“Anyone joining you for dinner, miss?” the waitress asks me. “Nope, it’s just me,” I reply, smiling back. As she whips away the spare cutlery, I realise that I’ll be saying this phrase a lot in the coming days. I have been in Jamaica for no more than two hours, but this is the third time my solo status has been queried.
Granted, the Caribbean isn’t somewhere associated with single travellers – perhaps more a place for newlyweds, or for families to recharge. But, having dreamt of revisiting since my last trip there, 20 years ago, and growing tired of waiting for someone to join me, I booked an eight-day stay in an all-inclusive resort to reintroduce me to the land of my heritage.
The Caribbean is popular this summer, despite its hurricane season starting in June. The region is among just 14 per cent of destinations registering an uptick in bookings in the past quarter, according to the Association of National Tourist Office Representatives. And, to satisfy demand, Virgin Atlantic announced last month that it would increase its Heathrow–Montego Bay route from four flights a week to daily flights between 1 June and 24 October.
Although I’ve travelled alone before, this was to be my first solo experience of an all-inclusive resort. As a woman, I wanted to be somewhere busy, with security staff monitoring the vicinity. With recent reports of British tourists being assaulted in parts of the island, I wanted to ensure I wasn’t isolated, and would have access to reputable taxi services and excursion providers.
Just a five-minute coach transfer from the airport, Riu Montego Bay, on the north coast, is just what I wanted. It has five pools, four restaurants, a buffet, lunch time jerk and barbecue grill, and a spa.
I had heard about its food and fun atmosphere from friends and on social media, and I admired its spacious rooms, swim-up bar and seafront setting. I also loved the fact that it has an on-site nightclub, open until 2am – it’s less daunting to party alone when you are only a short walk from your bed.
When jetlag wakes me at 6am, I rush to the beach, two minutes’ walk from my room, to catch it at its most peaceful. I’m entranced by the pink-tinged sky and the breeze in the palm trees.
The entertainment staff ensure guests have a great time and, later that morning, I catch them on the beach. Around a third of the 40-strong team walk along the shore at 10am, greeting everyone with a morning cheer. As a solo traveller, I am grateful for their company –I’m still a little too shy to approach groups of holidaymakers.
The hotel’s daytime activities include group dance classes, Jamaican slang lessons and bracelet-making sessions, and in the evenings the hotel team flex their talents in karaoke, Jamaican dance and pop-star impersonations.
While the resort is a treat, I am keen to see more of the island, starting with Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios, around an hour and a half’s drive east of Montego Bay. The limestone terraces of the 180m-high waterfall are a well-trodden tourist attraction. But I find that visiting with a guide, organised through Tui (£90), makes things easier. He directs our group of 20 climbers on the least hazardous route to the top of the falls, which takes about 50 minutes.
Excursions are a brilliant way to make friends – I’m soon in a hand-holding chain with a group of fellow Britons as we climb the falls. The excursion also includes a catamaran cruise, which makes for a joke-filled afternoon of rum punch and snorkelling.
A few days later, I reunite with my new holiday friends for a trip to Black River, the island’s longest and the namesake of a seaside town. Guides point out crocodiles that lie in the river and surrounding mangrove swamps.
Another boat ride takes us to Floyd’s Pelican Bar, a shack on stilts in the Caribbean Sea. Sipping a Red Stripe Mango beer, I dangle my feet above the water and look back towards Jamaica’s mountainous, green coastline. Created by local fisherman Floyd Forbes in 2001, the bar was destroyed during October 2025’s Hurricane Melissa. Forbes rebuilt the bar, and it reopened in January.
Six months after the hurricane – one of the strongest storms to have hit Jamaica – many homes in the eastern St Elizabeth Parish are still without electricity. While being driven through the area, I see piles of rubble where churches, banks and homes once stood.
“Because tourism is so important for our economy, lots of money has been spent on getting attractions back up and running,” a tour guide tells me. “As grateful as we are for that, it means that many Jamaicans will have to wait a long time for their lives to get back to normal.”
As well as exploring as a tourist, I’ve come to Jamaica to see family. For just under £40, I book a round-trip coach ticket with Knutsford Express to May Pen, Clarendon, to visit my cousin. The journey takes four hours each way.
Then, for a final burst of fun, I visit Chukka Ocean Outpost at Sandy Bay, an adventure park about 40 minutes’ drive from Montego Bay. A £100 day pass includes ziplining, quad biking, a foot massage, riding a horse into the sea and a lunch of chicken and rice. Most other visitors are with families and friends, but I’m having too much fun to feel lonely.
Though going alone may feel odd at first, I’m comfortable in Jamaica as there is so much to do and many people are eager to help me enjoy my visit. The experience is mine, and mine alone – I won’t leave it another 20 years to return.
Getting there
Tui offers a seven-day all-inclusive stay at Riu Montego Bay from £2,110pp in July, including return flights from Gatwick with 20kg of checked baggage, 10kg of carry-on and airport transfers in Jamaica, based on one adult staying in a double room.
More information
visitjamaica.com