Couples Swept Away - Negril Jamaica

Couples Swept Away is a wonderful All-Inclusive

resort on Negril's famous 7 mile beach.It is in a very jungle garden setting. The buildings are 2 and 3 stories tall, spread throughout lush, tropical gardens.

You have a very private, secluded feeling as you walk around the resort even though it is quite large with 312 rooms. All rooms have these huge balconies, most room categories have this big wonderful hammock.

Swept Away is on a long, wide strech of white sand beach and offers many watersports. The sports complex across the street has everything for the fitness traveler, or for someone wishing to stay in shape and try a new sport while on vacation.

The resort has a nice choice of 6 restaurants, and of course the ever popular swim up pool bar.

This would be a great choice for a couple wanting to get away to relax and enjoy each others company. Lush, tropcial and romantic are the way I'd describe it. Enjoying the water and land sports would be an added bonus.

RIU Tropical Bay - Negril

While staying in Negril, we had a tour of the RIU Tropical Bay. It is located 1-2 miles north of 7 mile beach, on Bloody Bay. This resort is for everyone singles, couples and families. It is a large All-Inclusive resort with 416 rooms, 5 restaurants (2 ala carte require daily reservations) and 2 pools.

The beach here is nice and wide, and gives you about 2 miles to walk on. You can not walk to 7 mile beach from here, unless you walk on the road or take a cab. In the picture on the right, you can see a view of the beach to the north with the RIU Negril in the distance. Tropical Bay guests can use their resort, but RIU Negril guests can not use the Tropical Bay.

The resort is made up of several 3 story buildings with outside entrances to the rooms. All rooms have a balcony and in room bar. Room categories change according to location and they offer a regular room, pictured above as well as a Junior Suite which has a sitting area. The oceanfront rooms are closest to the beach, but are a distance from the water, due to the wide beach area.

Sandals Negril

Upon arrival at the Montego Bay airport you can use the Sandals arrival lounge. Staff will check you in, tag your bags for your resort and then you can relax inside. It's air conditioned has soda and Red Strip on tap, comfortable furniture and clean bathrooms.

Sandals Negril really is a great resort with a focus on the beach.The resort runs parallel to the beach, and most of the restaurants and bars are along the beach making for great views. This resort is a great place for people who love to beachwalk and want to relax. It is located on the north end of 7 mile beach.

The service is very genuine and every staff member attempts to make your stay enjoyable. Everyone greets you with a smile and "how are you today?"

The food was very good and there were always many choices. Sandals incorporates local dishes and uses local produce when possible. One treat that I enjoyed was live music(smooth jazz) when eating breakfast at the Bayside Restaurant. At dinner, you have a choice of 5 restaurants and most offer indoor or outdoor dining. Many couples are enjoying the private candlelight dinner on the beach, how romantic!

Sandals resorts have a high energy Playmakers staff who offer activites all day long. You can be active and particpate in everything, or choose to nap in a hammock under a palm tree. It's completely up to you. Having choices, is what makes your vacation perfect for you.

Coming soon are their new River Suites. These suites are the ultimate in luxury! The bathroom tile is amazing, the room has 2 flat screen TVs and the patio has a step out onto a shallow pool, steps into a river where you can float down to a larger pool. How cool is that?

Congrats to.....

Mr and Mrs Jonathan Novak

Erica and Jonathan were married at Sandals Montego Bay on Saturday May 26th, 2007

As you can see from these great pictures it was a

beautiful ceremony in a gorgeous setting.

We wish Jonathan and Erica a long and blessed marriage.

Just Back, Negril Jamaica!

We had the pleasure of spending a week on the beach in Negril Jamaica. This was my first "stay" in Negril and I enjoyed it totally.

Negril is located on the western coast of Jamaica and is known for its 7 Mile Beach. You can beach walk most of the 7 miles, we tried, but only covered about 5 miles. The water was crystal clear Caribbean turquoise and pretty calm. While floating in the water you could see starfish, rays and many other fish.

The relaxed mood of the area was a great stress reliever. Our biggest decision was should we walk the beach, float around on a floaty or sit under a palm tree and read.

The sunsets are an event here, everyone finds a spot to sit, cocktail in hand and watches as the sun sinks into the ocean with all of it's glorious color. The perfect ending to a perfect day.

Passport Requirements Relaxed - Temporarily

U.S. Citizens with pending passport applications allowed temporary travel flexibility within western hemisphere.

The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced June 7, 2007 that U.S. Citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand.

Keep in mind that your passport application has to be in process.

Countries that always required a passport (Tahiti, Costa Rica, New Zealand etc.) still have the same requirement.

You can print an application and read all about a passport at http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

For your convenience we will again be offering a Saturday Passport Fair in August. Date and time to be announced. I'll post as soon as we set the date.

The best advise I can give is to apply for your passport as early as possible. Once you have it, you're going to love how easy it is to travel. No messy papers to keep track of, just one small book and it's good for 10 years! Do it now!