We recently returned from our week long stay in paradise, and I thought I'd give you guys a little update. If anyone is unsure of international travel right now, or undecided on where to go, I hope this helps.
We stayed at Couples Tower Isle in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. It was beyond perfect. Seriously cannot say enough about this place and Couples Resorts in general. Originally we planned to go in April right after our wedding, so we started looking in the fall, and contacted travel agents in January.
I did a lot of research (I am a bit of a control freak), and chose Couples, and CTI specifically before contacting travel agents. The first TA I spoke to took a very long time to get back to me, so I reached out to 2 others. All three came back with different quotes, and all higher than what I worked up booking on my own. They all wanted to push other resorts, and 2 even pushed different countries. Then I had a friend suggest another TA. I reached out to her, she set up a time around my schedule to talk on the phone, we discussed the resort I had chosen and I told her that I wasn't against another resort, but this was the one from reading I thought would fit us the best. She asked what we liked about it, gave us ideas to think about other resorts, and within 2 days sent us estimates for CTI and 3 other resorts. She actually got us about $1,000 less than I had worked up on my own. We booked with her at the beginning of February. When COVID hit and life came crashing down around us less than a month before our wedding, she sent me an email letting me know that Jamaica had closed its borders, and what our options were. She also made a point to apologize for our situation and acknowledged how devastating this was to our whole wedding, and let us know that rescheduling/canceling could be decided any time before the end of the year. She let us take our time to figure out what was best for us, and then helped us navigate everything when we were ready. She was a godsend. If anyone is in need of a TA, I'd be happy to message you her info. She is located roughly an hour from us in central Illinois, but we did everything electronically and she has clients all over.
Neither have us have ever taken a trip like this before. We had never flown, and had never been gone for more than a couple days. Traveling was a little stressful to think about with a pandemic, but honestly was super easy, safe, and a much needed relief from life. If you can afford to take a trip, do it. We would do it again in a heartbeat. 10 days before our trip, we got tested for covid (this is currently required for entry to Jamaica). We got our negative results, and then 5 days before the trip we filled out "travel authorization forms". These forms were fairly simple, asked screening questions about current health and exposure risks, recent travel, and required us uploading our negative results. Processing times were supposed to be less than 48 hours, but we were one of the first groups that had to provide tests so they were still working out the kinks. We applied Monday for our Saturday flights, and heard nothing by Thursday night. My TA called us that night, and when we told her we were still waiting, she called a contact in Jamaica at the ministry of health. We had our results a few hours later. I woke up to them Friday morning and cried with excitement. I was so scared we would have to cancel again.
As far as the travel itself, it was perfect. We wore our masks in the airport, and on the flights, and during transport to the resort. We provided the airline with our travel auths at the first airport (we had a layover). Landing in Montego Bay, we went through a medical screening (some basic questions about health and exposure), showed them out negative tests, and had our hands sprayed with sanitizer every few minutes by military personnel. After about 1 hr & 45 minutes in the car, we arrived at the resort. They took our temps, asked us to sanitize our hands at the station by the front desk, and whisked our bags away while we checked in. Return home was just as smooth. They have an excellent system in Jamaica and their protocols are much more respected than here in the states.
As for the stay itself, a complete and total dream. Really. A week (we were only supposed to have 5 days but our TA scored us 2 extra free when we rescheduled) in paradise with unlimited food, booze, and love. We did Dunns River Falls (which is a MUST if you'll be in the Ochi area), and a catamaran ride, both of which were included with a stay at CTI. We ate the absolute best food of my life that week. We make jokes that we ate like Hobbits, but we really did. We didn't snack at all, but we usually had 5 meals a day. And I even lost 8lbs on the trip. We spent our days hopping from pool to pool to sea to sand. It was glorious. I even managed to only get a little burnt, and came home tanner than I have ever been (still pale).
All in all, we spent less than $5,000 on flights, the stay, excursions, private transport 2 and from the airport, and souvenirs - everything.
In a nutshell, if you are wanting to take an international honeymoon, DO IT. Beyond worth it, and we felt 100% safe. If you need a place to stay, Couples Tower Isle is INCREDIBLE. I already miss my home there,
Here are some of my favorite photos
