There are holidays you are taking, after which there are holidays you discuss without end.
Jamaica has all the time been that type of place. The type of island the place the music feels hotter, the sunsets final a bit of longer, the rum tastes higher by the ocean, and on daily basis by some means turns right into a story you need to retell the second you get house.
Rendering of the reimagined essential pool at Sandals Montego Bay
And now, your Jamaica bucket checklist is about to get a complete lot longer.
Three beloved Sandals resorts are being reimagined in a significant means, bringing contemporary rooms, new eating spots, seashore golf equipment, rum bars, personal island moments, overwater escapes, and extra causes to fall head over heels for the island the place Sandals was born. In November and December 2026, Sandals South Coast, Sandals Montego Bay, and the newly named Sandals Caribbean Cay (previously Sandals Royal Caribbean) will welcome friends into their subsequent chapters, every with its personal character, its personal type of magic, and its personal very tempting place in your must-do checklist.
So seize your seashore tote, cue the reggae, and begin dreaming. Right here’s what belongs in your Jamaica bucket checklist subsequent.
1. Cheers to Considered one of Trip’s Biggest Innovations
Each nice trip story deserves a legendary first cease, and at Sandals Montego Bay, that story begins within the pool, cocktail in hand.
Lovingly referred to as Sandals MoBay, that is the OG Sandals resort, the place the place the model’s all-inclusive story first started and the place one in every of trip’s most iconic concepts got here to life: the first-ever swim-up pool bar.
As Sandals Montego Bay will get reimagined, that beloved swim-up pool bar stays precisely the place it belongs: on the heart of the enjoyable. Now a part of the brand new Parisol Seashore Membership, it’ll proceed to be a can’t-miss gathering spot, full with the unique guest-inscribed bricks which have turn out to be a part of resort lore.
It’s half cocktail cease, half Sandals time capsule, and really a lot a bucket checklist second.
2. Have Jamaican Sunday Suppa, Then Observe the Fireplace to Buccan
A correct Jamaica bucket checklist wants meals. A lot of it. The type of meals that makes you decelerate, cross plates round, order yet another cocktail, and absolutely perceive why meals listed below are by no means simply meals.
At Sandals Caribbean Cay, the brand new Suppa restaurant is impressed by one of many island’s most beloved traditions: gathering across the desk for Sunday dinner. Rooted in household, togetherness, and the enjoyment of lingering over flavors that really feel like house, Suppa will serve genuine Jamaican consolation meals in an area designed to really feel like a neighborhood invited you in.
And like every nice Sunday suppa, the expertise begins earlier than you even sit down. Start the night in Keynote Rum Bar, the restaurant’s intimate “parlor,” the place premium Caribbean rums and lightweight bites set the tone after a sun-soaked day by the water. Cozy, simple, and filled with island heat, it’s the right prelude to a meal meant to be savored.
Over on the neighboring Sandals Montego Bay, observe the hearth to Buccan, making its debut in its first waterfront setting in Jamaica. Right here, island favorites are cooked over an open flame, bringing smoky, soulful, straight-from-Jamaica taste to the shoreline.
The transfer? Have Suppa one evening, Buccan the following, and contemplate your Jamaica meals bucket checklist very properly underway.
At all times bear in mind: by no means rush an amazing meal in Jamaica.
3. Uncover Your New Favourite Rum Bar
Rum in Jamaica isn’t just a drink. It’s tradition in a glass. Custom in each sip.
At Sandals Montego Bay, the brand new Bay Roc Rum Membership will have a good time the property’s roots as Bay Roc Lodge & Villas, together with the rise of Caribbean music and the tales that helped form the vacation spot. Count on hand-painted murals, island memorabilia, inventive cocktails on faucet, Jamaican music from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s setting the temper, and island-inspired gentle bites made for grazing between rounds. Company may even pull as much as the domino tables, a beloved Jamaican pastime, the place the clack of the tiles, the rum in your glass, and the music within the room make it really feel such as you’ve discovered the heartbeat of the island.
4. Go Full Island Mode at Sandals Caribbean Cay
Previously referred to as Sandals Royal Caribbean, this Montego Bay favourite is getting a contemporary title and a complete new really feel: Sandals Caribbean Cay.
The title says all of it. From the second you arrive, the temper is about with an open-air foyer that overlooks the newly redesigned essential pool and the Caribbean Sea past. It feels breezy, relaxed, and immediately linked to the water.
Then, simply offshore, the island temper will get even higher. At Sandals Cay, the resort’s personal island accessible solely by boat, the brand new Parisol Seashore Membership will deliver laid-back Caribbean residing to life with a Jerk Shack restaurant, swim-up bar, pool, leisure, and cabanas lining the shore.
That is your permission to make a complete day of it: breakfast by the water, a bit of pool time, jerk rooster when the craving hits, and nowhere else it is advisable to be.
Bucket checklist rule: when the entire day seems like island time, you’re doing it proper.
5. Test In To Your Overwater Daydream
Few issues say “bucket checklist” like opening your eyes to the Caribbean Sea beneath you.
At Sandals Caribbean Cay, elevated Overwater Butler Villas sit above the waters off Sandals Cay, bringing that dreamy, floating-over-the-blue expertise to the resort’s personal island setting. It’s the type of keep the place the view is the principle character, the water is only a leap away, and each second comes with a bit of additional “is that this actual?” power.
At Sandals South Coast, the overwater expertise unfolds alongside one in every of Jamaica’s most fascinating coastlines, surrounded by the pure fantastic thing about a 500-acre protect. Right here, the resort’s Overwater Butler Villas are all about countless blue views, privateness, and the sensation that you just’ve discovered your individual little nook of Jamaica.
Espresso tastes higher over the water.
Sunsets hit otherwise whenever you shouldn’t have to go away your deck.
And with views like these, no filter is ever wanted.
6. Take the Trip Out of the Group Chat
You realize that journey everybody retains speaking about? The very best-friends escape, the “we actually want to do that” trip that has been residing within the group chat for means too lengthy?
Sandals South Coast is making it simpler to lastly make it occur with the model’s first-ever double queen suites, that includes comfy residing areas, and balconies overlooking the ocean.
(*3*)
It’s a first for Sandals and a sport changer for associates or anybody who needs a bit of extra room to unfold out with out splitting up the enjoyable.
Add it to the checklist: make the group chat trip occur.
7. Flip One Jamaica Journey Into Three
The very best a part of this new Jamaica chapter? You shouldn’t have to select only one model of paradise.
With three reimagined Sandals resorts, that is your official permission slip to remain a bit of longer, pack yet another swimsuit, and expertise Jamaica three other ways. Begin at Sandals Montego Bay, the place the unique Sandals spirit comes with beachfront power, island historical past, and a cocktail-in-the-pool type of temper. Then slide into Sandals Caribbean Cay, the place personal island-inspired days, Jamaican suppers, rum bar moments, and seashore membership escapes make it very simple to lose observe of time. Lastly, head south to Sandals South Coast, the place wide-open shoreline, overwater views, and slower days invite you to completely unplug.
Collectively, they create the final word Jamaica itinerary: three resorts, three personalities, and three superb causes to increase your out-of-office.
As a result of Jamaica shouldn’t be a one-and-done type of place. It’s the island that retains supplying you with one other seashore to like, one other taste to crave, one other sundown to chase, and another excuse to return again.
So contemplate this your signal: e book the longer journey, observe the island from MoBay to the South Coast, and switch one Jamaica getaway into three holidays value speaking about.
Aerial rendering of Sandals South Coast and its scenic beachfront setting
