Take you to the islands

And I’m back, ready with a blog which sounds like a Trip Advisor review.

Just kidding, but I am back with another blog post and this one is about my latest holiday…. I mean ‘baecation’ in the Dominican Republic.

So as my boyfriends football season came to an end we began discussing holiday options. Unfortunately this year it was a longer season for him, but fortunately his team made the playoffs and I had the unreal experience of watching him play at Wembley. However, that meant that the season which usually ends in April, ended in May, leaving only June available for a holiday before he heads back for pre-season… perks of dating a footballer right?

Anyways, the discussions began and we were debating Greece, Dubai and the Dominican Republic. We’ve both being to Greece many times and although I’ve not being to Dubai (yet), we wanted to experience somewhere hot, cultural and somewhere which we’d both never been, so the Dominican Republic it was.

We both love Spanish culture and the Caribbean islands, so the Dominican seemed like a great fit. After an 8 hour flight from Manchesters terminal 2, we arrived in the pouring rain.

Yeah I forgot to mention ‘tropical storms’.

It was around 34 degrees celsius and absolutely pouring down. I now understand where they get the term ‘waterfall shower’ from because this was it!

Of course I did some research before jetting off and although the Dominican has good weather most of the year, it is advised to go between November and April to enjoy your trip with the best weather conditions, however June to November provided amazing weather with the odd tropical storm, thankfully we only experienced this on the day we arrived, because the rest of the holiday was absolutely gorgeous.

We opted for a hotel which was around 25 minutes from the airport and we agreed on an all inclusive resort so we could both have some downtime… meaning I didn’t have to cook or clean for 10 whole days - bliss.

The hotel was stunning! I’ve always turned my nose up at all inclusive resorts because of past experiences when they’ve been rammed full, mediocre food and loads of kids. Don’t get me wrong I love kids, but considering we don’t have any yet, I wanted to stay as far away from a splash park as possible and enjoy the peace for a little longer.

The hotel had a variety of restaurants, a gorgeous coffee shop, gift shops, a spa and casino amongst other things. The restaurants served steak - our favourite, asian food, french, italian, and a buffet (which was surprisingly really nice) as well as a few more. The coffee shop was included and served all different types of coffee, including iced coffee and alcohol coffee which just makes sense. Nothing better than an iced Caribbean coffee (coffee with rum) to start your day.

One thing I loved about the Dominican Republic was the beaches! Our hotel had a private beach with white sand and turquoise water. I always seem to go to Greece because I love the clear blue water but the Dominican’s was just *chefs kiss*.

Fast forward a few days and we went on a trip to an Island just off the Dominican - Saona Island. Lets not discuss the travel there because we thought it would be a quick boat trip but after an hour coach ride and 40 minutes on a boat and then a speed boat taxi (if you know me, you know my bad experiences with speed boats) and I can say I thoroughly hated the 5-7minutes flying through the ocean seeing sky, sea, sky, sea before arriving. Pass the bucket.

We got some cute pictures in the water which I’m sure you’ve seen on my IG and enjoyed some fried chicken on the beach.

Okay now the gritty details, because you know me, I’m not going to pretend everything was perfect when it wasn’t. Its advised to drink bottled water when in the Dominican but unfortunately they only offered tap water on the boat trip and your girl was de-hy-drated! So tap water it was - worst decision, probably worse than the speed boat, because we both ended up slightly ill for the next few days. Fortunately not bed bound ill, but that sort of ill where you just curl up on a sun lounger, catch a tan and let the day pass by. Also I forgot my SPF lip balm and ended up burning my lip while on the ‘party boat’ back to our hotel and honestly I will never forget SPF lip balm again, because blistered lips and $14 lip balm from the shop is not it, let me tell you.

After a few days on the beach getting golden brown and reading 6 books… yes I read 6 books while on holiday, your girls a book worm; we decided to book another trip, but this time something a little exciting. We went on a buggy excursion through the Dominican countryside and had the chance to see the real side of the island, not just the resort. Although the buggies felt like they were going to fall apart at any given moment, we enjoyed a very muddy ride to a cave which you could swim in, a gorgeous beach and a cute little spot where they showed us how they make Dominican coffee, chocolate and their famous alcoholic drink - Mama Juana, or ‘the baby-maker’ as some of the staff called it. Yes I’ll have 2 shots of Mama Juana just hold on the babies for now please.

We spent another few days soaking up the sun, Courtney went to play golf - of course, because at this point golf is the side-chick in our relationship. I’m surprised he doesn’t bring his golf club to bed with us. Considering he uses our front room to practice chipping his golf balls, why not just bring them to bed as well. So while he spent most of his time in the bunker, (I’m kidding he’s actually a good golfer) I planned a romantic meal on the beach for when he returned.

That evening we enjoyed a three course meal - steak of course with a gorgeous Californian wine from Napa Valley under the stars on the beach. I know, certified lover girl.

We honestly had the best time and I can’t wait for our next baecation.

As Drake said, he really did take me to the islands, gold no spray tans.

Until next time x