I’ve been having this nagging itch to write about our honeymoon.
(I miss my tan)
I discovered that I feel this way for 2 reasons:
- I realized I hadn’t yet (sorry it’s about 10ish months late)
- I think it’s time to take another one (for serious)
We had a few must-haves when it came to booking our honeymoon… those were:
- No kids
- All-inclusive
- Palm trees + beach
Obviously we’re pretty easy to please. I found out that the mom of a girl in my sister’s sorority (also the mom of a girl I knew in college) was a travel agent… I promptly got her info and shot her an email. She was AMAZING. She worked with us to find the perfect place, in the perfect price range, with the perfect amenities.
When it came down to what we wanted and where we wound up… we didn’t really care about excursions (we can do 99% of the activities offered at home… for WAY cheaper, and without wasting a day of our all-inclusive bliss), didn’t really care WHERE we went because we weren’t planning on being touristy (we really just wanted to plant our asses in the sand and R.E.L.A.X.), and just wanted to have a good time without worrying about spending money left and right.
It came down to Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. After comparing the resorts/packages that Sandy (our bomb.com travel agent) sent us… we settled on the Dominican. Between price, resort amenities, and airfare, it was just the best fit for us.
We wound up at Excellence Punta Cana. It was amazeballs. Breathtaking. Fabulous. Gorgeous. Luxurious. Ridiculously incredibly great. Dare I say, excellent!!? God. I miss it.
We flew out of DC the day after our wedding (thanks to Momma for picking us up from the hotel and taking us… it was veeeery veeeeeeery early) and arrived in the Dominican by noon-ish. We were greeted by our “luxury” bus driver at the airport. Don’t let anyone fool you when booking transportation in the Dominican… “luxury” means air conditioning. But, we were a-ok with it. It was hot as hell.
After a horrifying hour drive to the resort (Dominican drivers are ca-ray-ZEEE), we were in awe at how gorgeous it was… driving in all you can see is lush tropical greenery and flowers, beautiful buildings, and smiling people. I started at that moment, to understand why people take vacations.
We checked in and were treated like ROYALTY. We wound up splurging for the “VIP” package… as a VIP room with a garden view was the same cost as a regular room with an ocean view — and since we were spending so little time in the room (and even less time staring out the window/sliding door) we didn’t care… plus, the garden was gorg! We were greeted with champagne, then beer, then fresh fruit. We checked into our room and found complimentary champagne (whole bottle, hellooooooo honeymoon!) and more beautiful fruit.
Our VIP package got us a fully stocked bar (I’m talking fifths of liquor, not airplane bottles)… including one King Size Kit Kat daily (um, yes please). Complimentary room service (TWENTY-FOUR HOURS), our own personal concierge, a private section of the beach with our own attendant, and a 24-hour buffet of amazing snacks in the VIP-exclusive club house (that had flat screen TVs and free computer/internet stations). Most definitely worth upgrading to VIP. Mr. Man used the free ‘net to check up on fantasy football, we touched base with family… and we camped out in that clubhouse the day we got there to watch football! Glorious. Met another football-crazed couple, drank beers with them, ate until we couldn’t eat anymore, and were in heaven.
(sorry for the view of that girl’s butt)
The food was amazing, the alcohol was so great (honeymooners: watch out for pool bars… you drink and drink and drink then try to get OUT of the pool and are reminded that walking is difficult when intoxicated), the people there were so kind and helpful, the pools were glistening, and the beach was absolutely to die for. TO DIE FOR, I tell you.
Honeymoon tip: Don’t forget anything. Mr. Man forgot he put his deodorant in a pocket in our bag, thought he forgot it, so he bought another one… nothin’ fancy, but it was TEN DOLLARS. I forgot my sunglasses and had to by a cheap-o pair… a cheap $5 pair of sunglasses for TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS. And the kicker? Curling mousse. EIGHTEEN DOLLARS for a regular ‘ol Loreal curling mousse. No, it did not have gold in it. No, it didn’t do my hair or massage my head for me. And no, I didn’t buy it. Beachy waves for me, it was!
Anyway. Now that I’ve recounted everything, I’m thinking about how amazing it was to eat 4 meals a day (ordering room service at 1am when still slightly buzzed from a day of drinking would be SO not okay in any other situation), drinking out of coconuts, and getting waited on hand and foot. I’m thinking it’s time to go back.
So. Let’s talk bones. Pesos. Dolares. Dinero. Buckaroos. Dough. COST! For round-trip airfare for two (thanks to FIL for picking us up at midnight when we came home!), transportation (although frightening) to and from the airport, and 6 days (all-inclusive)… we only paid $3200. Yes, $3200 is A LOT of money… 1/3 of the cost of our wedding, in fact. But, it was so worth it. So worth it that we’re saving up to hopefully do it again… at least one more time before having babies!
(PS: these pictures weren’t edited or doctored at all… the sky really IS that blue)
At the end of the day, I couldn’t recommend Excellence more. They were amazing. We’ll definitely make a point to vacation with them when/if we go on another trip. I linked to Sandy’s email above – shoot her an email for help planning your honeymoon and tell her I sent you. She was so helpful and sweet!!
So… who wants to go on a trip? Let’s get this planned, shall we!?
