Talley Your Adventure – The Blog

Clinton and I recently had the opportunity to visit Jamaica in style. One of my best friends from high school – who also happened to be my maid of honor at our wedding – invited us to HER wedding in Jamaica! Being Jamaican herself, and marrying another Jamaican she met in Florida, it only made complete sense that the wedding take place in Jamaica. It also made sense that the wedding would be one of complete STYLE – at a Sandals resort. We were so excited to be invited that we decided to extend our stay so we could soak up as much Jamaica in the winter as we could – while also celebrating the union of an amazing couple! 

Sandals resorts are adult only, all inclusive hotels with over a dozen restaurants within the secured location that is the entire resort. It was interesting that when we arrived, we were discouraged from walking between the two sections of the Ochi Rios Sandals resort. Instead, we were told to wait for the shuttle that ran between the two for pretty much 24 hours a day. Our friend used a travel agent to help with booking the trip, who we were also able to work with to get an escort from the minute we landed in Jamaica to when we left on the plane for the US. It was nice having someone help us through Jamaican customs, which included a shuttle service between the airport and hotel and a lounge area at the airport for us to wait. 

We stayed in Ochi Rios, which is the northern part of Jamaica. The ocean was absolutely beautiful! We were able to spend a day out with friends on a boat where we snorkeled over a nearby reef! The boat ride was perfect – the wind in our hair, great Jamaican drinks, and friends – what could be better?! The boat pilots were pretty hilarious as well; and I think the most authentic people we met during our trip. They made sure to keep us supplied with Red Stripe and Coca Cola. For lunch, we stopped at a Margaritaville – which was everything touristy you would expect. People came up to us wanting to take our picture for money, we had a limited menu, and we had to buy our own drinks. The best part of lunch was laying on the beach and swimming in the water near the restaurant. One of the coolest places we were able to visit this day was Dunn’s River Falls. It includes a hike up the waterfall, while standing literally IN the waterfall! It was a lot of fun to hike this way, and we felt pretty victorious when we got to the top. You can just walk up the side of the waterfall on a paved trail if you don’t want to do the hike, but if you are willing to be part of the experience, I recommend you try! 

The swimming areas were amazing. We had access to the ocean, with secluded places to stay and watch the blues and greens dance off the water. It was nice having the opportunity to sit with Clinton and just relax. Multiple pools – including one that seemed to be less frequented than others – were around the entire complex, and they usually were accompanied by a hot tub. The restaurants were delicious and varied, which was good since we were there for a week and didn’t want to double up on food choices! Because it was an all-inclusive resort, they tailored the food portions to a sample size for each person. This made it nice when we wanted to go from food to ocean and back to food, but didn’t want to gorge on big meals. Drinks (alcohol and not) were part of the deal, too. For me, it was nice being able to order fruity blended alcoholic drinks and have them brought to me – fancy! – and still have a non-alcoholic option for Clinton. 

The resort did feel a bit stuffy at some points – especially for non fancy people like Clinton and I – but it was definitely worth the experience. We didn’t have to worry about carrying a wallet or ID, everything was already paid for so we didn’t have to budget in our head, and it was nice feeling pampered instead of planning each day the night before to make sure it worked out logistically for the morning. We were truly able to relax and enjoy the resort life! 

The best part was the wedding, which was a gorgeous affair. It was amazing seeing two wonderful people be joined together in love. Now that COVID is no longer an excuse to not travel, it was nice to add another country to our travel list. Hopefully, we are able to keep up this trend each year and add a new country to the list with more frequency. Travel is fun!