The Honeymooners- Dominican Republic

We were married on a super hot and sunny day in May of 2012.  We said our "I do's," shoved cake in each other's faces, and danced the night away.  Immediately after the reception, my niece drove us to the airport where we eventually boarded a 6:00 AM flight heading to our dream honeymoon.

After much deliberation, we decided on staying at the Catalonia Royal Bavaro in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  The main thing that attracted us to this particular resort was that it was adults-only.  Actually, half the resort is adults-only and the other half is for all ages.  When staying at the adults-only side, you have access to BOTH sides, so double the food, double the pools, double the bars!  This was our very first time staying at an all-inclusive resort and we weren't quite sure what we were getting ourselves into at first, but we ended up absolutely loving staying at an all-inclusive.

The Cat Royal had a good variety of food choices and strong drinks.  I didn't know it at the time, but this isn't as common as you would think. The beaches in Punta Cana are really big with lots of palm trees, so if your favorite part of vacation is the beach, this might be the place for you!  A small word of caution, though:  watch for coconuts.  They fall often and could bonk you on the head.

Visit The Catalonia Royal Bavaro website for tons more information and how to book.

There's one major thing that people may love or hate about Punta Cana.  This is the fact that really there's no town or anything around the resorts other than immediately by the airport.  If you're the type of person that likes to get away from the resort to explore and learn about local culture and food, this might not be the destination for you.

However, there are plenty of day trips that you can choose from.  During our stay, we went on the Canopy Adventure Zip Line Tour as well as Adventure Boogies.

This was immediately after we arrived at the resort.
 I still hadn't taken my hair down from the wedding. It was so, so hot that day!  The hairspray mixed negatively with all the sweat and it wasn't sexy.

Canopy Adventure Zip Line Tour
(I don't have any pictures of this activity, unfortunately)

PROS:
*The drivers and staff are so awesome and they make it fun
*I felt like everything was safe and wasn't concerned about things being half-assed
*The jungle was beautiful and the ride there and back was informative and fun

CONS:
*If you're super fit and love exercising on vacation, stop reading here
*I honestly couldn't even enjoy the zip lines themselves because I was so freaking tired from climbing.
*You basically climb a mountain, zip line down a mountain. Climb a mountain, zip line down a mountain. Keep repeating that about 15 times.
*If you are not in great shape, and try to do this after drinking 15 rum punches a day and sitting your butt on a seat in the swim-up bar, YOU WILL NEARLY DIE.  Die, I tell you.


Adventure Boogies

PROS:
*Driving the buggies to Macao Beach (it was SO beautiful).
*They took us down into a cave with this really awesome natural pool that was really deep.  We jumped in and swam for a little bit and it was freezing cold but it felt nice since it was so hot outside.

CONS:
*The buggies go suuuuper slow and you have to stay in a line.  :(
*They will try to sell you a really expensive DVD of pictures they took during the day. We bought this, but you should avoid it. Take your own pictures.

**I would recommend finding a way to skip the buggy tour and just get to Macao Beach.




All in all, I recommend Punta Cana if you're seeking a fun and laid-back all-inclusive destination.