When my husband and I were deciding on where to go for our honeymoon, it was really fun to talk about all of our bucket list destinations that we hope to see in our lifetime. We both absolutely love to travel, so we were really excited to take a romantic trip together after our wedding festivities ended. My first choice was Bora Bora. I have wanted to go there since I was 10 years old and my grandma bought me one of those light-up pictures of the overwater bungalows from the mall. I remember even as young as in high school looking on the internet for resorts to stay at and how much flights would cost. My husband liked the idea of a tropical vacation but made the argument that it may be more fun to go somewhere a little bit less expensive so that we could “live like a king and queen” for 2 weeks instead of a quick one-week trip for the same price. This did sound like a great idea, so after some research (and a solemn promise that he would one day get me to Bora Bora) we decided on Negril, Jamaica.

Once we began researching resorts in Jamaica, we decided that Negril looked like the most beautiful area. I had heard about Sandals all-inclusive being great for honeymooners, and once we looked at Sandals Negril's website, I was totally hooked. We chose an amazing (and ridiculously expensive) honeymoon suite that came with a butler. I was so excited to get there and have this incredible experience, I almost forgot about the wedding itself ;)

After our wonderful wedding, we took a day before our travel to sleep in, have a lovely brunch with family and friends, and finish packing. I highly recommend this instead of rushing to catch a flight the morning after your wedding. It was much more relaxed to have a day to catch our breath before moving on to the next exciting event. We were also able to take care of some errands like returning tuxes and depositing checks and cash that we received as gifts into our bank account, which was nice. We took some time to just relax and talk about all of our favorite moments from the magical day we had just experienced.

The following morning, we woke up bright and early and traveled to the beautiful island of Jamaica. We arrived at the small airport and were picked up by Sandals private airport transfer in a black Mercedes with a bottle of champagne for the hour-and-a-half drive to our resort. We were off to a good start! Driving through Jamaica was definitely eye-opening as I had never been to an island like this and there was such an economic disparity between the small rural towns we drove through and the palatial resorts we passed. I saw a woman with an actual tiered fruit basket on her head! We saw young kids playing soccer (futbol) on the beach and running right into the ocean to cool off. Something that was immediately apparent was that people in Jamaica know how to live. They were some of the nicest, happiest people I have ever encountered.

Once we got to the resort, we checked in at the main office. I will say, I was a little put off at first because the office is (or was in 2017 when we were there) an older building with older furniture and did not give off the vibe of a 5-star resort. I was very nervous as we signed off on our very expensive vacation and were led to our suite. It was also raining when we got there, so it was very grey and dreary with no one at the pool and none of the excitement I had seen on their website. I was honestly starting to panic.

Once we got to our suite, I was extremely relieved. These were definitely some of the newest accommodations on the resort and our room was stunningly beautiful. It was 2 stories with a downstairs living area and bar and an upstairs master suite with a gorgeous bathroom and deck with another outdoor bathtub with a direct view of the ocean. I had never stayed anywhere this fancy, it was such a special treat. The bed was decorated with rose petals and we had another bottle of champagne chilling for us. The sun actually started to come out in time for sunset as we were unpacking and the beauty of this magical place began to reveal itself. I felt like I was living in a dream. As if this wasn’t enough, our butler for the next 2 weeks came and introduced himself to us and explained that he was there to accommodate our every need for the duration of our stay. He made sure we had front-row beach chairs every morning and would bring us drinks and snacks all day. He also made all of our dinner reservations for each night where we always had prime seating and our table would be decorated with rose petals and our name (which I was still getting used to seeing in writing!). He always had little surprises waiting for us in the room each day as well. If you’re going to Sandals for your honeymoon, I found the extra expense to be completely worth it.

We spent most of our days lying on the beach watching the waves and listening to live musicians playing reggae music. We would also spend time at the pool where they had fun games like volleyball or interactive games where you could win prizes. It was a really fun atmosphere all day with a DJ at the pool and lots and lots of drinks. We also took advantage of the many free activities they had on the water. One day we did a glass bottom boat tour where you can see the fish swimming underneath you which is really cool. We also participated in some of the watersports like paddleboarding, kayaking, and an inner tube ride.

There are also many excursions you can take off of the resort property which were some of my favorite parts of the trip. One day, we took a full-day trip to Dolphin Cove and Dunn’s River Falls which was so awesome. It is actually a 2 hour and 45-minute drive from the resort to the falls, but we stopped halfway there at Dolphin Cove, which was in between Montego Bay and Negril. I had wanted to swim with dolphins my entire life, so this was a dream come true for me! The trainers there were so nice and made the experience so much fun. I still remember our dolphin, his name was Mitch, and it was so completely magical to have this experience with my new husband. My face hurt from smiling. After that, we had a quick lunch of jerk chicken sandwiches which were incredible, and then got back on the bus to continue our journey to Dunn’s River Falls.

This is a major tourist attraction, so it was very crowded and it was important to pay close attention and stay with our group. The guides here are so much fun and make this experience one you will remember forever. They are so great about offering to take pictures (be sure to take a waterproof phone case!). There is even a video that you can buy at the end of your trip here of your group climbing the waterfall. It is taken by a videographer who climbs with your group. I have no idea how they get it edited and ready to go so quickly, but we bought it and it was totally worth it. It’s such a cool memory to have captured forever! I think having experiences like this on your honeymoon is such an awesome way to start your marriage. We had such an amazing day together holding hands in such a beautiful place and having a fun adventure together.

Another excursion I would highly recommend is the Catamaran party cruise to Rick’s Cafe. We caught the boat right on our resort’s beach and headed off to the world-famous Rick’s Cafe. We had so much fun on the boat listening to a DJ and having (too many) drinks. When we arrived I learned that we were expected to jump off of the boat and SWIM to the cafe. Thank God I had consumed a few adult beverages for liquid courage or I would have never had the guts to do this (I would have been worrying about sharks or jellyfish or not actually being able to swim that far… probably valid concerns!). We survived our swim to the cafe (we did have life jackets on) and once we got there it was such a cool experience! Experienced divers were diving off of super-high cliffs, it was such a cool show to see. We even jumped off the cliffs ourselves! I chose the baby one (which was still pretty high!) and my husband did the next highest one. We had so much fun! After that, we swam back to our catamaran and were taken to Margaritaville, where we played games like tug-of-war and volleyball, and had a catered Island-style dinner. It was such an amazing way to spend the day!

Aside from the island-style meals we ate on our excursions, we also had amazing food options at our resort. I had heard that the food at all-inclusive resorts is not a highlight of the experience, but I felt like Sandals did a great job of providing diverse options with really great-tasting meals. The Bayside breakfast buffet was the perfect way to start each day. They had such an awesome selection including a huge variety of tropical fruits, a made-to-order omelet station, Belgian waffles, breakfast meats, and tons of other options. Starting each day of your honeymoon with a mimosa and a breakfast buffet is not a terrible way to spend your first week(s) of being married :). We were truly spoiled on this trip. We loved to order pizza to the beach for lunch or eat at the oceanfront Seaside Grille for a burger or their amazing nachos (my favorite, especially for a late-night snack!). For dinner, my favorite restaurant was Cucina Romana. I love Italian food and could have happily eaten here every night. Something we didn’t realize right away was that some of the entrees are small, but remember that you are at an all-inclusive and you can order whatever you want! I recommend trying different things like ordering a salad, appetizer, entree, and dessert for a great meal! I loved their Caesar salad, calamari, chicken parm, and tiramisu. Kimonos was another great restaurant that we enjoyed. The atmosphere there was really fun and the food was also great. It’s not like traditional American hibachi (be forewarned, there is no yum-yum sauce!) but the food was really good. We also liked Sundowners. Our butler actually got my husband a lobster from Barefoot by the Sea on our first night and had it brought over and paired with their beef tenderloin because he had mentioned he was looking forward to having some surf ‘n turf (which he didn’t realize was not on the menu). Little things like this made the money we spent on this trip worth it. They really do cater to any small request.

Another really cool restaurant we went to in Negril was Fireman’s Lobster Pit. This was a unique experience where you just pick the lobster you’d like as you walk up from the beach. They grill the fresh lobsters and bring them straight from the sea to the grill to your table. It was definitely unique (although I’ll admit slightly disturbing to me!). The ambiance here was really fun with live music and they had little boutique huts to shop at. We were able to walk to this restaurant from our resort. I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Nights at Sandals are also so much fun. We went to a white party on our first night where they had an amazing band and fun appetizer and dessert stations set up with chocolate fountains and every dessert you could imagine. They also had fun DJs set up at the different bars with dance parties, or bonfires on the beach. There was always something fun to do.

I absolutely loved this vacation. We had the most romantic honeymoon just relaxing and being pampered. We got massages on the beach while listening to the waves crash, ate all of our meals with a view of the ocean, and spent our days relaxing on the beach listening to reggae music and enjoying tropical drinks. Jamaica is such a special place with such amazing people. I have yet to experience anywhere else like it. I can’t wait to return one day. I am hoping to take another trip with our girls to their sister resort for families, Beaches Negril, in the near future. Stay tuned for a future blog post on that! If you are looking for a magical, relaxing honeymoon to start your new life as husband and wife, Sandals Negril is an amazing choice. I can’t wait to get back to Jamaica soon. Ya Mon!