Jammin in Jamaica. Ya mon !

It was the Caribbean that took our fancy for this May's half term holiday. As a family we love the Caribbean, the people, the culture and of course the beautiful sandy beaches! (Ok so the rum punch is an attraction too!) We flew from Gatwick with Virgin Atlantic, who were very good and played The Greatest Showman on their inflight entertainment which Sophie had on loop for the full 9 hours I think. When people ask how the children got on with the long flight- once they are plugged into the entertainment and have their snacks available they coped very well! Our arrival at Jamaica airport was smooth although there was a bit of a queue at the immigration desk. Make sure your forms are completed correctly on the flight which will save you time at the desk. We had private transfers booked so once we had found him eventually (very laid back these Jamaican's but this is our attraction to the people) we had about an hour transfer to our hotel, The Grand Palladium in Lucea. We were greeted with a glass of rum punch (you will get used to me mentioning the rum punch) and the children had their pick of M&M's or peanuts and juice! Check in was quick for us as we didn't arrive on a coach with 50 other people. First impressions of the hotel - wow it's huge! Not our normal choice of hotel to be honest and we were a little worried we would get bored in an all-inclusive all week. However, it didn't take long to settle in! After the long journey here all we wanted to do was chill out with a nice drink and some food. All the kids wanted to do was go in the pool and start using those water slides! Our room was beautiful and with the most amazing view of the ocean. The rooms are split into different villas, so the hotel didn't have that high rise feeling at all. If you were feeing lazy you could even hop on one of the golf buggies that will take you around the resort. The hotel has the largest pool in Jamaica which was just amazing. It also has a kid’s pool with water slides which proved very popular with our two! We did worry about getting bored of the food also - dreading the buffet each night. We didn't need to as there were six speciality restaurants, a Jerk Chicken hut and a 24hour sports bar to choose from, our favourite being the Indian restaurant. The salads in each restaurant were just amazing and plenty for the kids to choose from too. In fact, they had a children’s menu that was the same in all the restaurants, so we didn't have to do a trip to the buffet to satisfy our 6-year old’s fussy tastes! Drinks were all included of course too (here I go again!) The cocktails were good and the Red Stripe on tap! The hotel is right on the beach and it is very safe to swim with no rocks on the main beach. For children it is perfect. They do also have another beach which is private called Sunset Cove (our favourite part of the whole complex). They have water sports from this beach, Jerk Hut, beach bar and it is very relaxed. The entertainment was really good, and they did a show for the children early on and then a more adult one later on. Our children enjoyed both. With live music most nights, dance classes to learn a bit of reggae and volleyball etc. you would never get bored here! As you may have guessed by now we enjoy exploring and being stuck in one place all week took its toll by day four, so we decided to venture out and go to the YS waterfalls and the Black River. We booked this at the hotel and were picked up along with 10 other guests in an air-conditioned minibus. This is where the day took a little tricky turn - we had to go up through the mountains and forest (picturesque and very interesting) although after two hours of twisting and turning we had some green faces. Luckily it wasn't too much longer until we arrived at the waterfalls. This is the place they filmed the 80's classic Cocktail with Tom Cruise (ahem theme still running through!) I've added some photos to this story as words couldn't describe it! It was just amazing and an experience we won't forget. Who knew your small children could swing off a rope into a deep waterfall pool from 25 feet? Exhilarated to say the least! We then visited the Black River, took a boat along with a guide and spotted huge crocodiles (the least aggressive kind, apparently) mangroves, birds and a beautiful backdrop of the mountains. All in all, we loved Jamaica, the food, the hotels but most of all the culture of the island and its people. Where every request comes with a "no problem!'" or a "ya mon" it is definitely on my list to go back to. When people ask me if it was a long way to go for a week, my answer every time is "I would go anywhere for a week, to feel the sun on my back and the smell of the ocean and making lifelong memories with my family. It’s worth any long flight!" Relax, chillout and take it easy. Caribbean style!