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March 16th, 2020 EWR - SDQ March 19th, 2020✈️
Hello! I have just returned from my trip to the Dominican Republic,and I wanted to share my amazing experience with you all.
First and foremost, I wanted to express that it was a difficult decision to go through with this trip, given the circumstances. While I was very hesitant to go, I did not want to miss out on this amazing experience (and my first spring break ever) or lose my money. My friends also still wanted to go, so I decided to go forward with it while being very cautious with keeping my distance and cleanliness at the airport and resort. We also made sure to monitor the media and our flight status, to make sure we could safely return back to the U.S. (we cut our trip short by two days because airlines were cancelling ALL their flights.)
Here's to hoping for a positive future with more love, laughs, and travel!
*DAY 1*
The first day was as expected- very lonngggggggggg.
Our flight from Newark took off around 10:00 am, using Frontier Airlines, and we landed in Santo Domingo around 2:00 pm. Our amazing resort, Bahia Principe Luxury Bouganville, picked us up right from the airport and brought us to their lovely home. We were greeted with fresh lemonade and a refreshing hand towel. After check-in, we were brought to our rooms and I was amazed. On the first floor, with a view of the pool and beach, our room was beautiful. (I've attached a video below!)
For the rest of the night, we just threw on a cute yet comfy outfit and headed to the inclusive buffet for dinner. We were in heaven. While there were themes for each night, they still had every food imaginable from soup, pasta, salad, tacos, side dishes, and plenty of dessert. We also started the all-inclusive trip with a round of margaritas the first night.... and mojitos (and nachos) later on from room service. To end the night, we took a stroll around the resort, taking a look at the pool and beach areas. We were so excited to spend our days and nights here for the next week!
Above is my gorgeous room, at the Bahia Principe Luxury Bouganville All-Inclusive Resort. The staff was very welcoming, and the food and services were all wonderful! The resort is split into two parts: a family resort and adults-only section. Both include a buffet and three restaurants you can make reservations for. Also included are two pools, a beach area, excursions, shops, spa/gym, shows/activities every night, and plenty of seating areas to enjoy the view.......and alcohol ;)
I will definitely be visiting there again soon!
*DAY 2*
We kicked off Tuesday with some yummy breakfast including Baileys with espressos and planned our excursion with the resort.
Next, it was time for some sun and relaxation, so we headed to the beach!
Getting a spot right in front of the water, we were ready to have ourselves a day. Laying on the lounge chair, hearing the waves crash onto the shore, and having a Bahama Mamma cocktail was exactly what we needed!
We of course had to take advantage of the Instagrammable views and had ourselves a photo shoot on the beach, taking turns getting rounds of drinks.
Clouds and rain came and went, but it was a nice refresher from the sun!
Once we were beached out for the day, we headed to the pool and took a dip, then headed straight to the pool-side bar!
More cocktails and more fun in the sun before we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner!
Onto DINNER!
I feel I need to talk to you all about Mamajuana.
Mamajuana is a drink that comes from DR made from red wine, rum, honey, and some other herbs and spices. While I personally felt it was too strong for me, it is a very important and popular drink in the culture.
As mentioned before, the resort has 24-hour room service. We decided to take advantage of this and order a quick snack (....or meal) before our dinner reservations that night at 8 pm. They have many dish options and everything we tried was very satisfying.
Some things we ordered off the menu include Penne Bolognese, Pita Sandwich, Nachos, Chicken Burger, and Vegetable Fettuccine Alfredo.
8:00 pm rolled around and we were all dressed to go to our dinner reservation at the Japanese restaurant....and it was YUMMY!
4 courses and many glasses of sangria later and we were STUFFED!
We decided to end the night by seeing a show at the family resort and then head to bed because we had an early morning the next day!
First CHEERS to a fun week in DR, at the beach, with my gals!
*DAY 3*
EXCURSION DAY TO SAONA ISLAND!
Meeting at 8:30 am, our resort transported us to the docks where we would part for the island. The first stop on the trip was to a natural pool, seen on the right; blue, crystal clear water and white sand, and the rum and coke was bottomless. Next, we left to go to the island, and on the way we saw some starfish!
Saona Island was BEAUTIFUL!
On the island, there were so many activities to take part in; lay under a palm tree, play in the water, fill-up on your rum and coke, hit up the barbecue, get a massage, or play volleyball. We had plenty of time on the island and it was a very relaxing and exciting day!
On the island, there were some locals who were selling some treats and services, including massages, pineapple and coconut drinks, and lots of jewelry. My group decided to get matching anklets to remember the trip!
Last part of the excursion was on a party boat with a net sun deck. Music was playing, drinks were still being poured, and everyone was dancing and having a good time.
There was some rain towards the end, but it was refreshing.
Getting transported back to the resort is when we heard flights were being cancelled and we decided to cut our trip short.
We ended the day by getting all dressed up and enjoying our last night out in DR!
The BEAUTIFUL natural pool we stopped at, on the excursion! (With lots of Rum and Coke)
*DAY 4*
As mentioned before, Thursday was our last day since we had to change to an earlier flight. Up at 5:00 am, we were very tired but ready to head home. Our resort got us a taxi to bring us to the airport at 7:00 am, and we waited for our flight to leave at 10:00 am. The highlight of my day was definitely having Domino's pizza at 8:30 am in the morning and watching Bohemian Rhapsody and Schitt's Creek on the plane ride.
Thank You Jet Blue!
PHOTO GALLERY
Thank you for reading and I hope I will have the opportunity to travel and post more travel blogs soon!
Xoxo,
Steph
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