I had the privilege of traveling to Ocho Rios on the inaugural 4-007 American flight into the new Ian Fleming Airport.
The flight is currently scheduled to arrive and depart on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the hopes of adding one flight everyday of the week. The flight is so small that it takes no time to get through customs.
The flight arrives from Miami, so you will have to connect through Miami to get there unless your journey starts in Miami. As a traveler from Charlotte, I have the option to fly direct to Montego Bay or to Miami and then to Ocho Rios. Ocho Rios is almost a 3 hour drive from Montego Bay. If you are not flying from an airport that has the option of a direct flight to Montego Bay, you should be thrilled to have the option to fly into Ocho Rios. You will get to your Oco Rios resort in minutes!
Jamaica has 4 main tourist areas- Montego Bay, Negril, Ocho Rios, and Westmoreland. Although Kingston is the capital and biggest city in Jamaica, it is not an area that most travel to and has no all-inclusive resorts or villas.
Ocho Rios has SO many resort options for adults and families. Straight Away Travel works with many resort brands located there, with Sandals being our biggest partner. Ocho Rios has the brand new Sandals Dunns River, Sandals Ocho Rios, Sandals Royal Plantation (an all butler suite resort), and the family friendly Beaches Ocho Rios. There are also many other resorts that we partner with for everyone’s budget needs. Ocho Rios is also known for so many adventurous and cultural experiences off the resort. From the famous Dunns River Falls and Blue Hole, to visiting the home of BobMarly and experiencing his childhood. I had the opportunity to tour Jacana, an organic Cannabis Farm that makes CBD and THC products. While I was there, I talked to the tour guide a lot about tourism. I told him that we are faced every year with the United States declaring Jamaica a level 3, which is a travel with caution level. The crime in Jamaica is the reason why. I explained to my guide that I tell my clients that I wouldn’t send them to the bad areas of New York City, Chicago, LA, etc and I wouldn’t send our clients to dangerous streets in Jamaica either. He said, “Barb, there is an ever better way to explain the safety of tourists in Jamaica”. “Tourism is how we survive. We must have tourism to be able to feed our children and have a roof over our head, that is our number economy in Jamaica. If anyone hurt a tourist, they would never be forgiven and their life would be over, either from locals or the government. You, Barb, are saver than I am on this island!”
Jamaica needs their tourists and we need them to experience their One Love attitude, the blue water, and the lush island that makes it one of my favorite places to visit over and over.
Let’s get you to Ocho Rios and we will look at which flight makes the most sense to you.
