I got more than a few strange looks when I told people that I was heading to Jamaica for a reading retreat. 
 

People: A reading retreat? What’s that? Can’t you just stay at home and read?

 

Me: Think of it like book club in an exotic location. I mean, yes. I can stay home and read but I’ve never been to Jamaica, so why not?!

 
Then the looks got even stranger when I explained that I had never met the reading retreat host in person. 
 

People: So the person hosting the retreat, is she someone you went to school with? 

 

Me: Nope. I follow her on Instagram and I go to her online book club. I also don’t know anyone who is going, either. 

 

People: You’re…brave. 

 
I started following Cindy, aka Book of Cinz, on Instagram in early 2021 when I decided I wanted to read more Caribbean books. (If you’re intrigued by how this went, I wrote a blog post about it. Check it out: My Read Caribbean Month.) I joined her book club later that year and became an avid follower of her book recommendations and travels. 
 
So when she announced her first reading retreat in Dominica in October 2022, I desperately wanted to go. One, because even though virtual, I thoroughly enjoyed the space that Cindy had created and two, I really wanted to go to Dominica. But, I wasn’t yet eligible for paid time off from my job so I was left to watch the stories enviously from my desk. When she announced the retreat date for 2023, I said “Yes, this is me now.” But, (yes, another but) by the time I got a handle on what I was doing with my life, the retreat had sold out. 
 
I was still determined to go to a reading retreat though. And a few months later I was in a bus with the five other women I had just met on our way to Treasure Beach, Jamaica. 

But first, a few Jamaica travel tips:

 
Online immigration form: Jamaica has an electronic Immigration/Customs C5 card which you are required to complete before arrival. It is a simple and easy form. Make sure to save the confirmation offline so you can access it easily at the airport.
 
Currency: The official currency is the Jamaican Dollar (JMD). US dollars are accepted, but the exchange rate fluctuates daily and varies from vendor to vendor. For reference, at the time of writing, XE Currency Converter shows the rate as $156.68 JMD to $1 US. Alybiz tip: bring smaller US bills to spend and, if you have the chance, exchange some of your US for JMD at one of the currency exchange counters before exiting the airport.

Ok, back to the Jamaica reading retreat!

 
The reading retreat was hosted at the gorgeous Rainbow Tree Villa in Treasure Beach, a quiet fishing village along Jamaica’s south coast. Treasure Beach is known for community tourism and is the home of the Calabash Literary Festival.
 
One month after we left Jamaica, Hurricane Beryl continued her path of destruction and hit the beautiful Treasure Beach hard. The local community, dependent on fishing, farming and tourism, was severely impacted. If you can, please make a contribution to help Treasure Beach recover and rebuild. 
 
After an almost three hour drive from the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, we arrived at the villa ready for five glorious days of reading, discussing books and other topics of importance, eating delicious food and drinking Prosecco, lounging in the water, and enjoying some of Jamaica’s best attractions.
 
So what did we actually do at this reading retreat? Let me show you!

Ocean drinks, collages and book club

 
Name a better way to spend a Thursday mid-morning than drinks on a sandbank one mile off the coast.

About a 30 minute boat ride from Rainbow Tree Villa is Pelican Bar. From a distance, it just looks like a shack floating in the middle of the ocean. A surprisingly sturdy shack.
 

 
The story behind Pelican Bar is truly an interesting one. Built by a fisherman named in Floyd in 2001, Pelican Bar wasn’t originally a tourist hotspot. It started as a hut where Floyd would go to fish and meditate. In 2002, a boat captain named Peck realized the potential of a hut on a sandbank in the middle of the bay. It took some persuasion, but Floyd eventually transformed the hut into what is now one of Jamaica’s most popular bars, welcoming visitors from around the world.

 
Later that day, we flexed our creative muscles at a collage workshop led by Natasha Cunningham, a visual artist and graphic designer. Using our bookclub read, Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh, as inspiration, Natasha led us through two collage making activities. After dinner, we reconvened for a spirited bookclub discussion. See, we did book stuff!

Relaxing in Negril

 
We woke up early on our second full day of the reading retreat for a road trip to head to Negril, Jamaica’s westernmost town, for a day of relaxation. Promoted as the Capital of Casual, Negril has two sides: the beach side, with an impressive stretch of white sand beach, and the cliff side with dramatic bluffs overlooking sparkling turquoise water.
 
After a morning of lounging at Skylark Beach Resort, we headed cliff side for lunch at Tensing Pen Resort. Then, because we couldn’t leave Negril without saying that we did, we stopped by Rick’s Cafe to see the famed cliff jumpers in action.

 

 

Waterfalls and Rum Tasting

 
After a day at the beach in Negril, it was time to experience a different body of water. YS Falls, located in Middle Quarters, St. Elizabeth, is a seven-tiered waterfall surrounded by lush gardens, hot and cold pools, and gazebos for hanging out. And a zip line.

 

 
After the zip lining excitement and invigorating dips in the pools, we drove through the majestic Holland Bamboo, a 4 km avenue lined with beautifully arched bamboo trees, on our way to the second stop on the day’s adventure: The Joy Spence Appleton Estate Rum Experience. 
 

 
I’ve been on many rum tours. I know how rum is made. But this rum experience was, by far, the best I’ve ever done!
 
The experience starts with a cocktail at the bar (that day our choices were rum punch or Dark ‘n Stormy) before moving to the theatre to view a short film about Appleton Estate and its history. After the film, the tour moved outside where our guide led us through each step of the rum making process. The property is impressive. It’s like walking through a museum in the way that they show you the traditional methods in addition to the modern processes. This way, we were fully immersed and got to eat sugar cane, drink freshly pressed sugar cane juice (that 2 volunteers from our group pressed themselves) and sampled molasses and rum, of course.
 
The story of rum is a painful part of Jamaica’s history and Appleton Estate does not shy away from this. In 2023, they unveiled ‘Lest We Forget‘, a commemorative monument honouring the enslaved people who worked on the Appleton Estate Plantation.

Birthday Book Brunch and Blind Date with a Book

 
See? Book things!
 
After an amazing brunch, Cindy set us up on blind dates with books. She wrapped each book in brown paper and wrote a few clues on the front. We had a few seconds to read the clues and pick a book. I ended up getting The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts by Soraya Palmer but since I’d already read it, I traded it for Rosewater by Liv Little.
 

Honestly, I could not have asked for a better group to strangers to spend my birthday. There’s something special about being around a group of women who love to read and have spirited conversations about books. It’s bound to be a good time!
 
If you’ve been wanting to travel more but the trips just can’t make their way out of the group chat, and you’re not ready for  a solo trip, then I definitely recommend a group trip. Your travel community is out there waiting for you.