Punta Cana

Background

Punta Cana is on the far East side of the Dominican Republic, which is the eastern half of an island split with Haiti. The language there is Spanish, and the currency is the Dominican Peso, which is roughly $1 U.S. to 50 pesos. It is a pretty warm island, but can get a bit windy (my cheap sun hat was torn to shreds). Popular attractions include:

• Golfing
• Ziplining
• Kayaking
• Snorkeling  

Our Trip

This was a very chill, laid back vacation. My sister thought she had malaria, so we didn't do much. Our cousin recently had a destination wedding there where more excursions took place, but for now we'll just talk about the og trip. The only excursion we went on was a full day tour which I highly recommend. The guides were extremely funny and very upbeat. We rode in a van with a pretty large group and toured what seemed like the entire half of the island. our first stop was a sugarcane farm where we got to chew on that for a while. We then walked over to this outdoor rum distillery where they passed around a bottle and got us drunk before leading us towards the gift shop. Across from the rum making, we got to see them hand roll little cigars, some of which were dipped in large flavoring bins. The chocolate flavor was my favorite, so i bought a pack with my souvenir rum. Fun fact, i still have both of those items unopened. Afterwards we went to a farm with various fruits and cacao where we sampled the chocolate making process. When it was time to eat real food, we were taken to a spot on the top of a hill where a buffet of local dishes was set out. Honestly, this was the best food my sister or I had this entire trip. Once our bellies were filled, we got a chance to haggle with merchants that were present with their souvenir trinkets. I personally hate haggling, and am fine paying the regular overpriced tag for my shot glasses (I collect them). We then headed off to ride horses before ending our adventure on a beach. My sister couldn't hang, and ended up passing out on the bus ride back to the hotel. My sister was able to build up enough energy to go out clubbing one night. We went to this bar that was built inside of a cave, hence the touristy appeal. It was decent as far as clubs go, but nothing spectacular. The rest of the trip was spent around the resort and its private beach. I will say this, the pina coladas disappointed me, because they literally threw the whole pineapple in the blender without cutting off the rind! So there were bits of pineapple spike all throughout the drink, but I won't hold that against Punta Cana as a whole. 

Overall, the trip was good. I don't think that I would go again, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from going anywhere.