It is no surprise that the beauty of The Dominican Republic left me in awe, but let's talk about the fact that everyone was SO friendly! Working in tourism, I truly understand that the locals and ambiance can make our break a destination. Luckily, the ambiance was something that was contagious and rhythm filled just about every excursion and place we got to visit. People are happy, people are dancing, and everyone is just trying to have a good time and make the most of what they have, with what they have. From delicious meals that were new to me, to sunny skies above the most blue water, to being surrounded by gorgeous tropical plants and fruit trees... this trip was everything we hoped and more than we hoped for being our first international family trip together. Day One l Arrive in Punta Cana l Air BNB Check In l An 8 hour flight for 5 gals with a layover included couldn't have been smoother considering this was the first time we were all traveling internationally since COVID-19. Nonetheless, we were in for a week of jam packed fun and adventures! As soon as we arrived at the Punta Cana Int. Airport we saw a breeze of friendly faces, eager and ready to welcome tourists because now we were on island time baby! That meant we would adapt the vacay lifestyle for a week with no hurry. So we picked up our bags and headed out. Oh but not so fast.. We had in mind what we wanted to do, but we decided to wait a little to try to get a better rate than the one online. PS: bartering in person is key!! Waiting at the gates were tour and excursion guides flooding the scene and luckily, we were able to book a couple of excursions before even leaving the airport. We had in mind what we wanted to do, but we decided to wait a little to try to get a better rate than the one online. PS: bartering in person is key!! We hurried down to get a taxi that would then take us to our Air BNB "Retiro Bavaro." Right off the car the owner was extremely welcoming and gave us the tour , along with other details and indications that would make our stay a breeze. 10/10 would recommend staying here if airbnb is your go to. Day Two l Bibijagua Beach l Talk about a beach that has it all! Bibijagua beach in Punta Cana was only minutes away from our air bib and had everything from excursions, souvenir shops, bars, art, all the way to restraints on the water making it an ideal beach for anyone who wants to play, wine, or dine! For us, the day would look like shopping all things souvenirs, laying out, enjoying the beach and banana boats, tasting various non alcoholic drinks and enjoying the beauty of nature's best in the DR. Typically, I recommend a "chill day" after a long day of several flights. This usually helps me mentally and physically prepare for the jam packed tourist days to come. Day Three l Catamaran to Isla Saona l We love a good boat day! The catamaran is always a favorite and a MUST at every beach destination. Our Catamaran experience was booked with Alex, the airbnb owner. For the price being a little under $70, it was a worth while time, included food and drinks at Saona Island and the two hour ride to and from the island. This is a perfect activity if you're looking to dive deeper and enjoy a more private beach experience. Day Four l Plaza Turquesa l Scape Park l Day four was our Scape Park day which we so anxiously awaited. But not before my morning cup of coffee, of course. We waited for the excursion bus at Plaza Turquesa and luckily as we waited we had the opportunity to explore the area and ended up finding some local gems with scrumptious cuisine for the days to come. Naturally, I ordered a vanilla iced latte and Dalias and then we we're off to our adventure. Scape Park made my inner adrenaline junkie happy. Scape Park offered just about everything each sister wanted to do so it was a no brainer for us to get a full day admission ticket. We had the opportunity to zip-line from cliff to cliff, explore ancient caverns and traditional Dominican "rancho." We zip lined and jumped off, toured underground caves and jumped into the blue hole, and even rode hammock zip-lines that ended with a splash into the water. In addition to all these unique adventures you can also have the option to cruise along beautiful beaches, snorkel in tropical waters, or relax in the exclusive beach club. Day Four l Brunch @ Dalia's l Downtown Punta Cana l Coco Bongo l Hard Rock Cafe l We began our day at Dalia's, since brunch is always a good idea and I couldn't help but want to go back to Delila's (<---- Check out the menu and more here). I had the five cheese pasta and I still drool over it because it was SO YUMMY! We sat, chatted, and enjoyed our yummy and pretty drinks and then we're on our way to enjoy the rest of our day in downtown Punta Cana. Sadly, alot of downtown was still shut down and the Coco Bongo was open the show was happening. Nonetheless, we still made the most of it explored some of the restaurants and photo ops available to us and ended up going home to change for dinner at the Hardrock Cafe! The hard rock is one of my favorite restaurants in the entire world and naturally my mom and sisters decided to take some time to celebrate my birthday while we were there with fun sparkling cheesecake and singing waiters. Day Five l Four Wheeling to Macao Beach l Cenote Jumping l Dinner at Napoli's l A Monday had not been this thrilling in a while. We began our day by walking to the beach to hop on our excursion bus that would take us to a small place where our four wheeling adventure through the jungle would begin. We sped through the jungle, mud, trees, and all and finally arrived at Macao beach. We freshened up a but and soaked off, grabbed a quick drink, took some pictures with some new friends (peep the monkey) and then made our way back for the rest of our tour which would then lead us to a cenote, also known as a blue hole approx. 25ft deep inside a cave where we had the option to jump in and experience pure beautiful blue water. Ofcourse, being the experience junkie I am, I had to do it, and it was awesome! Finally, we ended our day with dinner at Napoli's a local Italian restaurant. We had pizza and it was deliciously prepared with fresh mozzarella and ham with a crispy hand tossed crust! Day Six l Bibijagua Beach l Lunch at Californa l Downtown Punta Cana l Our last day was laid back and relaxed. We stayed away of anything that required prep since we had quite a bit of flying the next day. We relaxed at the beach that was only a 3 minute walk from our AirBNB, we decided to drive around the parts of Downtown we didn't really get to explore, which is key to a good experience anywhere.. EXPLORE EXPLORE EXPLORE without a tour guide. Check out the video and reels below! Isla Saona Retiro Bavaro Punta Cana 2021
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