The Robert's Family Vacation in Jamaica
Customized Private Family Tours
My family and I took a trip to Jamaica in March 2017 and stayed in the Courtyard Marriott hotel in Kingston. We ended up using Tropical Video Tours/Tropical Trips Jamaica for all four full days we stayed there. Each day we received transport from and back to our hotel, we had no need to drive. This was awesome because the driving in Jamaica can be extremely difficult if you aren't used to it, especially to a lot of these remote places. Our driver was Dwayne and he was a very experienced driver, we always felt safe.
Day one we took the Blue Lagoon/Monkey Island tour. You start off taking a bamboo raft down the Rio Grande. It is beautiful, and you are rowed the whole time. On the way down you stop, are given a chance to swim, and cooked an authentic Jamaica meal (tasted amazing). Then you are taken to the Blue Lagoon and Monkey Island. Both locations were gorgeous. Just the kind of scenic white sand beaches that most people are looking for. It was also fun to swim, boat, and see all of the wildlife on the island. This is an all-day event. Bring your swimsuit, sunscreen, a hat, and a camera for pictures.
Day two we took the Blue Mountain tour. On this tour you get a professional tour guide to hike the mountain, and at the base you get to see their coffee plants/farm and how the coffee is made. At the end you receive a Jamaican meal. This is a very long hike, at about 14 miles round-trip. It took my family about 4 hours. It was beautiful, and you get to see lots of rain forest. However, this is definitely not for small children, inexperienced hikers, or anyone who isn't in shape. Bring water, snacks, good shoes, and rain gear (you will be in the rain forest). Only bring a camera if you have something to put it in to keep dry. This trip will take the full day.
Day Three we took the Dunn's River Falls tour. On this trip you get to hike the falls, and then visit the beach. The falls was so much fun. You get a guide which helps a lot. Water shoes are crucial, and are available for purchase at the site for a low price. No cameras unless waterproof. You will get completely soaked. The beach afterwards is beautiful. Afterwards we received a meal. After this we took a night tour to the Luminous Lagoon. This is a lagoon where when you swim the water glows around you. It was incredible, but runs late in the night.
Day Four we took about a half day trip. First we went to Fort Charles in Port Royal. This is a tour of a used to be pirate city. Very educational, and good if you don't want something too active. Afterwards we went out for seafood, I got a fresh, wonderfully cooked meal. Then we went to the Devon House. It is a big mansion with lots of history to learn. There you can buy the best ice cream in Jamaica, fourth best in the world.
All the trips were amazing. Each day we had our driver Dwayne and our tour guide Cheryl. Both were extremely knowledgeable and made our vacation amazing. They made everything run smoothly, even with all of the activities planned. By the end they felt like family. The only thing to keep in mind is that you can only pay with credit card beforehand, they don't take cards when you get there. If you don't pay before you will have to pay with cash or PayPal. We had some issues with this, but Cheryl handled it well, was very trustworthy and we got everything worked out.
I would recommend this company to everyone! It was one of our best vacations yet. If you want to have fun, and want to see real Jamaican culture this is for you.
Eric Roberts
~ from USA ~