Punta Cana

Last week, we took a trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with our friends Jimmy and Christen. For the past five months, Christen and I spent hours and hours searching for a great deal. We knew we wanted to go somewhere we had never been, we wanted it to be tropical, and we wanted it to be all inclusive. After literally months of searching, we found a great deal through expedia for five days in Punta Cana at the Bahia Principe Punta Cana Esmeralda. It was such a wonderful vacation!

Jimmy and Christen drove to Atlanta on Thursday night, and we all flew out together the next morning. The flight was only three hours, but it took a while to go through customs in Punta Cana, and then it was about a 30 minute drive to the resort from the airport. When we arrived at the resort, we were pleasantly surprised that they had upgraded our rooms free of charge.

I loved how open and airy the lobby was.

By the time we were finally settled and checked in, it was close to dinner time. We enjoyed drinks at the bar before dinner.

We went to bed early since we were all exhausted from our day of traveling. Christen and I woke up early every morning for runs on the beach! 

And then every day after breakfast, we'd head straight to the beach or pool for hours in the sun (or shade for Brian). 

We were so thankful for fabulous weather the entire trip. 

The ocean was crystal clear and the perfect temperature. 

One afternoon we took kayaks out for a bit. I had never been kayaking before, but I really liked it. For the first half hour that is... I got a little queasy from the waves and had to stop a little earlier than everyone else. I think I'd do better in a lake, but it was absolutely gorgeous on the water! 

 Our routine every day was to read, swim, nap, grab a quick lunch, repeat. Sooooo relaxing.

Christen and I talked the guys into taking pictures on the beach one night before going to dinner. The lighting was so pretty! 

The pool was nice, but really hot... This was just one of the many pools on the property. 

There was a breeze on the beach, and the ocean was cooler than the pool, so we spent most of our time there.

We tried different restaurants each night. My favorite that we tried was of course Mexican. :)

On Tuesday we headed back to Atlanta and ended our trip. I'm so glad we went- It was great to be in a beautiful place and spend time with good friends. It was the perfect end to summer- (I started work back at school the next day). It was fun while it lasted, and we're so happy we went!