A married couple’s memoirs from the Dominican Republic is an unfiltered, slightly hyperbolic, deeper look into our travel experience. We aim to paint a picture for you. It’s a way for us to keep the memories alive. These stories may not be for everyone. But if you’re open to reading them, they may bring a smile to your face.
A married couple spent seven nights at an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic in 2024. These are their stories.
(If this sounds like the kind of post you love to read, check out our first Married Memoirs: Travel Stories from San Francisco: A Married Couple’s Memoir
The Journey
A trip is not complete without a journey. One simply cannot travel without it. Ours was long and multi-modal. Car, shuttle, plane, bus, van, and foot. We should’ve thrown a boat in there for good measure. The closest we got was seeing massive 6,000+ person cruise ships docked in the nearby port town Puerto Plata.
From our house to the resort was approximately 16.5 hours. Fueled by copious amounts of coffee, protein bars, and tiny bottles of in-flight booze. The best decision I ever made was to pack an entire carry-on bag dedicated to snacks. No travel journey is too long when your snack game is on point.
Morning routines
It’s important to keep a daily routine, even when on vacation. For us that centered around getting sexy at the gym, a breakfast of champions, beach yoga, and casual strolls.
When I say get sexy at the gym, I mean it. We pumped the iron day after day getting them gains. My proudest achievement is when I set a pair of dumbbells on the weight rack after using them. A jacked beefhead looks at me and asks “Were those the 10 pounds?”. “HA!”, I scoffed, “Yo! Those were the 35-pounders!” I didn’t say that. But that exchange happened.
Sufficiently sexy, we head to the next step in our routine: breakfast. The food was amazing and varied. We were never hungry or disappointed.
The key to resort (and general) life success is your morning beverage choice. To achieve optimal greatness you need the following four beverages: water, coffee or tea, green juice, and a mimosa. Everyday. Trust us.
Sophisticated Spirits
As we are getting on in age, we tried to enhance our cocktail game. What better time to try all the fancy drinks than when they’re included in your package price?
The gold standard to start your day off right is a breakfast mimosa. Also known as a “champagne omelet”, this fine beverage is delightful at all times of the day. And, as we learned, a great drink to sip in your 20oz tumbler as you float in the pool at 11 am.
Another fine breakfast and evening drink is a Spanish Coffee. No matter the time of day, this warms the soul and adds some pep to your step.
Now, with our newfound sophistication, we came across a few hiccups. Literally. It turns out some drinks are not for us.
The following is a list of drinks that didn’t hit the mark:
- Negronis taste like moldy potpourri. Hot tip: if you grimace while swallowing to ensure it doesn’t hit your taste buds in any way it’s palatable.
- Martinis, shaken not stirred, but semi-sweet is not for us. Next time we channel our best Bond will be with a dry martini.
- Long Island iced teas come with a warning in the Dominican Republic. Nothing but alcohol. Nothing but a small sip for me.
Day Drinking at its Finest
In our wise old age, we realize that day drinking is the right path for us. A morning mimosa, as mentioned above, is the most fun breakfast beverage. And once you start with a mimosa, you may as well have another because Vitamin C is important.
In case you are wondering, the benefits of day drinking include:
- Find activities ridiculously fun and entertaining.
- Be less annoyed and even amused when strangers start complaining at you.
- Wake up the next day feeling refreshed and ready to go again.
- The most important one according to Luke: “you spend the day drunk”.
Our lazy days at the resort were spent alternating between pool to beach, and pool bar to beach bar. We matched our drink of choice to our sitting area. The beach bar called for Pina Coladas. Whereas the lobby bar needed an Aperol Spritz. Comfortable couches near reception required Spanish Coffees. We did not dictate our drink of choice. We let the vibes guide us.
A mystery yet to be solved and one you can perhaps help us with, dear reader. At what time do the hardcore pool loungers stake their claim? Is it in the evening before going to bed? Do they even go to bed? Or do they wake up at 4 am to lay their towels down? We woke up at 6:30 am once for sunrise and hundreds of towels were already on the loungers. Please enlighten us. We need to know.
Eco-friendly Resort
We came expecting mini-plastic cups, bottles of water, and food waste. What we found was real glass and reusable cups, water filtration systems, recycling stations, and organic food waste bins.
This is one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable resorts we’ve been to. They have a goal of being 100% sustainable and zero waste by 2025. A lofty goal, but one they seem to be on the road to achieve.
Being eco-conscious and sustainable is important to us. We bring reusables with us everywhere. Food waste in our house is minimized. Everything is either frozen before the best-by date, thrown into a massive soup or stew, or at the very least composted. We try not to use single-use items at all. This includes paper towels and napkins.
Reduce, reuse, recycle, recover.
Sports Ball Champions
Go sports. I may not be the most athletically inclined person but I enjoy a game or two of sports ball things.
Our goal for this vacation was to do all the things. Tennis, basketball, aqua aerobics, archery, bocce, pickleball. You name it, we want to do it.
We started the vacation off right by leading the charge in an electrifying session of aqua aerobics. It was just a couple of timid ladies until Luke and I joined. A strapping young man in attendance permitted all the husbands to follow suit. Soon enough we were a rousing, out-of-sync, merry troupe. Splish splashing along with the best of them.
The adventures in the sporting world didn’t stop there. We played darts, soccer, and ping pong. We were a four-person water polo team as well as our opponents. Luke even stole a green ball from a child’s lost and found and played with it endlessly in the pool. Lucky for us, that ball came home with us. That may have been the reason Luke’s bag was burst open and inspected by Dominican agents at the Puerto Plata airport. Cool times.
Beach Walks
No trip to a beach is complete for us without at least one multiple-hour-long beach walk. As we had friends joining us, we opted not to go for our typical 6-hour, 20-km walk. Instead, we chose a few more respectable 5 km.
On the first of our three beach walks, we came across the mighty and elusive Dominican beach cow. Seen only when the Earth aligns with Venus and Mars. She is a solitary but curious mistress. Just as enamored by us as we were of her, we gave each other an all-knowing nod as we passed.
The Long Treacherous Walk Home
The second beach walk was the most eventful. We walked from the center of Puerto Plata to our resort. Wandering along the beachside boardwalk before putting our feet in the sand for the rest of the way.
It was during our sand exploration that tragedy struck. Picture this: You’re walking along, minding your own business, enjoying the sights. When suddenly you encounter obstacles sticking out from beneath the water. You take a step and feel a pinch. Then you look down and see red. And it’s not because you’re angry.
Your foot is bleeding. The skin has been scraped. Tree branch one, Erin zero. Luke and our friends rush to Erin’s aid with the speed and efficiency of a Formula 1 pit crew. He whips the first aid kit out of the bag. Opens it and immediately passes her cleaning pads and band-aids.
The wound is clean and covered. You think you’re in the clear. You’re not. Walking along, wearing flip-flops to prevent sand from entering the wound, your foot gets stuck. Your flip-flop is violently sucked down like quicksand. Instinctively you pull your foot up, only to rip the middle toe holder piece out of the bottom of your flop. Sadly, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Your flip-flop will flip flop no more.
Travel Tips:
Always check your first aid kid before embarking on your trip. Some of our materials were out of date. Not all Band-Aids stuck and some sanitizing wipes were dry.
Another VERY important travel tip: Always bring your first aid kit.
For more all-inclusive vacation packing guide essentials, make sure to read Packing Guide for a Tropical All-Inclusive Vacation – The Essentials
Third Times a Charm
On the third beach walk, we saw a bit of everything. Crystal clear turquoise waters, seaweed sludge meters deep, local markets, and a cheeky scantily clad mural.
One common thing on every walk is the amount of trash everywhere. Bottles, plastics, tires, shoes, dolls, etc. Everything and anything discarded seems to have ended up on the beautiful beaches of the Dominican Republic.
Themed Nights
We may not have a plethora of examples to draw from, but this resort has the best nightly entertainment we’ve seen. No joke. We loved it.
Everyone involved is incredibly talented. The dancers, singers, stage producers, lighting technicians, and more. The entertainment team is top-notch not just for the nightly show but throughout the day as well.
My favorite performance was an unexpected one. It’s one I wish I captured on video. The entertainment team was pulling audience members onstage to participate. Luke was a prime target, sitting on the edge of our row. A guy approaches and starts to pull on his chair to drag him out. Luke bolts from that chair, across the room and disappears so fast you’re not even sure he was ever there to begin with. He didn’t return for a good 20 minutes. He’s not destined for stardom.
Stranger Dangers
Among the more notable characters we met on this trip were a food snob and catfish victim.
The food snob hailed from another part of Canada. An area that is known for its food scene. He was not impressed, he told us. This opinion was unsolicited. He double-downed when we mentioned we loved the food. No pleasing some people.
I hope our catfish victim found his happily ever after. He regaled us, more so Luke, about tales of his fiancé. A fiancé he was to marry that week. Said fiancé was nowhere to be found.
Another person got a kick out of Luke’s accent. And told him so every time she heard him talk, forgetting she had made the same comment the day before. She and her partner were the “king” and “queen” of the resort Carnaval celebrations. I am a bit jealous we didn’t get that gig.
Favorite Memories
Out of everything we experienced in the Dominican Republic, our top memories include:
- Floating in pool floaties with a giant drink in hand and not a care in the world.
- Watching the sunrise over the ocean with friends.
- And exploring the city of Puerto Plata
My least favorite memory was leaving.
Have you been to the Puerto Plata or other parts of the Dominican Republic? What was your favorite memory? Let us know in the comments section below!
