In January 2021 my little family (my husband and our son Adam) took a much-needed vacation to Jamaica. This was our first time traveling internationally during COVID and my husband and son’s first time in Jamaica. Since I’ve been to Jamaica before I wanted to go to a part of the island that I’ve never been to before. I had one month to plan the trip after my husband gave me the trip budget and here are all the details!!

With us traveling during January 2021 during a Covid wave, I made sure we were extra cautious during our trip. We had to take a PCR test before our trip and fill out the online travel documents for COVID travel to Jamaica. This was super easy and can be done here. During our time on the plane, we double-masked (even our son who’s so great at wearing masks!) because we were not playing with Ms. Rona lol. Upon arrival, we were met with our driver Darren who’s a family friend of my Sister Summiyah (she’s basically a Jamaican now lol). Our flight landed around 2:30 pm and we started our trip to Jake’s at Treasure Beach which is usually a two-hour drive. Due to traffic in Montego Bay, we were delayed by two and a half hours! Luckily, our son slept for two hours of the ride and didn’t put up a fuss. Halfway through our trip, we stopped at the local pit stop restaurant called “Border Jerk”. Easily the BEST jerk chicken I’ve ever had. It’s a must-stop if you’re traveling to the Treasure Beach area from Montego Bay.

Upon arriving at Jakes at Treasure Beach, we were greeted kindly by staff (who treated us like family the whole time!) and asked to check our temperature and use hand sanitizer. Our bags were put in our Cottage which was named “Sweet Lip” and immediately Adam begged to go to the beach!

After the beach, we grabbed some food from Jack Sprat Cafe and ate the food on the pier overlooking the ocean. A perfect way to start our first Day in Treasure Beach.

Our reason for taking the family trip was to one have fun as a family but to also celebrate my husband’s 28th birthday! We needed a family trip (we hadn’t traveled as a family internationally since my Birthday in October 2018). To prepare for the trip, I bought everyone gifts (I think this will be a tradition that I’ll carry from here on out!). I wanted to make sure Adam had toys and activities to play with so I bought him some new action figures, a puzzle set, bubbles, and several books. He was ecstatic and was so surprised! Next, I pulled out Tyler’s birthday gifts for him to open one by one. He was so thankful and even shed a tear. My love language is gifting gifts and it’s safe to say that I showed OUT for this birthday! Here’s a clip of Tyler’s reaction along with a video of our time in Jamaica.

After returning from our five-day trip I was asked by a few family and friends how much our trip cost. As someone who’s transparent, the total cost of the trip was around $5800. This included our accommodations (we caught a 25% off sale at Jakes making our cottage $250 a night), food (we ate whatever we wanted), clothes (my Rent the Runway subscription, new jewelry, vacation clothes + shoes for Adam & Tyler, water items (life vests & floaties for Adam, water shoes for the family, gifts, driver fee + tips, and our excursions plus tips. The trip was totally worth our money and I would easily take our family back here! If you’re looking for a family-friendly and non-touristy resort in Jamaica, Jakes at Treasure Beach is the perfect place!