It’s my Best Friend’s Birthdaaaaaay! 🥳 And she wanted a trip to Dominican Republic, so here we are 😊. Happy Birthday Stacia!
This was a super fun 4 day trip that required minimal planning and work on our end. It was also the first vacation I didn’t have to put together myself, which was a HUGE load off my back. Stacia completely curated this one all on her own.
Before we get into all the details, be sure to head on over to Instagram to watch my D.R highlights so that you’re all caught up, if you haven’t already 🙂. Ok, now let’s go…..
Where We Stayed
We stayed at the Majestic Mirage; an all inclusive resort. The Majestic campus also houses two other accommodations, The Majestic Colonial and The Majestic Elegance, which are also all inclusive.
The Mirage was such a beautiful accommodation. Great food, amazing cocktails, nightly entertainment and stunning views. I don’t think I would have a changed anything about our stay here. Well, maybe one thing……. 👇🏾
We had a really creepy experience the first day. We were out back by our pool when we noticed our personal Butler, Leonel, walk into our room. Yep, just opened the door and walked right on in. I asked if he knocked and he insisted that he did, so we thought that maybe we just didn’t hear it. But even still, why come in without being answered? Keep in mind, he wasn’t bringing us anything, he was just coming to talk…… As two females alone, you could see why this rubbed us the wrong way.
Then later that same night, we were talking about how we needed washcloths, as they only had towels and hand towels available. About an half hour later, Stacia caught a Maid walk in our room with…….. washcloths 😳. I asked her why did she walk in without knocking first, she said that they usually only give one knock, then come in, if no answer. Ok, maybe this was a cultural thing we were used to? Was this normal hospitality here? But how the HELL did she know we needed washcloths? When I asked her, she acted as if she didn’t understand the question… Are there cameras in the room? So many questions we needed answers to, and inquiring about why this did this got us nowhere. But after putting the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, it never happened again. Just be aware as women traveling alone. You never know who’s watching.
Besides this, the resort had my full support. It’s family friendly (but has an adults only side), and boasts of everything you need to enjoy your time away from home. I think anyone would like their stay .
What We Did
The first day set the tone PERFECTLY, for the rest of the week. After settling in and exploring the resort a little, we went to have Dinner at the Infamous Dinner In the Sky. I don’t think I expected our experience to be as fun as it was. I mean, dining 145 feet above the ground is definitely exciting enough, but the added entertainment our Hosts brought to us added a whole lot of razzle dazzle to the night. They danced, sang (not really, but in a drunken karaoke night, kind of way 😂) and laughed with us the entire time. Truly a night to remember.
The food was great. I especially loved the Bread, Salad and Steak dinner option.
A few things to know….
Open Bar: The dinner includes one cup of Champagne, but also offers an open bar package for $20 per person.
No place for bags: There isn’t anywhere to store your belongings while you’re in the air. So try to bring something small. I had a larger shoulder bag with me, and ended up having to sit it on the table. My anxiety told me it was going to fall off the whole time. I recommend a small crossbody for this.
Cost: We went for dinner and paid $185 per person, not including the cost for transportation ($35 p/p). You get four courses, champagne, and of course the experience of having dinner above ground level. Brunch options are also available.
Pictures: One of the Hosts will be available to take pictures of you and your guests both before and during Dinner. You will have the option to purchase to these.
The following day we spent our time at Scape Park and it was so much fun! We rode Buggies, zip lined into water, relaxed under a waterfall, swam in a blue hole and jumped into a Cenote. Cool right?
A quick note – We booked the full admission + Buggies package directly through the scape park website. Upon checkout, you’ll be able to setup transportation to and from the hotel which is included in the price of admission. Now this would normally be a huge convenience for those of us without our own car, but keep in mind, the transportation for our hotel dropped us off at 9am and didn’t pick us up until 5pm, allowing us the entire day to enjoy ourselves. Unfortunately for us though, we did everything we wanted to do and by 1pm, we were done. We ended up paying $50 for a taxi to take us back to the resort, because doing nothing for an additional 4 hours just didn’t sit right with us lol. However, some resorts have shuttles that come at least 4 times throughout the day. If you don’t rent a car, you might want to be sure that your resort is on this list before setting up transportation with them.
With riding the Buggies, you WILL get wet! So it’s best that you wear the appropriate attire. Also, the shared helmets that you’re required to wear, are pretty nasty. A lot of dirt and hair from previous people were stuck to the inside of them 🤢. So maybe choose to bring your own, or definitely wear a scarf on your head.
*The park also advertises the option to interact with their Monkeys, but the attraction was closed. We were told that tourists weren’t able to come in contact with the monkeys for some time now, and probably won’t be able to for months to come. So if this is an attraction you’d like to experience, make sure it’s available to you on your dates of travel.* And if it’s not, don’t worry! We found a similar one that was so much better anyway…….
We booked the Monkeyland experience with Runners Adventures, and it was the highlight of the trip! Especially for Stacia. These little Spider Monkeys are soooo cute, but ruthless! They jump on you without warning, grab your things (so hold them tight!) , and one even pee’d on the crowd from the trees. They’re literally like a bunch of misbehaved children 😂.
You will have countless opportunities to take photo’s with these cuties, either with your own device, or by way of the Tour Guides. They’ll give each participant a bowl of food so the monkey’s run directly to you, creating the perfect memories.
We paid $80 a piece a for this tour (transportation included), and also got to experience a live demonstration on how Authentic Dominican coffee is made. We, too, had the opportunity to taste the coffee, as well as other traditional Dominican beverages such as the Mamajuana. I could have gone without this addition to the tour, but it was still interesting enough.
*Bags are not allowed.. You have the option to purchase a locker for $10 ($5 is given back to you upon return of the lock)*. You will also be able to purchase photos taken by the Guides – I believe they were $10 each, or $40 for all of them.
General Tips and Info:
• Bring Cash, and lots of it. And by lots, I don’t mean a thousand dollars, but at the very least, $200 (depending on how long you’re staying and the activities involved). Most, if not all, of the major resorts will have shuttle accommodations to and from the airport (our resorts shuttle costs $40 p/p), but in the effort to be more cost effective, we opted for a taxi instead- dropping our price to only $40 total. We did this both ways. You’ll also want to buy souvenirs, food when you’re out and a little to tip various workers (if you’re so inclined to do so). So yea, having a bit of cash on you is a must. We had to use our cards or ask to be taken to an ATM way too often and I hated every bit of that (the ATMs only dispense pesos). US Dollars are accepted everywhere.
• Rent a Car. If you want to have more freedom to explore on your own terms, you’ll definitely want to rent a car, despite the transportation arrangements your resort or planned activities may have. This trip was a a little different for me in this regard. Renting a car is typically a must for me (but of course, this depends on the nature of your vacation).
Additional Things to Do
Ok, so obviously there’s a lot more to do and see in various parts of the Dominican Republic, but it’ll take way to much out of me to list everything here. I won’t leave you hanging though! Here a couple of additional things I would have done if I’d had the time, in Punta Cana….
If you’re into the nightlife or appreciate a good show, you’d like Coco Bongo. Here, you’ll beable to enjoy Carnival acts, bright costumes, Broadway-like shows, live bands and so much more!
There are also a host of bars and restaurants along the same strip, including the Hard Rock Café and Dinner in the Sky. This is an area you would want to look into for the night scene.
Boats usually make me queasy, but in exchange for music, dancing, swimming and drinks, I think I would have been just fine.
This would have been the best part of the trip for me! We had this booked as the final activity, but unfortunately, with anticipation of hurricane Fiona, it was canceled 🥲.
Scuba Doo gives you the traditional scuba diving experience, except you’re doing it on an underwater scooter! I don’t think y’all could have imagined how upset I was knowing I couldn’t do this. If you want to make me jealous, You HAVE to add this to your itinerary 😩.
The Takeaway: Not a bad place to visit. Like any destination, you can go for the thrill of it all, or to get away from the fast life and relax for a few days. Either way, DR offers sufficient options for whatever it is you decide to do. Would I go back? Possibly.
Have to been to the Dominican Republic? Which part? What did you do? Leave a comment below!
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TTYL,
LEXI 💋
