The Best of Negril, Jamaica
The Caribbean is our favorite place to visit for a beach vacation. This was our 4th trip to Jamaica, but our first time in Negril. There is something special about the natural beauty and the clear ocean water in Negril!
To start our journey to Negril, we flew into Sangster International Airport located in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Upon our arrival, we found our Club MoBay representative. (Note: Club MoBay provides fast track service through customs, immigration, and security as well as includes an arrival and departure lounge. We recommend purchasing Club MoBay months prior to your travel as it does often sell-out.)
We were escorted through the immigration and customs area by the representative, and then requested a stop at the MoBay arrival lounge for a quick restroom break. We also had our yeti cups filled with Club MoBay’s wonderful Rum Punch! (Tip: We always put a yeti or insulated cup in our carry-on bags.)
Next was our check-in with the Sandals agent at the airport. Since we were flying with TimAir to Negril, a Sandals agent just needed to check our names off the arrival list and tag our bags so we could take them with us on our TimAir flight. The MoBay representative then escorted us to check-in with Tim Air. After we greeted the Tim Air agent, the MoBay representative had completed his arrival service so we tipped him and thanked him for his assistance.
Tim Air
After reading about Tim Air from fellow Jamaica travelers, we knew we had to try it! After all, Sandals Negril was a minimum of a 90-minute bus ride, and can sometimes be over 2 hours depending on traffic and road hazards.
The Tim Air agent was awesome! He completed our check-in and walked us to the departure area where we signed our paperwork and went through a security check. Then, out to the runway where our plane was waiting! Our bags were loaded and the pilot greeted us. He said to enjoy the 10 – 15 minute flight and take as many pictures as we would like! (And, we were able to sip our Rum Punch along the way!)
During the flight, we had picturesque views of the coastline from Montego Bay to Negril. As we descended on Negril, the pilot slowly flew right over Sandals, allowing us to capture some gorgeous sky-view pictures of the resort.
Once we landed in Negril, another Tim Air agent greeted us and unloaded our bags. They had a taxi waiting to take us to Sandals. The taxi ride was $15 and was a very short 5 minute ride to Sandals Negril.
Sandals Negril
Upon arriving at the resort shortly before 3pm, we were greeted with cold towels and a welcome cocktail. The Club Concierge representative escorted us to our room. We stayed in the Paradise Honeymoon Beachfront Grande Luxe Club Level Room, which was directly on the beach located on the 2nd floor of the building. Once inside our room, the concierge gave us our welcome packet then left us to enjoy the incredible oceanfront views right outside our balcony.
For a late lunch, we walked down to order a pizza at Bella Napoli. We enjoyed eating on our balcony and were able to relax and unwind after a day of travels. The club representative called to follow-up on our dinner reservations and we were able to unpack. We made our way down to the club Sandals cocktail party in the garden before dinner at Barefoot by the Sea.
The following days were spent relaxing at the beach. Sandals is located on Negril’s world-famous 7 mile beach.
I started each morning with a cup of coffee on the balcony listening to the ocean waves. Then, we had breakfast at either Barefoot by the Sea (a la carte) or Bayside (buffet). We also ordered room service one morning so we could get an early start to our beach day.
Additionally, we enjoyed a couples massage at the Red Lane Spa. It was perfect to rejuvenate our body, mind, and skin!
And to celebrate our anniversary we spent a full-day in a cabana with butler service. We were definitely spoiled!
For lunchtime, we dined at either Perla, Sundowner, and Bayside. We enjoyed a variety of foods including burgers, chicken wraps, fish, jerk chicken, and of course Jamaican patties (our favorite)!!
Afternoons on the beach were full of entertainment. Several vendors would make their way down the beach area with their guitars or instruments and entertain us with their melodies.
Crema is the new coffee and ice cream shop at Sandals Negril. In the afternoon, we ventured to Crema for some delicious ice cream. I also had a few specialty coffee drinks from Crema in the morning.
In the evenings, we enjoyed dinner at one of the following restaurants: Brava, Bayside, Barefoot at the Beach, Kimonos, and Sundowner. Then, we would enjoy the nightly entertainment while sipping on a cocktail.
On Tuesday evening, we attended the returning guest dinner. Sandals has a dinner one night a week, usually on Tuesdays, to recognize their loyal guests who have returned to one of their resorts. Since this was our 11th Sandals trip and we were completing our 70 nights, we were awarded our FREE week at this dinner! Find out more about how to obtain a free week at Sandals here.
On our last full day we walked down 7 mile beach to the Beaches resort (which is 1.4 miles from Sandals). We enjoyed walking around the resort shop there, and enjoyed a cocktail before dining at Soy for an early dinner. Soy always has the best sushi and is one of our favorite Sandals restaurants. We took a taxi back to Sandals that evening.
Fortunately, the skies were clear this evening and we were able to catch an amazing sunset! Negril sunsets are one of a kind. Just breathtaking!
We come to the beach to relax and unwind. Jamaica is the perfect beach vacation destination! And, the Jamaican people are some of the kindest, most joyful humans. We always enjoy talking to the staff and learning about the Jamaican culture. Until next time, One Love!!
For more on Jamaica, see our blog posts on Ocho Rios and Montego Bay.
