Punta Cana Vacation Recap - part 4

Obviously we had a great time! I guess I just wanted to comment on how impressed we were with the resort. I've never been to an all-inclusive before, and FH has been to a few but all were in Mexico at least 8-10 years ago. According to him, EdenH was considerably better than any he'd been to and much more reasonably priced. In 2000, he and a buddy stayed at a 2 star resort in Cancun that wasn't even on the beach....and they paid $500 more per person.

We read a lot of negative chatter on TripAdvisor about this resort (having said that it came highly recommended by the lovely Lex and our travel agent) but honestly can't figure out what people are whining about. Everyone we encountered was super friendly. The drinks flowed all day. The food was much better than expected (I reviewed the food on my other blog). They offered entertainment each night and activities every day. The room was nice. The pool was beautiful. The beach was literally a step away, clean, and free from local vendors, etc. There was construction next door (expanding the resort), but it never once bothered us. I think some people just go looking for things to bitch about.

I will say this....if you are 20-something and looking for a party spot, this probably isn't your place. Although we did meet a couple of college girls having a great time just sunning by the pool, and we did see a couple of dozen younger people they definitely were in the minority. Boys, this wouldn't be a place to go meet drunk girls. haha. More of a couples destination for sure. They did have a shuttle to a local disco each night though, so potentially you'd find a good party there. :)

Our second to last day the weather was absolutely perfect....clear blue skies, sunny, hot, with a beautiful breeze:

FH, of course, made buddies with the poolside bartenders. Alexis (left) is somewhat famous on TripAdvisor....we saw him the first day, and he was kind of cranky...but then he must have had his three days off because we he came back on Thursday he was a changed man! Raul (right) was there the entire time and was always full of smiles.

And on the last morning, I was sad to go home:

Is it next year yet? We're ready to go again!

Punta Cana Vacation Recap - part 3

Our Excursion: Tropical Storm "Happy Hour" Sunset Catamaran Tour

Honestly, we chose this one because it was one of the cheapest and because it didn't leave at the crack of dawn. I don't know who the crazy people are that want to be up and ready to sail by 8am while on vacation, but we certainly weren't interested in that. hehe. Besides, the afternoon one has drinky-poos included!

We were picked up just after 3pm by the tour van...lucky us we were the last stop so we didn't have to wait or drive around while they picked up the folks from two other resorts. Got us to the beach down the road within 10 minutes where we met up with the rest of the group. On the boat by just after 330 and sailing away 5 minutes after that. We had a funny, energetic French-Canadian hostess...referring to herself as "froggie"....and a crew of at least 5 locals. "Froggie" was quick to get through safety instructions (basically don't jump off the boat you idiots) and had lots of good jokes for the tourists. We had a full boat and everyone was in a great mood (how could you not be?)!

There was a snorkeling stop. I've never been snorkeling and wanted to try it, but failed miserably. I rarely swim and when I do it's not with good form (whatever happened to all those swimming lessons from when I was a kid?). We were in a designated snorkeling area but it was a bit choppy and there were a lot of us....I think had it been a bit calmer and less busy I would have been able to get it together and stay out there...but as it was I was struggling with a loose flipper and trying to get used to breathing through the mouthpiece and that was just too much....so I called it a day about a minute after I started. Oh well. FH was in a little longer, but he had a crappy mouthpiece and kept sucking in salt water so opted to hop out too. It was fun just watching the others anyway....all those bodies floating face down looked like a shipwreck!

See here...my hair is wet...proof that I was at least in the water!

After snorkeling they really started pushing the booze. This excursion was the one and only time either of us had a true booze buzz going on. We drank a lot on this trip, but we really think the resort drinks are watered down...but not on the boat! The crew gets everyone dancing and singing and goofing around (of course they are trying to get you to buy the $25 video they are making the whole time!). Hilarious. Then they give everyone a shot of "mamajuana"...Dominican Viagra they call it...which is a mix of wine/honey/rum and some crazy tree bark...tastes like ass I have to say. LOL. They are also trying to sell that stuff in bottles with your photos on them...too bad our photo was actually quite nice but we had no interest in the drink.

FH referred to this guy as "little papa bling"...pretty sure his only job as crew member was to get the ladies dancing!

Anyway, carrying on....the ride was smooth, warm and lovely. The sunset was gorgeous. Lots of lovely beach and ocean scenery. Different gorgeous colors of water. Interesting clouds in the sky. So totally perfect. We couldn't have picked a better excursion. There was another stop for a swim in a "natural pool"...calmer water only about hip deep...which I fully intended to do, but we were having such fun on the boat that I decided just to stay on board.






We finished up around 7:15 and were taken back to our resort in the back of one of those big open back canopied trucks...lovely evening. Where we cleaned up and headed to the buffet and then sat in the courtyard for drinks and chitchat with our resort buddies... *sigh

Punta Cana Vacation Recap - part 2

Up until the last day, we actually got up at a relatively normal time...like by 930-10am. I wanted to be up and ready to go when FH woke up so we could head off to breakfast as soon as he was showered. Gave myself extra time to lather from head to toe in sunscreen after that first day of 20 minutes giving me that crazy burn. We'd head down to the pool and stake out chairs (there were always chairs available, even when the resort was at full capacity...but on the first day we waited until after breaky and didn't like the location of our chairs) and then head to the yummy buffet for some good eats and coffee.

the aforementioned burn - see my "dominican tattoo" where my necklace left a mark? ugh.

Admittedly we were extremely lazy. I'd had all these visions of trying out a few of the included activities and dragging FH out on an excursion or two. He had wanted to play tennis and go parasailing. We did none of this. Well, we went on one excursion....to drink on a boat! We mainly just parked ourselves in our poolside loungers and either chatted with other guests, or watched and laughed at the water aerobics, or tried to avoid staring directly at the over-the-hill European men in their speedos. I finished one book and almost finished another. FH traded iPods with a buddy he made on the trip and they compared notes on their musical tastes. Occassionally FH would head to the room for a quick nap and I'd either wander the beach or just read.

Bliss.

Each evening they offered some form of entertainment. Around 7-8pm they would set up a big outdoor screen and either play a movie (like that Scorcese Rolling Stones' movie) or just have music playing...this was in the big courtyard so as long as the weather was clear everyone would sit outside and enjoy drinks and chat. It rained a couple of times, so we'd just move into the lounge bar. At 9:45 each night they would have live entertainment....one night karaoke, one night some "romantic" singers, one night a dance-party with breakdancers, and the best was the "cirque"...really cool. This would go on until 1030 or 11pm, then we would either stay in the courtyard or go into the lounge bar for a few more hours. They have a rooftop club as well, but we only went up a couple of times...it had a DJ who really likes Lady Gaga! We also discovered the Sports Bar on our second to last night...and played some pool. They also have bowling which we thought was cool but never got around to playing. (I told you, we were lazy!)

The Dominican "boy-band" singing the songs of 98 degrees & N'sync. Cheesy but great!

The "cirque" performers. These people are amazing and work their asses off. Many of the performers were dancing in the different shows each night, and/or working at something else on the resort during the day.

On our latest night, I think we were still in bed by about 1am. haha. Sleep is glorious when you can get it!

Punta Cana Vacation Recap - part 1

Just as a reminder, we stayed at EdenH Real Arena Punta Cana.

Amazing bang for the buck. 4 1/2 star resort. All inclusive. We travelled with . One week, less than $3000 for both of us...taxes, fees, etc in. The only extras we paid were our cancellation insurance (we have to, due to FH's crazy job) and the one excursion we took. We don't need travel health insurance as it's covered in our plan. Other than that we turned $500 Canadian dollars into $380 US dollars (ouch) for tips and trinkets. We tipped well, bought a couple small things and came home with some cash.

Day One was fairly exhausting...6am flight had us at the airport just after 3am....then about a 4 hour flight...and another hour or so to get luggage and transport to the resort for about noon. I was pooped but FH managed to get into the mood and got a second/third/fourth wind.

airport arrival

on the bus

Check in was quick and painless...our room wasn't available until 3pm but no biggie because they give you your bracelet right away so you can eat, drink and be merry while you wait. We changed right away (however, due to the silly flight regs regarding liquids my sunscreen was in my big luggage and I forgot to get it before checking our stuff with the bell desk...that'll learn me to put a travel size in my carry-on for next time) and immediately found the pool/bar/beach. :)

first shots of resort/beach

Spent a couple hours getting the lay of the land (by this I mean bar), had some lunch, then about 20 mins in beach loungers (this is where I immediately got my sunburn....grrrr). I was dozing off, so thankfully it was now after 3pm and we headed back to the lobby to get our room info.

glorious first rest on the beach

Ready right on time, they loaded us and our bags onto a little golf cart trolly (FH had a beer delivered to him right on the cart) and took us to our room. I immediately fell asleep....FH went back to the pool (and by pool I mean bar). I slept for a few hours, then went to find him but I think we were circling each other because I couldn't find him.....so ate dinner at the buffet, got a couple of drinks, and just wandered through the courtyard and little bars...eventually found each other back at the room a while later. He had already made some friends so went back for a final drink and I headed back to bed. Bit of a loss of the first night, but it made the rest of the trip much more enjoyable because I wasn't tired anymore!

Waaahoooooo!

One of my bestest West Coast buddies is coming to visit!! Thanks to Westjet and another incredible seat sale, she surprised me out of nowhere by booking a ticket to come out here next month! Oh how fun to have one of my girls out here for a whole week!!