Jamaica on your short list for winter holiday travel? If so, I want to share about our experience booking a trip to the Couples Tower Isle resort to ring in 2016. I can’t believe it’s been a decade since that trip, but I still think it’s worth sharing some things about our experience at the resort that may be relevant today, plus gush about our first experience booking with Costco Travel.
Why book a trip to Jamaica?
For our NYE 2016 trip we wanted to escape winter in the DC area for a beach location, and fit in a few tropical scuba dives. We were on a limited budget, and found a good deal at the time on Costco Travel for a four night trip to Couples Tower Isle in Jamaica. The deal included round-trip flights with a connection through Miami, ground transportation to the all-inclusive resort, and a credit to a local tour company. The draw to Couples Tower Isle was the inclusion of PADI-certified scuba with the all-inclusive fee.
Planning for Jamaica:
Booking through Costco Travel was super easy. It was a one stop shop for all of our trip logistics outside of getting to the DC airport. The cheapest flight option had a tight connection in Miami, but we took the risk and booked that flight. After booking we got confirmations for the flight, hotel and airport transfers plus information on how to book the local adventure. We booked a zip line tour as a way to see some of Jamaica outside of the Couples Tower Isle resort.
We made sure to pack our PADI dive cards and scuba masks for the trip, but did not have additional dive gear that needed special packing or planning for the trip.
Experience:
Costco Travel did a great job with the logistics for our trip to Jamaica. We had no issues with the flights, airport transfers or having a room available at the resort.
While waiting for our van to the resort upon arrival in Jamaica, there was a fun complimentary lounge set-up with beers and snacks. It was a nice way to be welcomed to Jamaica, and fuel up before the ride to the resort. It is a set-up I have yet to experience during other Caribbean vacations, but would love to know of other locations that do this as it was such a nice way to wait for a hotel van after a cramped flight.
The room at the Couples Tower Isle resort had a stocked minibar with complimentary beer which made for the perfect set-up for relaxing on the hotel balcony in the evening after spending most of the day at the resort beach, pool or on a scuba dive.
The vibe of the resort was super friendly, and there were other young social couples which was a nice change from other resorts we have gone to where guests are not as social.
The SCUBA dive experience was super enjoyable. This was our first Caribbean dive trip, so it was incredible to see bright tropical fish after seeing wrecks in Malta, and diving between the tectonic plates in Iceland.
The all-inclusive resort food at Couples Tower Isle was pretty good, on most days, and the resort did go all-out for New Years Eve. There were decadent dessert displays, ice and chocolate sculptures as well as live music for the holiday. There was also an extensive raw bar. While super elaborate, I think we did get food poisoning from it.
Our departure from the resort left us plenty of time to get through security and make our flight home which is always very much appreciated.
Lessons Learned:
- It’s a huge risk eating raw bar items at buffets in warm locations. You need to strongly evaluate the risks and decide if you want to increase your chances of food poisoning.
- Global Entry pays for itself if you have a tight flight connection at the Miami airport. You are able to avoid some extremely long customs lines.
- Check out my international travel check list for more tips.
Travel for Jamaica Gear:
- Goodr Sunglasses: The perfect sunglasses when combining adventurous activities with the pool on one trip.
- Short sleeve swim suit: Decrease your sun exposure while on the beach or on the boat to a dive site with this suit.
- Snorkel Mask Strap: Keep long hair from snagging on a traditional plastic strap when doing multiple dives in one day.
- Check out my Amazon Storefront for a full list of my product recommendations. Please know I can make a commission from products that help offset the cost of maintaining this blog.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, if somebody is OK traveling with the current level two US State Department classification for Jamaica, I would recommend the Couples Tower Isle resort for people interested in all-inclusive scuba and a fun resort vibe– just skip the raw bar and limit your stay to the resort.
If price sensitivity is not as big of a priority, then I would pick Aruba (more about our trip here) because it is safe and easy to navigate the island on your own.
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