What does a Jamaica all-inclusive holiday include, and what does it cost?
Eight nights at the RIU Montego Bay or similar with all-inclusive food, beverages and daily entertainment. The package lists return flights from London, Manchester or Birmingham. ATOL protection under licence 10713 applies and a £99 per person deposit holds it. September is the cheapest month and July the dearest. Transfers, excursions, spa treatments and travel insurance are not included. British passport holders need no visa and usually get 90 days, but the Immigration and Customs Form C5 must be completed online before arrival and is mandatory.
Why is September the cheapest month?
Because it is inside hurricane season. That is the reason on every Caribbean holiday we sell, and Jamaica is no exception.
GOV.UK states that hurricane season is normally from June to November. September is the cheapest month here and sits in the middle of it; October is second cheapest and also inside.
What makes Jamaica different from its neighbours is how little the rest of the year varies.
Jamaica’s prices move far less across the year than most Caribbean destinations, a notably narrower band than our St Lucia and Antigua all-inclusives manage. Even December, which carries a heavy Christmas premium almost everywhere else in the Caribbean, is £1,769 here.
May is the recommendation — the cheapest month outside hurricane season, and the dry end of the year. But the flatness of this table means the penalty for travelling when it suits you is smaller on Jamaica than on most of the region.
What star rating is the hotel?
The package names the RIU Montego Bay at 5★.
We confirm the rating and the resort in writing before you pay anything beyond the deposit. Ask when you enquire rather than assuming the higher number is the true one.
What is Jamaica actually like?
Bigger, louder and more of a real country than most Caribbean islands, which is either the appeal or the drawback depending on what you want.
Montego Bay is the main resort area and where the holiday is based — a developed strip with a working city attached. It has more going on outside the hotel gates than Antigua or St Lucia do.
Negril’s Seven Mile Beach, named in the package’s highlights, is on the western tip and is the island’s most famous stretch of sand, known for its sunsets and its cliff bars at the southern end.
Dunn’s River Falls near Ocho Rios is the classic excursion — a terraced waterfall you climb in a human chain. It is listed as optional in the package and is not included in the price.
The music is not a gimmick. Reggae, dancehall and their history are genuinely part of daily life here, and the package specifies live reggae shows and beachfront dining. Kingston, the capital and the actual centre of that culture, is a long way from Montego Bay.
The Blue Mountains inland produce some of the most expensive coffee in the world and offer hiking well away from the resort strip.
Why eight nights rather than seven?
This is the only one of our Caribbean all-inclusives that runs eight nights instead of seven, and on a transatlantic flight that extra night is worth more than it sounds.
A week in the Caribbean loses most of two days to travel — a long westbound day out and an overnight return. Eight nights gives you back a full day on the beach for a lead-in price below our seven-night St Lucia and Antigua holidays.
Jamaica is also the largest of the three islands by some distance, so there is more reason to want the extra day. Negril, Ocho Rios and the Blue Mountains are each a serious drive from Montego Bay rather than a quick hop.
Jamaican food is worth leaving the resort for at least once. Jerk cooking done properly over pimento wood, patties, escovitch fish and Blue Mountain coffee are all cheap outside the hotel gates and nothing like the versions served inside them.
Montego Bay’s Hip Strip is the walkable stretch of bars, restaurants and shops near the main resort area, and it is the easiest first step outside the grounds if you want to see something of the town without committing to a full day out.
What changes your price?
- The month, though less than on most Caribbean holidays — September at its cheapest against July at its dearest.
- Travelling inside or outside hurricane season.
- Departure airport. The package lists London, Manchester or Birmingham; any supplement is confirmed at enquiry rather than promised here.
- Room category. The lead-in is a standard room; sea-view, swim-up and suite categories are quoted separately.
- Cabin. A long transatlantic sector, where premium cabins move the total substantially.
Who this holiday suits
- Couples, honeymooners and groups — the package names all three.
- Travellers who want the extra night that a transatlantic trip really needs.
- Anyone who wants a country rather than a resort island, with music, food and culture outside the gates.
- People whose dates are inflexible, since Jamaica’s monthly spread is the narrowest of our Caribbean all-inclusives.
- Groups wanting nightlife and entertainment rather than quiet.
Travelling in January? Our Caribbean in January guide compares Jamaica with Barbados, St Lucia and Antigua on official January weather averages and January prices.
Who might prefer something else
- For a quiet, small island, Antigua and St Lucia are both calmer, and both run seven nights.
- Prefer dramatic scenery from your sunlounger? St Lucia’s Pitons and rainforest deliver that and Montego Bay does not.
- Prefer the very best white-sand beaches? Antigua has the edge, even against Negril.
- If you will not leave the resort, much of what makes Jamaica distinct is outside it, and a smaller island would serve you as well.
- If you need certainty on the star rating before booking, ask us to confirm it in writing first.
- Comparing options? You can see all our beach holidays side by side.
- Something similar? Our 7 Nights Barbados All-Inclusive Escape is the closest thing we sell to this one.
Ways to upgrade
All quoted at enquiry against your dates.
- A sea-view, swim-up or suite room category
- Premium economy or business class on the transatlantic sector
- Airport transfers, which are not included
- Excursions — Dunn’s River Falls, Negril, a Blue Mountains coffee tour or a catamaran day
- A honeymoon or anniversary arrangement, requested with the hotel
- Extra nights, or a split stay between Montego Bay and Negril
What is not included?
- Airport transfers. Montego Bay’s airport is close to the resort strip, but the transfer is still yours to arrange.
- Excursions, including Dunn’s River Falls, which the package lists explicitly as optional.
- Spa treatments, which no all-inclusive board covers.
- Travel insurance, which on these dates should cover weather disruption specifically.
- Anything beyond the resort’s all-inclusive arrangement, which we confirm in writing.
How do you get there?
The package lists return flights from London, Manchester or Birmingham — a wider choice than most of our long-haul holidays offer. The stored departure field says London with regional available, so we confirm your departure airport and any supplement in writing rather than promising a regional departure at no extra cost.
Transfers are not included. Montego Bay’s airport sits close to the resort strip, so this is one of the shorter Caribbean transfers, but it is still worth arranging in advance.
Jamaica is five hours behind the UK in winter and six during British Summer Time — an hour further than St Lucia and Antigua. It does not observe daylight saving.
Entry requirements for UK travellers
Checked against GOV.UK foreign travel advice on 17 September 2026.
British passport holders need no visa and are usually granted 90 days, with the departure date stamped in your passport. It must be valid for the duration of your stay and have two blank pages.
The Immigration and Customs Form C5 must be completed online before arrival at enterjamaica.com, and it is mandatory — not a recommendation. Do it before you travel rather than at the airport.
Arrival and departure taxes are usually included in the ticket price.
Practicalities worth knowing
Hurricane season means monitoring, not avoiding. Between June and November, follow local news and weather reports and know your resort’s procedure.
Jamaica is a country, not a resort. Ordinary city sense applies in Montego Bay and Kingston, particularly at night. Check current GOV.UK advice before you travel, since it is more detailed for Jamaica than for its smaller neighbours.
Distances are real. Negril and Ocho Rios are each a substantial drive from Montego Bay, and the Blue Mountains further still. A day trip is a day, not a morning.
The currency is the Jamaican dollar, though US dollars are widely accepted in resort areas. Cards work in hotels; markets and small bars are cash.
Driving is on the left, but the roads and the driving culture are demanding. Most visitors are better served by a driver or an organised excursion than by a hire car.
Booking and protection
Your booking is covered by our ATOL licence 10713 and we hold IATA accreditation 91285611. It is held with a deposit of £99 per person, with the balance due before travel.
Prices are per person, based on two people sharing — eight nights rather than the seven our other Caribbean all-inclusives run. September is cheapest and inside hurricane season; May is the cheapest month outside it. Ask us to confirm the star rating in writing when you enquire.
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