72 Hours in Montego Bay: A First International Solo Trip Guide For Black Women

Yes-you read that title right. I spent 72 hours in Montego Bay AND it was my first solo international trip. I have a youtube video coming out this Sunday for ep 07 of late bloomer diaries that goes over more reflections and will be adding this to my Black Girl Travel Guides list to reference in the future. But here I wanna break down the details of what I learned and what I would do differently so you don’t make those same mistakes – especially if you are a Black woman solo traveling to Jamaica.

Safety For 72 Hours In Montego Bay

One of the things you will hear a lot when you search online is “jamaica is unsafe”. I had a childhood best friend from Jamaica who would tell me these scary stories about Jamaica. So as a child, I also had a certain idea of what Jamaica would be like if I ever decided to visit. When searching online, I couldn’t find many perspectives of people who like me – solo Black women, so here is my honest thoughts.

To be honest, I felt pretty safe but that’s partially because I stayed on the resort a lot of the time and mainly used the resort’s excursions/connections. I am somebody who believes in getting to know the people/the locals/community of wherever you are visiting. However, I was only spending 72 hours in Montego Bay, so I didn’t have much time to do that but maybe in the future? If I am able to visit Jamaica again I will update you on how I feel about safety.

But one thing that I do think you should be aware of is that you will probably get comments about your looks – a lot, especially by workers on the resort. I personally didn’t get comments that felt overly creepy – they just seemed like nice compliments. But based on what I read online, I wasn’t sure if maybe my experience was different because I am a Black woman so the men knew not to try and play with me. Although I very much believe sexual harassment is probably going on, I am glad that I didn’t encounter those experiences. My resting, “Don’t mess with me or else I finna fight you” face that I acquired by living in Boston and NYC may have contributed to this. Although it felt okay, not gonna lie I was a little overwhelmed by the constant stares and comments.

Overall though I felt safe as a Black woman traveling solo to Montego Bay.

Resort

I stayed at the Iberostar Hotel because I was trying to find a resort that I would feel safe in since I was a women traveling solo who also wasn’t trying to break her bank account. Also some places require at least a 3 or 4 day stay. Since my trip was 72 hours in Montego Bay that wasn’t a huge problem. Additionally, Montego Bay has recovered a lot from the hurricane but there are still some hotels recovering so they were not open. This also made it harder to find a resort but based on my searches this seemed like the best bet.

It’s important to note that Iberostar Hotel has 3 options: Waves, Selection and JOIA. Waves and Selection are family friendly but JOIA is adults only. I got Waves because it was the cheapest but was upgraded to Selection. It was very cute and spacious especially for one person. I like this resort because food was included in the cost so I didn’t have to worry about food everyday. Plus the food wasn’t bad. People wrote complaints online about the beach but it seemed fine to me. Lots of seaweed but the water and beaches in Jamaica are stunning to me regardless. There are activities throughout the day and a pretty cool pool. They had ice cream and other food options around the pool too which was dope. Warning though – the resort is not very diverse. You probably won’t be the only Black person but I saw very few (except the Black couple that got married there – quite cute indeed)!

If it is your first time using Iberostar they connect you with a concierge who is supposed to guide you through activities of the day, etc. I ran into the concierge guy I was officially assigned to by accident but then never spoke to him again after that day. But luckily I had spoken to another concierge lady previously who connected me with the details. They also may give you some perks like free breakfast at JOAI but with a catch – they want to tell you more about their membership. Their membership seems great…for a future dream when there is more funds available.

Transportation

When you arrive in the aiport, there will be tons of people trying to get your attention. Asking “Do you need help?” I initially said no because of my Lagos, Nigeria aiport trauma. But eventually I gave in and it was so very worth it. Since Montego Bay is so touristy it’s a pretty smooth process. They have van drivers who can take you to your resort/airport.

Now for driving on your own? I don’t recommend that. Go through your hotel/resort to ask for transportation and they will connect you with someone. The concierge connected with a driver who actually wasn’t able to make it, but he connected with another driver called Everet’s Taxi Tours. You can connect with him on whatsapp at 876-429-2083 and his instagram is @everets_taxi_tours.

He was kind enough to give me a little tour as he drove me to my excursion. I enjoyed having him as a driver so later on I messaged him on whatsapp again when I was trying to go somewhere else. I thought during this trip I was just going to call a random taxi . But speaking with him gave me insight that that’s not a good idea. Instead it’s better to get a driver especially because they are often locals who know how to navigate Jamaica.

Money

This is where I went wrong. I knew I should have carried cash on me. However, I didn’t have enough time in the prior week to get cash from an atm. Luckily if you run into this issue like me, there is an ATM in the airport. There are also ATMs in Montego Bay BUT unless you are staying on the hip strip, the cost to get there can be pricey. So I would recommend getting cash before you leave America. A lot of touristy spots accept US dollars but if you want to explore out of those areas, you will also need to exchange to JMD.

Activities/Excursions

As a highly independent girlie (I’m in recovery, I know) I was planning on figuring out everything on my own. But I spoke to my friend who is a travel blogger who told me that in resorts there will be a lot to do and they have excursions you should sign up for. I agree that this is the way to go since it’s the safer option.

Great River Bamboo Rafting: this was SO relaxing. I can’t wait for y’all to see the youtube footage of this scenery. It is truly unreal. It’s also a perfect photo spot. I would recommend wearing a swimsuit with a cover up on top in case you get wet.
Beautiishan Artistry: my lashes were getting busted so I booked a lash tech appointment super close to the resort. Her lashes are more on the thinner side, but she did a great job and I would recommend.

Not gonna lie – outside of those 2 activities, I spent most of time studying, editing and getting my tan on the beach since I only had 72 hours in Montego Bay. Online, people say they would never solo travel as a woman to Jamaica but I had a great time and this was my first time solo traveling internationally. I think it’s just about knowing how to navigate it. For example not going out at night, being vigilant of one’s surroundings etc. I hope to visit Jamaica again but hopefully another part some day.
Hope this gives you some tips and ideas of how to travel to Montego Bay as a solo Black woman! If you do decide to go, I hope you enjoy yourself!