Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Where: Punta Cana

Time of Year Visited: June 2019

Weather: Hot and Dry

Flights: British Airways- Gatwick to Punta Cana (RTN)

Accommodation:  Whala! Bàvaro Resort - all inclusive- Twin Double Room (7 nights)

The resort is set on the beach with multiple outdoor pools, a gym, a restaurant and multiple bars. All inclusive is set to a buffet style breakfast, lunch and dinner and all alcoholic drinks; as well as daily activities such as aqua aerobics and beach volleyball. The resort also offers daily events including  Spanish night pool party and dance lessons.

Rooms come with all amenities (shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, shower caps and slippers) as well as air conditioning, a fridge, a TV/ radio set up and linen/ towel change daily.

view from the rooftop bar

Price: Flights, accommodation and transfers to/ from airport= £739.00 via loveholidays.com

Currency: Dominican Peso (£1= RD$74.90) although USD is widely accepted and sometimes preferred.

Getting Around: Motorcycle boys or private hire taxis and cars.

Excursions: On our first full day we took the time to explore the resort and make ourselves familiar with all the activities available, as well as taking a stroll on the beach and then exploring the surrounding areas. We had a tour guide visit the resort (this is a popular option) who advised us of all the tours available. 

We opted to book the full day 5 in 1 tour which included horse riding, dune buggy drive to a “secret” beach, hiking, zip lining and included lunch. The day started early with our tour bus picking us up from the resort after breakfast around 9:30 am, we were driven to the range where we shown how to use the dune buggies and we were on our way. 

Buggies- masked up to avoid the dirt

 

Secluded beach fun

We drove for about 30 minutes until we reached a secluded beach and stopped for a swim break. After about 30-40 minutes on the beach we got back in the buggies and drove back to the range and went on to the next activity which was horse riding. 

horse riding

I am not the biggest fan of the horse riding but ultimately it was great fun. We then stopped for lunch, which was served in a buffet style, which included all the Dominican classics, such as beans, chicken/pork/beef, rice, pasta, salads, plantain and fresh fruits. After lunch we drove out towards the forest, where we hiked up and through forest to the zip lining lodge. We were fixed into our harnesses and given a quick tutorial on how to sit and hold the wire- once we were all briefed, we were off, and we hiked up to the final bit to the hill point. 

Right before taking off on the zip line

Zip lining was such a freeing experience especially going over the forest and seeing all the green from such a height. The only complaint was that it was over sooner than I thought it would be; if it wasn’t for hiking up the hill again, I’d do it all over! At the end of the day we were driven back to our resort, on the way back we stopped in a local shop and farm where cocoa and tobacco was grown. We were shown how the beans were made into chocolate and how tobacco was dried and rolled into cigars.

Our second excursion was a full day tour that started at 10:30 am, we were picked up from our hotel and driven to the docks where we got a speed boat to the Island of Saona. The day cost us £70 in Dominican Pesos (I would suggest buying tours while out there as they tend to be cheaper than online tours). 

Saona Island right before the rain

Along the way the boat stopped in the national park where starfish, coral and other fishes can be seen. The tour guides advised us to not touch or bring the starfish up to take pictures, as taking them out the water suffocates them- for this reason, I did not take any pictures (although, others on our boat did not listen).  We stopped for about an hour and had drinks in the water as the guides played music. We then sped on to the Island, where we had a buffet lunch and could roam around. The island is so well taken care of and is very clean, the food was great, and the small beach bar served great drinks which were nice and strong. During our time on the beach, we got caught in a tropical storm, which was an experience! Although, the rain was heavy it was very warm, so it was not an issue for me; however, with the rain came the mosquitoes and boy did they come out in full force haha. Our excursion was completed with a catamaran sailboat back to the harbor, which had music, drinks and a Merengue dance lesson onboard (all included in the price). Once back we were picked up by our bus and dropped back to our resort. Although, drinks are available throughout the day, I would suggest bringing your own soft drinks/ water as the constant alcohol can get you very drunk very quick in the heat.

Catamaran Chills

Food: A great portion of the food we had was onsite at our resort; however, I did eat at one small takeaway which did some of the best chicken I had for the whole trip. Also, all the food on the excursions was on par with our resort meals. 

Overall:  I absolutely loved my time in DR, I would highly recommend for group trips or a romantic get away with your partner.

The main thing about DR is that there is so much to do in and out of the resorts and the people are very friendly so there is no shortage of adventure. I would go back in a heartbeat.

5 out of 5

★★★★★