Why Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Was The Best Vacation Ever!

I am very pleased to host Amira, today’s guest writer on Travels with Bibi. Amira shares her dream vacation, showcasing her recent travel to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Check out the stunning photos she has included that will surely delight your senses. You’ll feel like you’ve traveled to Punta Cana too!

About the Author:

Amira is a lawyer, blogger and business coach from Florida. She blogs at ASelfGuru.com where she teaches business and legal skills to online entrepreneurs and helps you become your own boss!

You can connect with her on Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

WHY PUNTA CANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WAS THE BEST VACATION EVER!

Every year, August is a double celebration month for me because I got married on my birthday! So my husband and I take some time out of our hectic schedules in August to go on vacation somewhere new and exciting. This is our favorite time of the year to escape to a romantic getaway and also reminisce about our life together.

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Punta Cana, Dominican Republic became one of the best vacation spots for my birthday and wedding anniversary. The entire vacation from the beginning till the end was so memorable and fun that we didn’t want to return to our every day reality.

DAY 1: ARRIVAL AT CHIC BY ROYALTON, ALL EXCLUSIVE RESORT

Our vacation started at this adult only all-inclusive Chic resort located right on the beach in Punta Cana. It is a beautiful resort where you get a taste of true luxury with a private butler at your service, spectacular views of the ocean, incredible customer service, amazing spa treatments, huge pools, and unlimited delicious food and beverages with six restaurants on site.

What else do you need to have a perfect vacation?

Just being in your oceanfront Presidential suite, you are mesmerized by the beauty inside and outside the resort. The Presidential suite is quite spacious and modern looking filled with contemporary furniture and includes all the amenities you could possibly need. It also comes with a huge dining area and two bathrooms.

We spent the first day just eating and relaxing in our private pool while relishing the serene beautiful views of the ocean. This resort has a very elegant, trendy and relaxed ambiance that I loved. Their premium cocktails were amazing and the food was quite delicious!

And yes, I managed to have a little fun in the pool with my cocktail!

There’s free Wi-Fi throughout the resort but who needs it when you are having so much fun and want to completely disconnect from your every day routine! But if you need it, they have it and they also offer unlimited free phone calls to North America and most of Europe.

There’s unlimited fresh coconut water!!! Fresh coconut water is so rejuvenating and tastes so good. Our butler came by with some fresh coconuts for us and for the record, I just want to say that there’s nothing better than mixing some healthy with the unhealthy (my cocktail with the coconut)

DAY 2: BIRTHDAY AND WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

This was quite a memorable day from the beginning till the end! I woke up to a surprise breakfast at the beach! The weather was absolutely amazing, and it was so nice to have an entire section of the beach completely reserved for us. Our butler had arranged everything. Talk about being spoiled, just a little!

It was my first time ever having breakfast right on the beach!! So that was a special experience for sure. Our butler also surprised us with a local authentic gift – it was a bottle with all the ingredients included to make Mama Juana and came with their local cigar. This way you can enjoy the cigar with Mama Juana!

Mama Juana or mamajuana is a drink from the Dominican Republic that is made by mixing rum, red wine, honey along with some other herbs. It has a deep red color and tastes like port wine. I thought this was such a thoughtful unique gift by our butler!

The breakfast was so delicious – it had everything from eggs, hash browns, fresh fruits, pancakes, waffles, etc. I only remember the mimosas (just kidding, everything tasted so fresh and good).

After the breakfast, we went back to our room and there was another surprise waiting for us there! This time, our butler had decorated our entire room for my birthday and wedding anniversary! There was a nice cake and bottle of wine waiting for us to enjoy!

Here, take a look:

What a romantic fun way to end the day! Do you agree that the butler service at this resort was truly exceptional? Our butler, David, really went out of his way to make our stay really comfortable and memorable!

We were very happy to receive such personalized service, and it’s the little things like these that truly enhance your experience and stay!

DAY 3: SIGHTSEEING IN PUNTA CANA

We had reserved this day for sightseeing. We started with this 8-hour Mini Cooper tour, which was the highlight of our trip! It’s called the “Punta Cana Mini Cooper Tour” and the way it works is that you get to rent and drive your own Mini Cooper with top down for the entire day. You have a tour guide that you follow and he or she shows you around the Eastern parts of the Dominican Republic.

So you get to roam around the streets of Punta Cana just like a local resident for the entire day with your personal tour guide! This was a very adventurous tour and lots of fun. We met some local residents and other visitors like us and got to visit some of the most beautiful towns of Dominican Republic.

We started by visiting an attractive fishing village of Boca De Yuma where we spent some quality time near this scenic Yuma River to take photos and enjoy the real Dominican Republic in this quaint little town.

From there, we went to the Matilde Cigar Factory, which is world famous for the best Dominican cigars at the best price! It is one of the biggest cigar factories in the world and was founded by Jose Seijas in 2000.

At the Matilde Cigar Factory, we got a tour of how cigars are made starting from bunching, rolling, cigar aging to packaging. We also got to see the craftsmen and women working in the cigar factory and spent some time with them asking questions about the process.

Everyone was extremely nice and friendly and they showed us how tobacco is grown and which plants are used for the process. They let us touch the leaves and smell them before they are used for the cigars. Since it was my first time seeing the entire cigar making process, it was quite interesting to see how world famous Matilde cigars are produced.

It was also really cool to pretend smoking a cigar next to the craftsman who was actually smoking a cigar on his job in the factory! What a cool job J

The factory also has a large store where you can purchase all kinds of tobacco after you are done with your tour.

After the cigar factory, we drove to Casa De Campo to visit Altos de Chavon, which is a re-creation of a medieval 16^thcentury Mediterranean village. This village is absolutely worth seeing! It is one of the main attractions for local residents, tourists and artists all over the world because it is so magnificent!

There’s something special about this place – it takes you back to the medieval times. It resembles a colonial town set over a hill viewing the Chavon River and all the buildings are made out of stones. If you visit the exclusive community of Casa de Campo, you cannot miss it. All the views are mesmerizing and there are nice shops and restaurants nearby to explore as well.

The day wouldn’t be complete without some authentic local food. So while we were at this beautiful place, we indulged in some traditional Dominican food – rice and beans along with chicken. I loved the authentic flavoring and the food was delicious as expected!

In the evening, we decided to hang out at the Coco Bongo, show and disco. It is a really fun place where you can watch some amazing shows with acrobats performing in themed shows like Spiderman, Batman, Michael Jackson, etc. We upgraded to the VIP tickets, which were worth it because this way, you have a really good view of the show from your seat along with some privacy.

DAY 4: THE ROYAL SPA

 As you can see, day 3 above was quite eventful! We spent the whole day outdoors, so needless to say, we were exhausted and needed complete relaxation! We decided to spend the day at the Royal Spa, which was part of our resort.

The Royal Spa offers some awesome spa rituals for couples, which start with hydrotherapy circuit, followed by a facial and ending with a full body massage. This was perfect because that’s exactly what we needed! After spending few hours at the spa, we felt great! We were completely recharged and renewed but couldn’t believe that our vacation was almost over!

This was our last night at Punta Cana and next morning, we had to catch our flight back home. We were not ready for return home yet.

This was the first vacation where I was completed disconnected from the world. We took all the photos from my husband’s phone because I did not even want to take out my phone. It felt really great to forget everything and just enjoy each moment!

In the future, I could see myself retiring in Dominican Republic one day. The people, the culture, the food and the places – basically everything is so appealing.

DAY 5: RETURN HOME

We woke up early and packed quickly because we had a morning flight back home. Our butler came to check on us as usual and by this time, he had become our friend! Would you like to see David? Here’s my final photo with him!

If you ever visit this incredible resort in the future, ask for David as your butler! He’s the best at what he does and now you know why Punta Cana, Dominican Republic was our best vacation ever!

Based on everything I shared, what did you like the most? What makes your vacation memorable? Comment below to share with me!

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