Dominican Republic

How I feel about you!

I am huge on cultural experiences. I know I know…what do I expect when I stay All Inclusive. It’s true, that’s not my ideal travel style…but my daughter loves it and this trip was about her. She loves them because it’s stress free and she is very much a homebody and creature of habit so it provides her with some of those comforts while she travels. I feel like if All Inclusives didn’t exist, she would be 100% content staying home, cuddling with her dog and reading her books.

Anyway…back to my thoughts on this adventure.

A little about the Country

A Caribbean Nation

A Caribbean island that is shared with Haiti to the west. It’s known for its epic beaches, abundance of resorts and golfing. The country’s terrain comprises of rainforest, savannah and highlands, including Pico Duarte (in the West), the Caribbean’s tallest mountain. I didn’t travel West, but we did go up to the Anamuya mountains to see the monkeys.

Capital city Santo Domingo has Spanish landmarks like the Gothic Catedral Primada de America dating back 5 centuries in its Zona Colonial district. I do wish I had the time to do a day trip here, I would have LOVED to explore this city but it was a long drive and I just didn’t feel up to it.

A little history

Taino people and the European invasion

The native Taíno people inhabited Hispaniola before the Europeans arrived. Christopher Columbus claimed the island on his first voyage in 1492. The colony of Santo Domingo became the site of the first permanent European settlement and the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which became the independent state of Haiti in 1804.

The Dominican people declared independence from Spain in November 1821, but were forcefully annexed by Haiti in February 1822. The country was briefly ruled by the US, and then a dictator until he was assassinated.

Surprisingly, the small country has the largest economy in the Caribbean, 7th largest in all of Latin America and over the last 25 years it is the fastest growing economy in the Western Hemisphere (so says Wikipedia)

One last fun fact: The economy is driven by construction, manufacturing, tourism, and mining. The country is the site of the third largest gold mine in the world.

The Mountain views and beaches

Epically Beautiful

This is a given…you can’t make a beach resort tourism industry without beautiful beaches. Long soft white sandy Caribbean beaches for days. You will find lots of that to be sure 🙂 

Manufactured Authenticity

Typically Touristy

Punta Cana was the typical touristy destination. People go here to relax at the beach and be care free. If that is what you are in the market for then this is 100% the place for you. The town itself was somewhat removed from the resorts so you couldn’t really venture off on foot. But we were there to relax and that is what we did. The only thing we sponged up was sun, food and drinks. No culture included. buwahahahaha

_{Please note that I have not received these products for free or at a discounted price in exchange for my opinion.  There may be links that are affiliate links but at the time of posting this review, I have not received any monetary kickbacks.}