July 15-20, 2024
Kristin and I found a great deal on Facebook through Monster Travel a few months back. The pitch was sit through a 2 hour time share presentation in exchange for a 5 night 6 day stay at an all inclusive resort for $350. We said HELL YEAH and started counting down the days.
Sports Illustrated Resort Cap Cana sent a driver to pick us up from the airport. Unlike the US there was no place to wait inside the airport so into the 90 degree heat we went. Upon arrival at our destination they let us grab lunch because the buffet would soon be closing. We got drinks after because we had a 30 minute check in orientation to sit through.
After making it to our room we unpacked and made a lap around the resort to get our bearings. Fun fact: although I'm usually directionally challenged I was the navigator throughout this trip. We always made it to dinner, the pool or the lobby with plenty of time to spare 😊
That night we had a Mexican buffet for dinner and listened to some karaoke in the lobby before heading to bed.
The morning of day 2 was filled with 🎵 work work work work work 🎵 for both Kristin and I. She had event planning to take care of and I was trying to watch videos for my instructional design class. After, we met the girl who was doing our time share presentation for lunch. After eating with her we toured the property and then went to her office to look at plans on her computer. While Kristin and I had NO INTENTION of buying a timeshare we did enjoy the drinks the bartender was making us during the presentation. We enjoyed them so much that we actually ended up sitting at the timeshare bar post presentation to have another. The bartender had eyes for Kristin 😍 and sent us back to our room with a few tall boys for our fridge.
We changed into our suits and headed to the pool to enjoy an hour of relaxing in the water before dinner.
That night dinner was Italian- the eggplant parmesan was both of our favorites!! We headed to the lobby to catch the entertainment- it was a couples game show. We opted to sit at the bar and watch the soccer game that was on.
Day 3 meant dune buggy riding both on and off road. Kristin and I took turns driving and concluded that the gas was slow to go but the brake was FAST to stop. It led to a jerky ride for us. We made 2 stops- one to learn about how mamajuana (a local liquor steeped in wine and honey) is made. While there we also learned about coffee, cacao, cinnamon and vanilla production. The best part was taste testing everything and then getting to go for a swim in the man made cave. The second stop was at a local beach where Kristin and I held an iguana and waded in the ocean waves. Once we returned to the dune buggy site we were covered in mud so we showered off and made the long trek back to our resort. While it was only advertised as a 4 hour excursion, we had been gone for 7+ hours. We weren't mad, just tuckered out. We decided to treat ourselves to a non included tapas restaurant that evening and it did not disappoint. We had a bottle of wine and quite a few small plates while we watched the sun set over the water.
Day 4 included swimming with dolphins, stingrays and sharks. This was SUCH a cool experience and I'm so glad I got to do it. The morning started with a boat ride to the middle of the ocean where a square dock was built. The trainers gave us directions in 4 different languages (so impressive!) and then we hopped in the water. We got to lay on a boogey board while a dolphin came up behind us and pushed us through the water by our toes. We also got to hold its fin and let it pull us through the water on its back. The dolphins were smooth to the touch and incredibly gentle. It was so fun to get to swim with them. After we headed to a different section of the dock where we got snorkel gear and hopped in the water with sharks, fish and stingrays. Kristin and I even got to hold one. This was a great experience! It made it even better that it was only supposed to be 2 hours but we were gone for over 4. When we got back to the hotel I was starving so I sat at the pool bar and had a snack while Kristin did some work. It rained in the afternoon so we hunkered down and watched. After, we had an Italian dinner and of course ordered the eggplant again because it was so tasty.
Day 5 was our first day at the beach because we had been so busy! We took full advantage and stayed for hours. While it rained for a bit Kristin and I just sat at the open air restaurant. The ocean water was delightful and I spent a lot of time wading through the waves. We decided to venture off the resort for our last night. One of the bartenders hooked us up with a ride downtown Cap Cana where we wandered around in the open air bar scene. We sat outside and had drinks, ate tacos and listened to music that was WAY too loud.
Our last day in the Dominican was an eventful one. There was a software upgrade that disrupted flights all over the world. Kristin and I were both at the airport unsure if our flights would take off as scheduled but never fear, pizza hut was here. 😆
Fortunately, mine did. Unfortunately, Kristin's did not. She spent all day at the airport only to be bused to a hotel where she was assigned a random roommate and told she'd be picked up between 6 and 10am the next day. She got on the early morning bus but her flight continued to get delayed so she bought a 7pm flight with another airline and then was able to add her name to the standby list for all of their flights. She managed to get out around 3pm. Thank goodness because the next day she was heading to Germany to see Taylor Swift. #neveradullmoment
This vacation taught Kristin and I that we're not really all inclusive travelers. We prefer the spontaneity and excitement of moving from place to place, trying the foods unique to that area, being immersed in the local culture and planning our own adventurous outings. However, for $350 we're definitely glad we did it.
