My Trip to Punta Cana

I was ready to travel before the world was ready for me to get back to traveling! In January, when flights were still at an all time low, I booked a trip with my boyfriend to Punta Cana. This got me through an entire school semester! But, of course, the experience of traveling post covid was not as easy as I thought. Let me explain….

Everything was well and good until about 10 days before the trip. I was checking the itinerary of the trip and went into full panic mode when I saw that the hotel that we were supposed to be staying at had completely closed due to sales. When looking at the prices of hotels in Punta Cana for 7 days on the dates I was going for, the prices averaged around $7,000, which was quadriple what I originally paid for. I had gone through United Bundles to get the flight and hotel package, so after 2 hours on the phone with United, I finally booked another hotel. Because I went through United, I was able to get the around the original price for a much nicer hotel. But, after that little mishap, the trip was golden!

I stayed at the Catalonia Royal Bavaro, which was an amazing hotel. Catalonia has three hotels. The Royal is adults only all inclusive. The Bavaro is the family friendly hotel and there is another one that is a golf resort. We had access to all three of them, so we were able to do a lot.

My boyfriend was able to spend an entire morning golfing, which was included. We also did water sports through our hotel, including snorkeling, kayaking and sailing. We were also able to do excursions through the hotel. We were able to go swimming with dolphins and snorkeling with sharks and stingrays! Another excursion we did was horseback riding to a waterfall, which was absolute magic. It was not included with the all inclusive, but was worth paying for if you are looking for adventure.

The resort was absolutely beautiful. There were two pools, one was a “party” pool with a swim up bar, while the other one was an infinity pool for people who want more relaxation. The beach was really nice too, though there was a lot of seaweed on shore. They said this was from chemicals that are put in the air, which end up in the ocean and killing the seaweed. The water was really cool because you could walk really far out and it only goes to waist height due to the coral reefs. It was good for seeing sea life! There were 8 restaurants to choose from and so much to do at night!

Overall, I would give my stay at the Bavaro Royal an 8 out of 10! There were some minor miscommunication issues that went on, which made me give the experience that number. Nonetheless, the vacation was an absolute dream and the DR is gorgeous! If you are interested in reading about travel tips for new trips, visit “What Is It Like To Travel In 2021?” to read more.