Dominican Republic. Jan, 2018

The first time we went on vacation during the winter break, and let me tell you — it was a wonderful idea. After all the pre-holiday hustle and bustle and the New Year celebrations, it was so nice to forget about everything for a while and immerse ourselves in the carefree atmosphere of a Caribbean getaway 

This time, we didn’t really choose the resort ourselves. A kind woman on a Toronto forum shared a great deal for this particular place, so we decided to take a chance. We certainly didn’t regret it — literally the next day, the price had doubled!

So, here we are at Sunscape Dominican Beach Punta Cana. It’s a medium-sized, relatively new resort with 450 rooms, 3 pools, 13 bars, and 7 restaurants. I will show you around...Since we arrived just after New Year’s, the resort was still beautifully decorated for the holidays

his time, we vacationed with friends and our younger kids. The last time we were in the Dominican Republic was 10 years ago, when I was still pregnant with our little traveler (pictured on the right) 

Well, I’ll start with the most important thing — the sea. And the sea was different every day. During the first few days, it was calm, clear, and almost completely free of waves. Then, for no apparent reason, it suddenly became wild and rough, with big waves and lots of seaweed.

I have to give credit to the resort staff — they worked tirelessly to clear away the seaweed. And, of course, those were the most fun days for the kids!

The parents were having a pretty good time too, and we spent most of our time by the sea as well 

And to keep things interesting, my husband created a new sand masterpiece every day :) 

There was actually no shortage of things to do. Something was always happening around us — a fun bubble party by the sea, aerobics, different games and contests... 

There was music and dancing, too. The kids spent most of their time by the sea as well, playing in the sand and having fun 

There were also beautiful braids and beautiful pools 

Two pools with swim-up bars and plenty of activities 

The resort grounds were beautifully maintained 

We didn’t visit the spa, but we did consider getting a fish pedicure... then we read some scary stories about fish welfare and changed our minds. Instead, we "warmed up" in the jacuzzi 

Most of the buildings are three stories high 

The evening shows weren’t particularly original, and most of them were performed by the resort’s own entertainment staff. There was one exception, though — a visiting circus that was actually quite good 

We liked one of the resort’s two lobbies, which had a little tea corner. In the evenings, at the kids’ request, we played cards and our favorite game, Dixit 

We also stopped by the café for a cup of cappuccino or frappuccino. We ate mostly at the buffet, where the selection was quite good. Of course, it wasn’t as impressive as the food selection at our favorite destination, Mexico, but we certainly never went hungry.)))

The kids were constantly running to the pizzeria for pizza and nachos with cheese, while in the evenings we went to the à la carte restaurants a couple of times. As usual, the most entertaining one was the Japanese teppanyaki restaurant. You could also arrange a romantic dinner outdoors

From time to time, souvenir vendors would set up in different areas of the resort. A popcorn cart would also make an appearance, and these Dominican ladies would offer guests traditional local alcoholic drinks.

We were lucky with the weather. It was sunny almost every day, with temperatures around +28°C. In the evenings and at night, we occasionally had some rain, but the sky always cleared up and was blue and cloudless. This time, we didn’t leave the resort grounds or take any excursions, but we did see other guests heading off on adventures aboard a pirate ship

And finally, here are some of our vacation photos together. We flew back to Toronto, back to winter and snow, and started dreaming about our next getaway to warmer places