Retreating to the Dominican Republic
Adventure, Relaxation, Luxury
January 2020
January 2020
In November 2019, we had the pleasure of visiting Eden Roc Cap Cana in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Curious to learn about the exciting and relaxing adventures awaiting you? Read on.
Interested in just our thoughts on Eden Roc Cap Cana? Check out our review.
Interested in just our thoughts on Eden Roc Cap Cana? Check out our review.
Thinking of taking a relaxing vacation to a warm-weather destination offering authenticity, relaxation, affordability and a bit of luxury? The Dominican Republic should be added to your ever growing "list." At just about 4 hours by non-stop flight from New York City, it makes it a great option for a long weekend. And no, you do not have to stay at an all-inclusive in order to experience this island destination.
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We had such an incredible visit, which included touring a family’s private cocoa farm with a local guide, tasting authentic cuisine on a locals-only beach, escaping into a guided meditation in our own palapa while the waves crashed on the rocks next to us, hung out during our private aerial yoga class, and of course, jumped into a refreshing Cenote! On this trip, we decided to learn about the Dominican Republic through the eyes of a visitor staying in Punta Cana. While we opted to stay in a luxury boutique hotel, we did have a chance to go off the beaten path. Our home for our trip was one of a handful of non, all-inclusive properties.
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For who + how long
Great for couples seeking a romantic getaway, families with children, and groups!
We suggest staying 3 to 4 nights minimum to fully disconnect and enjoy the local culture, cuisine, and adventure! |
The Details
Before diving into all of the experiences you can enjoy, let’s learn a little bit about the island that is surrounded by both the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
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Depending on the time of year, interest in specific landmarks and general preference, visitors can fly into one of 8 International airports (Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, La Romana, Puerto Plata, Samana, Santiago, or Barahona). This is in addition to a multitude of private airports.
Since we were enjoying Cap Cana Eden Roc in Punta Cana’s Cap Cana community, we opted to fly into Punta Cana. Many properties, whether they are traditional hotels or all-inclusive, may include complimentary airport transfer. Had we flown into La Romana International Airport, we would have had an hour car ride to our hotel instead of just a 15-20-minute ride. |
Pro Tip
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Flying commercial? As soon as you disembark, go directly to passport check. We gave up our coveted spot in the beginning of the line to go to the restroom and ended up at the very end, resulting in a much longer journey through immigration-over an hour!
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The Breadbasket of the Caribbean
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Did you know the Dominican Republic grows, farms, or catches just about everything that locals and visitors eat on the island? Whether you are in the mood for the fresh catch of the day or would like to harvest your own coffee--or even Cocoa--you are in the right place.
During our day traveling around the island with our local guide, we had a chance to visit Macao Beach, one of the few public beaches reserved for locals in the La Altagracia province. Our guide took us behind the scenes to see where the locals eat lunch. This is a great spot to enjoy the fresh catch of the day, where you can pick your fish before you taste it. For those not in the mood for seafood you can enjoy the warm entrée prepared on the open fire. That day it was some delicious chicken, rice, and beans with all the traditional spices. After a hearty lunch we continued our journey, headed North! |
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Fun Fact
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Did you know the Spanish brought cows to Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic in the 15th century? These cows were eventually brought to Mexico and up to Texas to become the foundation for the Longhorn Breed. Interested in learning more? Visit Link.
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Cultural Experiences
While most people know about the Dominican Republic’s sugar cane production, a trip to the island is a great way to learn about Cocoa, Coffee beans, and Cigars!
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Fun Fact
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The Dominican Republic is known for high quality, organic cocoa beans used by some of the world’s top chocolate makers, even those in Europe!
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One of our favorite experiences while we were on the island was being taken North, into the mountains, by our local guide to a family's private home. Here we had a chance to see how a family lives. We met the parents, their grown-up children, and their grandmother. Upon our arrival to this colorful home chilled by the natural breeze with limited electricity to power their television in the bedroom, we were offered some homemade and flavorful, traditional chicken with rice and beans. Afterwards, we were taken to their backyard farm where they grow fruits, cocoa beans, coffee beans and raise chickens. The chickens were running around enjoying life. Before we left, we even had a chance to hear a traditional song often sung while participating in the labor-intensive processing of cocoa and coffee beans.
For those who love shopping, your guide will most likely take you to purchase cocoa, coffee, related products, and cigars. However, be sure to bring some Dominican pesos to purchase products from the family farm. |
Wellness
Beyond just eating well and living among nature, we had the pleasure of staying at a boutique luxury hotel, Eden Roc Cap Cana, with a world-class wellness program that is home to the Solaya Spa. Their Director of Spa, Pedro Castillo, is enthusiastically in tune with the local community, in addition to the world of wellness. When he is not working on Spa programming at the property, he is most likely giving back. Annually, he coordinates the Global Wellness Day located at Los Establos within Cap Cana.
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We started our journey at the Spa with a relaxing massage! Plan on having a few hours' time before and after your treatment to enjoy the Spa facilities.
Our body treatment started with a wonderful ritual that encouraged us to leave any negative energy outside. Upon our welcome to our treatment room, our masseuse offered us a black rock in a wooden box. We were invited to hold the stone and allow any feelings that did not serve us to stay within the box with the solid mass just outside our treatment door. This was followed by a ritual involving the elements. Once we were in the right state of mind, we were invited to get comfortable for our 60-minute massage. During our stay, we also had the pleasure of experiencing a private guided meditation at sunset. As many of us cannot sit still for more than five minutes, it was shock that we made it through and enjoyed the experience. Our local wellness guide led us through the Fitness center to a private palapa on some stones out in the water. |
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As we sat, eyes closed, the sun set in front of us and the ocean’s mist provided much needed refreshment from the warm weather. The world seemed to stand still with nothing more than us and our breath. For early risers, we highly recommend scheduling the private, outdoor meditation and/or yoga session at dawn.
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The guided meditation experience is ideal for individuals, couples, and small groups, although we would suggest keeping it to no more than four people. The Palapa is a great alternative location to the beach or indoor group fitness room for sunrise or sunset Yoga.
On our last day in Cap Cana, we decided to get out of our comfort zone before indulging in some adventure. This meant a private aerial Yoga class at Eden Roc Beach Club’s 1,200sq ft anti-gravity yoga area. For approximately an hour, we enjoyed a private aerial yoga class. Our guide, a local Dominican born expert Yogi named Estefany guided us through it. After some basic warm up poses and lessons about the aerial yoga hammock, we were steered through a challenging and fun session. In the last minute we were able to be comfortable enough to let go and trust ourselves in a complete inversion-or upside-down pose. This experience is ideal for individuals, couples, and small groups. |
Traveling with a Group?
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Traveling with more than 12 of your friends who would like to participate in aerial Yoga? Plan your visit to include meditation, spa treatments, and general relaxation time while staggering the number of guests taking the class at one time.
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Before taking our golf cart to Cap Cana’s Scape Park we just had to jump into our private plunge pool among our room’s nature-filled backyard. We enjoyed the sun on our faces and the music from our favorite playlist. There’s really nothing quite like your own private pool!
Adventure
The Dominican Republic has no shortage of Adventure activities. Like other warm-weather destinations, south of the border, visitors can horseback ride on the beach, visit private islands, hike in nature, walk through the tropical rainforest, swim in caves, zipline, or go river rafting + tubing.
One of the benefits of staying in a community such a Cap Cana is being able to just get out and explore-- whether you want to go for a run, bike ride, or visit a Nature Theme Park. We opted for some fun in the sun at Cap Cana’s Scape Park. No visit to this active escape full of animals is complete without a visit to the Blue Hole! In order to get the most out of your excursion, give yourself at least half a day to leisurely enjoy the grounds. Plus, your entry ticket includes lunch on-site.
Pro Tip
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Planning a trip to Scape Park? Staying in Cap Cana with access to a Golf Cart will allow you to enjoy the park at your own pace, without being stuck to the schedule of a large group. We loved leisurely driving ourselves to Scape Park for some outdoor adventures.
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