While I was in Puerto Rico, I met another traveler who had traveled to Jamaica many times. He recommended Negril and said that it was by far, the best spot on the island. He was right… at least from what I saw.

We (my brothers and I) met at the airport in Montego Bay without a plan, without hotel reservations and basically without any idea of where the adventure would take us. Since Jamaican customs requires that you have a hotel reservation before leaving the airport, Bryan and I headed for the tourism desk to make a reservation at a hotel in Montego Bay. Luckily, they found us a room at the Gloschester hotel, which sits adjacent to Doctor’s Cove, a breathtaking crescent of pristine white sands and tranquil turquoise waters, and is within easy reach of what would become our favorite entertainment venue – Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritavilla, a bar/restaurant/playground that features a giant slide, over-water trampolines and many sun soaked terraces that overlook the Caribbean Sea.

Montego Bay's picture-perfect coastline is spectacular, but the beachfront tourist stretch is only a tiny part of a rather large and shady city, and it seems that every hustler from the nearby town center finds their way to the main drag every day, looking for a piece of the tourism pie.

We ended up staying here longer than I had hoped as we wanted to visit Bob Marley’s mausoleum, which is way out in the countryside in a tiny little town called 9 Mile. Since we wanted to hire a driver to take us there (believe me, hiring a driver is the only way to go in this country), we had to make a long day trip of it and return to Mo Bay for the night before making our way for Negril.

Once again, we had no reservations and no idea where we would stay. This turned out to be a good thing though as I was able to check out about 6 different beachfront resorts before I found the one I liked. Surprisingly patient, Andy broke it down perfectly to our driver: “if she’s not happy, none of us will be."

You take a risk when you opt to just wing it when you get to your destination, rather than securing all the reservations before hand… but in our case, it was the right choice. We ended up staying at the all-inclusive Merril’s Resort III, a relatively new spot beautifully located right on the sand between two rockin' reggae clubs. Honestly, if I had heard the right price before hand (almost $300 a night, triple occupancy), I probably would have walked away. But considering that everything was included, it turned out to be a great deal for us. And since we had just spent $100 on lunch alone in Ocho Rios, we just accepted the fact that Jamiaca is definitely not cheap.

The price of the room quickly slipped from my mind the minute I stepped up to the beach bar, ordered a pina colada and found a lounge chair on the perfect white sand beach. This was the Jamaica I was looking for… cool vibes, turquoise waters, cold drinks and everything you need right on the beach. In Negril, the 7-mile beach is the main drag and you can walk anywhere without stepping foot on a paved road. It’s the ultimate beachfront paradise.

Thinking back on it all… soaking up the sun, snorkeling on the reef, hearing live reggae on the beach (including a Gregory Isaacs concert), watching the local rasta men work their game, and even hearing the same “one love” pitch from every drug dealer on the street… I have to say, I’d love to do it all over again.

As they say in Jamaica, “me soon come back."

April 23, 2006