Punta Cana Family Vacation

Vacationing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, is always a good time for us. From someone who travels out there once a year, I wanted to create this post with things to know before traveling to Punta Cana; including where we stayed and what we did there.

COVID REGULATIONS

For travel from United States, you currently do not need to get tested before entering Dominican Republic. As of last week, all covid restrictions have been lifted in Dominican Republic which means no tests, vaccine cards or masks are required anywhere in the country.

Flying back into United States, you will need to show a negative covid test done within one day prior to traveling OR a positive test result from within the last 90 days along with a letter of recovery from your doctor confirming you are cleared for travel.

I do not enjoy getting tested so the fact that you are exempt from testing for 90 days after being positive for COVID was the silver lining for us. You can read more on this doctor clearance letter here.

If you don’t have a PCP or just want to get a doctor’s letter ASAP without the hassle of having to go anywhere, you can schedule a 2-minute online appointment with a doctor on Quick.MD and you will have your letter in under an hour.

All resorts provide free testing for everyone staying a minimum of three nights. Testing is available, at a charge, if not staying less than that.

BAHIA PRINCIPE FANTASIA

Now on to the fun stuff. We have stayed at least a handful of times at different Bahia Principe resorts but this time we decided to check out Bahia Principe Fantasia Punta Cana and we loved it! It gives you Disney vibes but Caribbean style and it was just so dreamy and the perfect family getaway for us along with my parents.

Everything is family-friendly and perfectly balanced so that we had just as much of a good time as the kids did. Games by the pool, two back-to-back shows every night (one for the kids, one family-friendly), a water park, Bahia Scout which is the kids club where they can enjoy different activities every day while making new friends. They even have a circus-themed restaurant which was my favorite a la carte dinner experience.

The nightly castle show is just magical. Especially that first night. Pure magic. Checking in we were told the castle show is the actual story about the dream the resort owner had which led him to want to create this enchanted place where it was all about making sure the kids felt extra special.

We booked a room that looked straight out to the castle; with three beds and a crib it was just perfect for us.

When visiting Dominican Republic, we usually do a week at the resort and another at my parents home. They are living the retired dream and it’s so nice to escape to the countryside for a week plus the kids absolutely love it but this time we had to keep it shorter because of school and just stayed at the resort for our entire stay.

Only time we traveled out of the resort was to Dolphin Island Park. We took our 5 and 4-year-old with us to and left our 1-year-old back at the resort with my parents but I would recommend not taking kids under 10 on this one. Only our eldest paid but he only swam with the sting rays and sharks. Everything else was too much for him.

Walking at the bottom of the sea where we got to see marine life closely while literally walking underwater with a dive helmet was just insane! The helmet weighs 32 lbs out of water so it does feel weird walking down the ladder but once you are in the water you obviously won’t feel the weight. It’s an open dive helmet which means at all times you will have water up to under your chin and because of this you should never look down because more water will get in. Also, your mask will fog up if you try talking (clearly no one can hear but it’s just a habit) but don’t worry the diving instructors will explain all of this and what to do if that happens to quickly fix the issue.

Not gonna lie, I got a little nervous at times and can see why some people experience anxiety down there but a deep breath in would help me relax again. Also helped that hubby was right behind me and that the diving instructors below were amazing and made us feel so much more comfortable. Such a cool experience that I can’t recommend enough.

We also got to do some open ocean swimming, swam with sharks and sting rays and we were kissed by a sea lion but being completely honest, I didn't enjoy these last parts. The fact that I know the sea lion, sharks and sting rays are kept there for our entertainment ruined the fun for us so it’s not something we plan on doing again.

DOMINICAN PESOS

$1 US dollar is equivalent to $57 Dominican pesos. If you plan on staying at resort or tourism attractions, they will accept dollars so I would only suggest exchanging money if you will be stepping out of to discover other parts of the country.

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