An "Iconic" Family Adventure

Another international trip in the books! We traveled to the Dominican Republic for a long-weekend birthday celebration, and we had such a great time! The hotel for this trip, Bavaro Palace, an all-inclusive in Punta Cana. FYI – You need to fill out an eTicket to travel to and from DR so just something to be aware of before you get to the airport.

I arranged for a shuttle with the hotel, easy to do just by emailing the resort before travelling, and in about 20 min we were at the hotel. Check-in was smooth, and off to our family room! These have a king in one room, 2 beds in the next room, with patios off both rooms. It was also close to the Kids Club that our kids frequented throughout the trip.

With 2 waterparks, large pools and the kids club, the kids never ran out of things to do. One waterpark came with the room and had several waterslides for kids of all sizes and lounge chairs all around (with shades on some so you can escape the sun if you want). The second waterpark, (and mini golf) was free for one day then $10 pp after that. (This deal, I think, was because when I booked directly with the hotel and joined their rewards program, so I was a “member”; otherwise, I believe it is $15 pp with no free day). The bigger waterpark/minigolf does come with the premium rooms, along with some other perks like access to particular restaurants and such.

The Kids club had scheduled activities from 9 am -12 am. We were able to drop the kids off to do activities (ice cream party, feeding turtles and alligators, mini golf, karaoke, pajama party and more!) and pick them up when we wanted, then drop them off again to do more. It made relaxing and enjoying our time super convenient.

As for food and drink, nothing to write home about. The drinks were fine, bartenders very friendly. Foodwise the buffet was meh, hit or miss on some items, and the restaurants were also so-so. Tip: Getting items from the staff in the buffet who are cooking things fresh offer a better experience, i.e. fresh omelets. For me that wasn’t too much of a big deal because we were there for the kids to have fun; if a few weren’t as hot as I’d like, so be it. Tip: Restaurants needed reservations so best to do that early in the morning for the evening.

The number of activities, shows, beaches, etc. kept us occupied day and night. The birthday celebration was a hit!