Imagine an endless white beach with azure water, mixed drinks from morning till night, a catamaran cruise to a pirate island, or a buggy ride. Had enough of the teasing? For us, this dream became a reality thanks to the Swiss Air promotion. We had the choice of four destinations – Dominican Republic, Cuba, Maldives, and Mauritius. In the end, the Caribbean won, and we can share our experiences with you.
Contents
Punta Cana – VIK Arena Blanca Resort
Paradise Island Isla SaonaBuggy Riding at Playa Macao
Capital City Santo Domingo
Punta Cana – VIK Arena Blanca Resort
It’s precisely December 6th, we have St. Nicholas hats, horns, and noses ready, so the adventure can begin. We start early in the morning with transportation to Vienna. We face a long journey Vienna – Zurich – Punta Cana and adjusting to a time difference of -5 hours. We have about two hours of layover in Zurich, so we admire the luxurious Swiss watches. The flight over the Atlantic seems endless, but it goes smoothly with no major turbulence. We land in Punta Cana at 8:40 p.m. local time; back home, it’s long past midnight. In the arrival hall, which I would rather call a big straw shelter with mega fans, we buy tourist visas for 10 USD.
TIP: It’s worth exchanging more cash into USD, ATMs there are quite unreliable, you can practically pay everywhere with dollars, and sometimes the exchange rate is even more advantageous than the Dominican peso (RD$)
The original plan was to rent a car, but in the end, we were glad we took the hotel transfer from the airport. There is a great deal of anarchy in the traffic, people drive in the middle of the road with high beams on, and motorcyclists pass you from all sides. Even when there is an accident, it’s always the foreigner’s fault. We booked accommodation in a 4**** all-inclusive hotel VIK Arena Blanca directly through the hotel’s website. It was cheaper than using our trusted booking.com. After looking at other hotel resorts, we concluded that ours was perhaps the most beautiful 🙂 And I haven’t even mentioned the price per night – an unbelievable 40€. Within the All-Inclusive package, we had everything you could imagine, but we mainly enjoyed the drinks on the beach 🙂 The staff is very friendly and helpful. You can easily communicate in English. There used to be entertainment programs with animators on the beach, and in the evenings, there were theater performances and a disco. Even on the last day, while checking out, they gave us a bracelet so we could enjoy food and drinks one last time. A big contrast was felt when we walked outside the resort, with great poverty, trash, and idle locals sitting on the streets. The resorts are well guarded, but if you are not an adventurer, it can be dangerous elsewhere.
Paradise Island Isla Saona
The all-inclusive trip to Isla Saona Island was probably the highlight of the whole holiday. We managed to negotiate the price with a guy at the resort for 65 USD, but we also had to buy a buggy tour for 55 USD. In the morning, a bus resembling our cucumber picked us up. Two stops were planned during the journey to the Bayahibe port. At the Museo Vivo del Tabaco tobacco museum, we were shown the production of authentic Dominican cigars and learned that the Dominican Republic is the largest producer of cigars in the world. If I remember the numbers correctly, they produce 220 billion cigars by hand and 200 billion cigars by machine. Besides cigars, various souvenirs or paintings could also be bought at this museum. The second stop was at the Basilica of La Altagracia in the city of Higüey, which we only viewed from a distance. Upon arrival at the port, our guide, by the way a young lad, led us to a motorboat. The ride was truly wild, and we even got a bit wet, but that was part of our adventure for the day. We stopped at a beautiful azure shallow where we jumped into the water. The first bottles of Bacardi rum and cola were opened for us, and from what we saw, they had quite a supply 🙂 To add to the excitement, we could also find sea stars in the water. But be careful, even a starfish needs to breathe and shouldn’t be lifted too far above the water. We watched people taking pictures with them for quite some time, and some poor starfish must have had enough.
We sipped on rum and cola and continued to Saona. From a distance, we could see something incredible unfolding on the island. There were several beaches on the island, but we were specifically taken to Playa del Gato. If you ever want to visit paradise on Earth, definitely go to this island; the beach there was ridiculously beautiful. We had about 3 hours on the island. We started a photoshoot with a local who not only showed everyone poses but also took photos and videos. We bought the photos and video, but as it turned out later, the photos were a good buy, but the video wasn’t worth much. Our clip “I’m sexy and I know it” is on a whole different level 🙂
Lunch in the form of a buffet was set up in a shelter among the palm trees. Strengthened by good food, we headed to the beach to relax, and the rum and cola started flowing 🙂 We frolicked in the water, took photos, and enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere. The journey back was on a catamaran named Costa Romantica, which could be better described as a party catamaran with a bar and a DJ. Not only us, but also our new friends from Russia and a Frenchman, had fun. It was a private discotheque done right, and towards the end, the ladies got their moment when the well-built local man started to strip down. We disembarked again at the Bayahibe port, and our trusty cucumber driver shuttled us back to the resorts.
Buggy Ride at Playa Macao
On the next day, we had a plan for a buggy ride at Playa Macao. This optional excursion was scheduled only for the afternoon, without meals and a bit rushed. Around 1 PM, a buggy came to pick us up and took us to the buggy headquarters. At the beginning, we had a brief chat from the group leader, warning us not to play around too much. We were told not to leave large gaps between buggies and to be careful not to step on the gas too hard. The ground was a bit wet, and I ended up covered in mud from head to toe like never before. The 5 km route mainly led through dirt roads, then a short stretch on the main road, and back to the dirt road towards Playa Macao. There, we had a short break of “up to” 15 minutes and then we had to continue. We jumped into the water, took some pictures of the beach, and did a jump shot. The return journey followed the same route, with a stop at a cave and tent, where we had a coffee tasting and each received a cigar for the road. We rate the trip positively, but it didn’t quite compare to Isla Saona. If we had known, we would definitely also buy a trip to Catalina Island.
Capital Santo Domingo
We planned a trip to the capital city on our own, and in the end, only two of us went. The rest of the crew were discouraged by the over 3-hour bus journey, but they regretted it in the evening after hearing about our experiences. It is important to carefully check the bus schedule online because even the hotel staff couldn’t tell us exactly when the buses were running. To catch the first bus at 7:00 from the Bavaro Bus Station, we ordered a taxi early in the morning. Everything went smoothly; we bought our tickets at the station and boarded the air-conditioned bus with automatic tire inflation. In August 2012, a new section of the highway Autopista del Coral was opened, otherwise, the journey would have taken over 4 hours. We even had the opportunity to see pedestrians on the highway, so don’t be surprised, welcome to the Dominican Republic.
The bus stopped for us at Parque del Este Park, which later turned out to be quite an adrenaline rush. We had to walk a bit from the main road to the park. There was litter everywhere, missing manhole covers, and no tourists around. The park was closed, so we decided to at least visit the cave Los Tres Ojos that was on our itinerary. Unsuccessfully, we couldn’t find the entrance, and asking someone didn’t seem like a good idea to us. Furthermore, there were also stray dogs wandering around. We retraced our steps along the other side of the park towards the capital city. Fortunately, all the locals were sitting on the other side of the road, and we only occasionally heard someone shout “Hey, Americans” at us. Stone-faced, we arrived at the tomb of Christopher Columbus Faro a Colón. It is a gigantic reinforced concrete structure in the shape of a cross measuring 210 x 59 meters. I must emphasize that this was the first place where we dared to take out our cameras. We even saw the first tourists passing by, so we relaxed a bit. We continue further, and it should be noted that from this point on, soldiers were also present with their rifles, hoping to ensure the safety of tourists.
We cross the bridge over the Ozama River to get to the historical core of Santo Domingo called Zona Colonial. It feels like entering a different world suddenly, with tourists everywhere, modern banks, and our skin color even attracted attention from the local women. Our first stop is the house of Columbus’ son, Alcázar de Colón.The building together with the square is very impressive. We managed to slip in by some chance and only at the end of the tour they told us that we were going the wrong way 🙂 On the square, we stopped at the information office where they gave us a brochure with all the historical monuments. Phew, but for now, we will have to reduce it to the main core. We withdraw some money from an ATM and we can start. Be prepared that even for a small guided tour of a church, which you didn’t ask for, they will ask you for a tip. And if you mistakenly withdraw 500RD$ from your wallet, there is no turning back. Due to lack of time, we are only admiring the Fortaleza Ozama from the outside. We pay the entrance fee to the first Catholic cathedral of the New World, Catedral de Santa María la Menor. It must be said that the entrance fees are symbolic amounts. We exit the cathedral onto the central square of the Zona Colonial, Parque Colon, where stands the statue of Christopher Columbus. Right across from the square, we noticed the Hard Rock Café, which literally pulled us inside. After a challenging walk, we are going to sit down for a beer and taste a Corona.
The original plan was to catch the second-to-last bus at 3 p.m. to have a buffer in case we missed it. And indeed, it was a close call; we had to rush to catch the last one. We walked through the pedestrian zone along Calle El Conde street with a stop at the church Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de Las Mercedes, on our way to Parque Independencia park. An interesting curiosity is a precise replica of the White House building in Washington, known as National Palace. It also seemed to be one of the most heavily guarded buildings from what we could see. It should be mentioned that the streets are very diverse; you can see a luxurious villa right next to a shanty. Huge amounts of cables intertwine on the poles of the power lines. We found the bus departure point with some minor complications to the right of the Ministry of Education. The journey back went by quickly and smoothly. From the final stop at Plaza Bavaro, we took a taxi again. And now, let’s share the experiences of our adrenaline-filled day with others.
