The DR is a favorite for a lot of people. Nate and I went back in 2019 for my 40th birthday and it just so happened that 4 other couples that we knew ALSO went to the DR that year! It’s a popular place due to its amazing weather and beautiful beaches. The all-inclusive’s are the way to go… but not all resorts are created equal. Food is the #1 deal breaker for me…. and the drinks. If you’ve been to the DR and stayed at a resort, you might have noticed that the food was just ok…and the drinks were mostly juice. But I have spoke to others about their stay at various DR resorts and they say that the food and drinks were EXCELLENT, and those are the resorts you want to stay at. I recently spoke to a fellow traveler who just got back from the Dominican and he had a great experience. I am grateful that he took time out of his day to share the details with me!
Why did you choose the Dominican Republic and how long did you stay?
We chose the DR because we did not need to test prior to departure, it’s an easy tropical destination to get to. It also had everything we were looking for which was sun every day, a beach, and all-inclusive resorts. We wanted to relax on this trip rather than fill our days with tours and stuff to do. We usually do VRBOs and AirBNBs when we travel places, so this was a nice change having everything right there.
What was the required testing process?
There were no requirements, we did not have to take a covid test prior to departure. When we arrived at the resort, however, our temperatures were taken. When you arrive in the Dominican, you can get randomly pulled for a covid test at the airport, but if you are fully vaccinated and show proof, you do not have to do this. To get home, you did have to take a covid test 24 hours prior to departure but we handled the testing at the resort. We got our results back in 1 hour but had to work around the testing hours at the resort which were limited, only 9am to 1pm. We got an email stating that the test was negative and we showed this at the airport check-in.
What was the mask policy?
If you were indoors at the resort, masks were required. If you were outdoors, they were not. The resort did have night shows outside, they required masks going up to the bar when ordering drinks. If you did not have a mask on, they would not serve you.
What resort did you choose and why?
There’s SO many resorts to choose from, for me personally, I was looking for an all-inclusive that had a beautiful room, highly rated food, and covid insurance. I chose the Majestic Mirage and we were very happy with absolutely everything. They did offer Covid insurance, it was $20 a day per person and this covered the potential quarantine situation if you had to stay at the resort due to positive test results. This was really important to us. The room was amazing, it was 2 stories and had a balcony with a private hot tub and bed with a beautiful view.
One thing notable about this resort was that the food was excellent! Which in my experience isn’t typical. We had a few restaurants to choose from and the food at every place was great…Also, drinks were premium, you could taste the difference. The resort was one of the more expensive ones but we felt that the value was there for the price.
Can you share anything notable about your trip?
Although we had no plans to really do anything while we were there, we DID decide to do an excursion where a speedboat took us to a pontoon, which then took us to a small private island. It was a really nice beach, we hung out there for awhile and swam. They served us a buffet style lunch and then did a sunset sail on the way back. I highly recommend this! It was a great way to spend the day.
Do you have any travel tips to share?
Yes. I have two….
- Book your transportation to and from the airport in advance. This saves the hassle of trying to figure it out when you land. The resort we stayed at offered a transportation service called Go Majestic which combined transportation and excursions, which was convenient. We booked the resort shuttle in advance and it was a private pick up, $50 per person roundtrip.
- We had an interesting experience on the beach where a man walked up to us with a large Parrot and Iguana. They ask you if you’d like a picture with you and either the Parrot or Iguana on your phone, that they are willing to take it for you. He said it was only $5. We said sure, we took the picture, and then he said that it was going to be more money. It’s not like he held our phone ransom, he handed it back, but claimed that the picture was going to be $50. It was very weird and uncomfortable, we felt bad, but at the same time were forced to haggle with him over the price. He wouldn’t leave. We ended up giving a little more money to go away. We saw him do this same tactic with other people down the beach. Just be warned and the best response is really to just say “no thank you”…
Thank You, Traveler Andy K. for sharing your experience with us!
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