Honeymoon in Punta Cana

For our honeymoon, we decided to travel east to the Dominican Republic to experience both the Atlantic and Carribean oceans at the Excellence Resort in Punta Cana. We could not have been more pleased with our decision! :)

We left Saturday, November 19th from DFW and headed to Charlotte, NC where we would catch our connecting flight to Punta Cana. Everyone on our plane was so very excited, but none as in love and extatic as Josh and myself. We were two love birds on our honeymoon! We arrived in Punta Cana around 4:30, hurried through customs, then headed toward our resort. As we journied through the town, we saw poverty to the max. There were kids asking for rides home from school, barefoot, and some with very little clothes on. We saw donkeys and stray dogs. The driving in Punta Cana was hysterical. There are no stop signs, and everyone drives super fast, weaving in and out of cars, nearly hitting people on scooters or bicycles. The view of the town, and the locals definitely made us more aware of how very blessed we are. It took about 45 minutes to get from the airport to our resort, but it was so worth the wait!

As we pulled up to the Excellence Resort, we were greeted with cold towels and two glasses of champagne. We toasted to our new beginning, checked in, then anxiously headed to see our room! The room was beautiful. It had a jacuzzi tub, a big balcony, and a great view of the terrace. There was fresh fruit and champagne awaiting us! By this point we were so hungry, we decided to check out the Italian restaurant, Oregano. (This became our favorite spot throughout our stay!) Martin was our favorite waitor and was great about helping me with my Spanish speaking skills. He told us about his family and how he works 12 days, then has 3 days off. Crazy work schedule, huh? Then, we hit up the casino, where Josh won about $300 playing Black Jack. We were so exhausted from the flight, we decided to call it an early night so we would be rested for our first day on the beach the next day.

Day 2 was mostly about lounging around and listening to the sound of the ocean, while spending time together. We enjoyed their signature drink, "Coco Locos", where we got to drink straight out of the coconut, and their rum shots "Mamajuana"!! After relaxing on the beach all day, we headed to the pool for a few drinks and to check out the scenary. We made a few friends there that we kept in contact with throughout the trip. We took a nap, then had dinner at the Mexican restaurant, Agave. It was delicious!


Day 3, we headed to play golf at the beautiful La Cana Golf Course. Well, Josh played as I watched! :) Josh was like a giddy little boy, finally fulfilling his dream of playing golf on the beach. He had a caddy, Daniel, who was amazing and so helpful. Daniel cleaned the clubs, and taught us about the culture of Punta Cana. The course was right on the Caribbean coast. Hole 18 was the most amazing!! Day 4, we woke up and rode horses on the beach. It was such a neat experience to ride while the water flowed underneath the horses feet as the tide rolled in and out. Salado was the name of my horse, and Josh rode Negro.
After the horseback riding, we walked around the resort to some of the souvenier shops. Then, we relaxed on the beach! We got cleaned up and had some professional pictures taken on the beach! It was a blast! This night we were lazy and just ordered in room service.



Day 5 was incredible. We definitely checked something off of our bucketlist!! Josh and I signed up to ride a Cadamaren boat out to the coral reef where we snorkled with beautiful fish. Next up was the most exciting part. We got to swim with sharks and stingrays. As we swam, we made a promise to stay together. The sharks and stingrays swam underneath us, and we took tons of pictures. It was so stinkin' cool! At the end, we got to hold a stingray, which was slimy and a bit scary! This day was a great adventure and I'm glad we got to experience it together!! :)


Day 6, we decided we'd like to just relax and enjoy our last day there. We went out to the beach, grabbed some drinks, and talked about everything under the sun (no pun intended)! :) After lounging around, we went in to get cleaned up and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner on the beach. The resort did a great job trying to accomodate our holiday. It was strange not spending this day with my family, but it was so unique getting to spend our 1st Thanksgiving as husband and wife on our Honeymoon. Man oh man, we have so much to be thankful for. After dinner, we watched the Michael Jackson show, enjoyed drinks with friends, went to the casino, and said goodbye to all the locals we came to love so much.

Day 7 was our last. We woke up, had breakfast, and finished packing up our things. We had lunch at The Grill and walked the beach one last time. It was hard to say goodbye to our lovely Honeymoon spot, but we were ready to get back home...or so we thought. Once home, we became so busy, and the weather was yucky. We definitely missed the beach since we came home to bi-polar Texas weather! :)


Our Honeymoon surpassed any expectations we had. It was beyond amazing. Punta Cana was beautiful, the people were wonderful, and the culture was so neat to experiece. We can't wait to enjoy our next adventure together!! :)

Thankful for the beauty of God's earth,
Hope (Mrs. Saenz)