas. We all gobbled it down in no time, and once again, headed out for another adventure.

Top of Dunn's River Fall

Dunn's River Fall

The following week in Montego Bay was spent going to the beach, lounging around, and various other activities. The beach was one of the most marvelous things I have ever been to. The sand was white as snow, and the water was made up of 50 different shades of blue, all varying drastically in hue. It felt as though I was looking at a painting. We all sprinted into the ocean and enjoyed the surprisingly warm water when suddenly dark, thunderous clouds came rolling in. In a matter of minutes, the entire sky was engulfed by grey clouds and the rain began pouring down. This is something you can expect a lot when traveling to Jamaica. A day seemingly perfect can instantly switch to a grey, depressing scene. This only lasts for around 1 hour each day though, then it's back to the scorching hot. In Montego Bay, my family and I also participated in a few touristic activities such as Dunn's river fall, and Chukka horseback rides. Dunn's river fall was extremely fun and exciting because not only was there a beautiful fall which we were able to climb, there was also a beach right next to it.

Montego Bay was definitely one of the most beautiful and exciting places I have visited in a while, and I'm sure it would also be for any family planning to travel there. It definitely has a large variety of fun activities, all varying in prices, which you and your family could take part in.

Second destination: Kingston

beautiful sunset in Kingston, Jamaica

To begin with, Kingston definitely was not as eye-catching and beautiful as Montego Bay. There were more buildings, fewer beaches, and more people. My first impression led me to believe that it was less of a tourist city, and more of a city where locals lived and worked. The main reason my family and I traveled to Kingston was that we were visiting some family who lived there. I would recommend having some natives wherever you travel, as they can show you around, not only for free, but also for a more in-depth and personal tour.

tickets to the grand gala independence
day festival

I don’t want to delve into too much detail about the activities I did in Kingston as they were not too interesting, but luckily enough I happened to be there during Independence Day. Jamaican people are, understandably, extremely proud of their country. Jamaica gained independence 56 years ago on August 6th, 1962. Lucky for me I was able to attend the festival in the National Stadium. All the colours, music and people I saw and heard was just truly inspirational. I have never seen so much love for one country in all my life.

Overall my holiday in Jamaica was one of the best holidays I've ever experienced! I would highly propose that families, or anyone, in fact, begin planning a holiday to Jamaica as soon as possible. The trip is definitely 100% worth it :).

Bibliography
Photo 1 - “This Is Jamaica.” Jamaica Information Service, jis.gov.jm/information/this-is-jamaica/.