Punta Cana 2026

 

FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2026

Bless it. We had an expensive start to what should have been a mainly free trip!

We’d booked flights using points through Southwest, only paying the $100 in taxes. The flights we booked were set to leave MSP for MDW at 5:15AM on Saturday, arriving at 6:45A and then departing at 8:15A to PUJ. As we were at dinner, I checked my Southwest app, only to come to the realization that the first leg had been delayed to 9:40AM, putting us in Chicago at 11:10, which would cause us to miss our connection. There were no other flights leaving Chicago for Punta Cana on Saturday.

The Southwest agent I spoke with on the phone tried his darndest to re-route us through different points, but every flight to Punta Cana from every airport was booked full and most were oversold. Our cheapest option was $818 direct flights on Delta, or wait a day and have a no cost change through Southwest. Not wanting to miss a single hour of sunshine and sand between by toes, we bit the bullet and $1600 later we had new flights to the Dominican.

I do have an annual travel insurance policy for both of us through Allianz, so we'll see if we can get any of that money back. Southwest refunded us the points and taxes, but that was still $1600 I wasn't planning on spending. I'd be happy with difference of the cash value between our SW and Delta flights! I guess we'll see!

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2026

Our re-booked flight wasn’t until 9AM, but the shuttle options from the hotel were either 5A or 7A so I went with 5 to be safe. It took us about 30 minutes to get through checking a bag and getting our boarding passes, but we got right through TSA PreCheck - there was literally no one in those lines. The regular TSA lines though? Oof. Stretched through the whole dang airport! It is definitely spring break season!

We wandered MSP looking for somewhere to eat breakfast only to end up back at where we went through security. When I looked up the menu for Stone Arch online, I saw they had chicken and French toast. I was disappointed when we got there to find out the menu I looked at must have been old because they did not in fact have chicken and French toast. But they did have Cinnabutter Swirl French toast, so I was satisfied!

Our flight left closer to 10 after taxi-ing around for 40 minutes. I tried so hard to fall asleep before take off (I hate flying), but I was jolted awake when the pilot accelerated as in my dream I was in a car and when he nailed that gas pedal the car in my dream accelerated right into the car in front of it! We hit a lot of turbulence. Like a lot a lot. Again, I was asleep, dreaming I was in a car, and when the plane jolted sideways I was once again jolted awake by my dream car crashing into the car next to it on the freeway. What was supposed to be a "straight" flight ended up looking more like a staircase as we dodged storms throughout the US. By the time we landed I had declared I would be staying in the Dominican forever because I would not be setting foot on another airplane ever again.

We deplaned onto a ramp that led us to a bus which took us to customs and immigration and our luggage. After a quick passport scan and check (but no stamp 😭) we headed outside with the herd of people looking for a guy with a sign that had my name. I booked airport transfer through Punta Cana Adventures and it was super smooth and easy. The guy with the sign wheeled our luggage and walked us down the street to his waiting van, then took us on the 20 minute trip to our resort. I believe it cost $65 round trip for the both of us.

Once at the resort, we were greeted with glasses of rose as we checked in. We were staying at Secrets Cap Cana (paid for completely in credit card points!). This was my first stay at a Secrets, and let me tell you, it will not be my last! I have a long list of loves and zero complaints. I would definitely recommend this resort.

After ourselves and our luggage were taken to our room, we changed out of our plane clothes and into our dinner clothes and wandered down in the rain to El Patio - the Mexican restaurant. We ordered the Beef Quesabirrias to share as an app. As my main course I ordered the Baja Fish Tacos and Aaron ordered the Pork Loin in Papantla Vanilla Sauce. For dessert we got sugar churros and chocolate cake. They also brought us a bowl of tortilla chips with pico, sour cream, and guac. I demolished the pico! And then finished off the pico from our birria tacos with the chips as well. And the pico that came with my fish tacos. 

Beef Quesabirrias
(braised beef with chili, pepper and avocado leaf,
served in melted cheese tortillas)

Baja Fish Tacos
(fish marinated with garlic and lime, in tempura batter,
served with chipotle dressing, avocado & coleslaw)

Pork Loin in Papantla Vanilla Sauce
(pork loin in papantla vanilla sauce, served with
vegetables glazed in blue agave honey)

Sugar Churros
(sugar churros with cinnamon and caramel,
served with vanilla ice cream) 

Chocolate “Imposible” Cake with Cajeta Caramel
(chocolate “imposible” cake with cajeta caramel sauce) 

It was a rainy night, so after dinner we went back to the room to unpack, and then found a channel on a he TV that played mostly CSI & NCIS for the whole week we were there! I fell asleep pretty quickly as I’d been battling a migraine since we’d arrived.

SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 2026

I was overjoyed to be wide awake at 6AM because that meant I could go down to the beach for the sunrise!

I woke up with what I knew would turn into a headache, how severe I wasn’t sure, but I’d already maxed out on my migraine meds the night before so I took some Tylenol in hopes it would work. (It didn’t 😅). 

We ate at the buffet for breakfast where I was thrilled to find a crepe station!

We were supposed to have a rum tasting excursion, but with my incoming headache I knew that would be a bad choice, so I cancelled and we spent the day at the beach. What a beautiful beach day it was. No humidity, 80 degrees, nice breeze. I cracked open my book and relaxed as our waitress returned with more pineapple juice for me whenever it got low.

We ate lunch at the Seaside Grill, which was the poolside restaurant in the resort. Aaron ordered the shrimp cocktail and salmon in orange sauce, and I just got some chicken quesadillas, They did also provide a snackatizer of breadsticks and sauces.

Chicken Quesadilla
(served with pico de gallo, salad and chipotle sauce)

Shrimp Cocktail
(served with cocktail sauce,  red onion,
avocado, and plantain chips)

Salmon in Orange Sauce
(grilled salmon fillet, mashed potato and orange sauce)

I was ready to get out of the sun for a bit. I’d avoided getting sunburned, but I still hadn’t shook my headache and figured it would be good to take a break from the heat. I rinsed off in the shower then took a nice inside nap.

Upon awaking, we headed back out to the water. The pool chairs were all full, so we ventured back out to the beach for a couple hours. 

After another shower, we changed into our fancy clothes and went to the Italian restaurant, Portafino, for dinner. The focaccia appetizer was soft and wonderful. I ordered a caprese salad as a starter (it was served with whipped cream in the middle!) then Neapolitan gnocchi for my main course. It was so delicious - like melt in your mouth delicious. I was sad I’d filled up on focaccia because I couldn’t finish it! Aaron got the chicken caesar salad and spaghetti bolognese.

Assortment of snacks from our waiter -
mahi on cracker, cream cheese on cracker,
and parmesan cheese

Caprese
(cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and
extra virgin olive oil served with pesto sauce)

Gnocchi
(gnocchi gratinated Neopolitan-style)

Caesar Salad
(classic caesar salad with chicken)

Spaghetti Bolognese
(spaghetti with meatballs made with
homemade tomato sauce and extra virgin olive oil)

After dinner, we headed back to the room in a food coma and with NO room for dessert. After an episode of CSI however, I was ready for chocolate, so we ventured back out to the 24/7 cafe, Coco Cafe, where I grabbed a couple treats to take back to the room. I read for awhile, SO CLOSE to finishing my book, but finally made myself go to sleep in hopes of finally relieving my all-day migraine.

MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2026

After being wide awake from 4-5AM I managed to sleep in until 7! I caught up on watching my favorite TikTok content creators until I got a phone call around 7:30 letting me know our shuttle driver couldn’t find us. I was so confused as I was certain our excursion for the day wasn’t scheduled until 10:00A. Turns out the other two excursions I’d booked were 10AM pick ups, but this one was 7:20. Thankfully they let me re-schedule us for the afternoon trip, because we were NOT ready. 

We lazily got up and went to breakfast in the buffet. Today I was excited to try the eggs Benedict station. Good, but not as good as the crepe station, so I made sure to follow up with a Nutella crepe for dessert! 

We were hoping to wander for a bit after breakfast, but it was POURING, so we just went back up to our room. Just as I finished my book the rain stopped and the sun came out. It was only 9:30, but we were ready to head to the pool.

We snagged two chairs and laid out our towels. I made a BIG dent in my second book, which was great because I loved it, but not-so-great because it’s the second in a trilogy and I left the third one at home thinking there was no way I would get through two books. 

At 11:30 we went to rinse off and then back to the Seaside Grill for lunch. Aaron got the ceviche and beef tacos and i ordered nachos and fries.

Secrets Nacho
(nachos, melted cheese, chili beans,
fresh tomato, onion, coriander, jalapeño)

Fish Ceviche of the Day
(Fresh fish with passionfruit dressing)

Beef Tacos
(served with vegetables, sautéed pineapple,
coriander with lime)

I have never seen nachos presented this way! I am not a guacamole fan, so I ended up turning my fries into chili cheese fries and eating the pico with my chips! Honestly I think I’ll have eaten more tomatoes this week than in the last year of my life if I keep eating pico this way.

We were picked up at 1:10P for our afternoon excursion. The shuttle drove us an hour to a gas station where we met a second shuttle that took us the remaining 30 minutes to Monkeyland. I booked this tour through Punta Cana Adventures as well. I was hoping that after I booked our airport transfer that they would send a discount code for their excursions as that had been my experience with companies in the past, but they did not. 

I tried not to sleep, but bless it I cannot be in a moving vehicle and not fall asleep (unless I’m driving). Luckily the educational part of the shuttle trip was the second part and I stayed awake for that one! 

The shuttle driver explained to us that everyone lives so close to the road because they all try to sell things out of their homes to make money. There were a lot of lottery stands - called Bancas. I learned that the public school kids in the Dominican Republic all have a school uniform of a light blue shirt and dark blue pants. Private school kids have different uniforms. Also, it is mandatory to go to school through 8th grade, but students can drop out after that. In 1996, their graduation rate was 40%, but they’ve improved things since and are now near 90% graduation. 

When we got to Monkeyland, everyone was sent to a large room where we were given rules and directions. We were instructed to put our bags in a large bin - nothing could be brought in besides phones and camera. You could rent a locker if you felt necessary, but we had no issues with leaving our bag of belongings in the bin. They said if you had food, pills, chapstick, etc. the monkeys WOULD find it and they WOULD eat it and then they would GET SICK AND DIE. 

Oh my gosh those monkeys! They were so tiny and cute! They’d jump right on you - head, arms, anywhere. We were given bowls and the guides would put food into the bowls so all the monkeys would come jump on you. There were a couple of squabbles between the monkeys and they’d all ‘attack’ each other and screech. The guides would yell, “Ladies! Ladies!” at the monkeys and try to break it up. 

There was a photographer there taking photos that you could buy at the end - I think he had 20 photos of us which was $40. I paid it and they said we would get the photos by the next morning, though the paperwork said 48 hours later. After 48 hours and still no photos, I emailed the company, expecting a response in 1 business day as advertised. As of this writing it has been more than 4 days since we went to Monkeyland and more than 2 days since I emailed and I still haven't received a response. I'll try to remember to update this post once I finally hear from them/received my photos. We spent quite a bit of time with the monkeys and luckily got plenty of our own photos before heading back to the room where we originally met. 

From there we went to learn about how the cacao is harvested and turned into cocoa powder. The man teaching about about the cacao broke open a cacao fruit to show us the cacao inside - they looked like cloves of garlic! He told us that they are set out in the sun to dry for ten days which is how they turn brown. He told us if we sat out in the Dominican sun for ten days, we would turn brown too - in fact, just ten days ago, he reported he was a white man! This got a chuckle out of everyone.

We got to try coffee (I skipped that - 34 years old and I still can’t stand the stuff), homemade hot chocolate (cacao powder, cane sugar, and cinnamon sticks!) and the drink popular to the Dominican - Mamajuana. You can buy Mamajuana bottles which have tree bark, herbs, and spices in it. When the drink runs out you can remake it by adding 60% wine, 35% rum, and 5% honey. That ratio is very important! We were told that Mamajuana is great for curing headaches, but I wasn't willing to risk it. It is apparently also good for colds, digestive issues, and is an aphrodisiac.

Our shuttle took us directly back to the hotel from there. Since I had a headache, I planned to sleep the whole 1.5-2 hours ride back, but ended up having no luck.

We didn’t get back until almost 8PM, so I showered while Aaron ordered room service for dinner - Margherita pizza, pepperoni pizza, bbq wings and fries. This was the most disappointing meal we had on the trip. It wasn't bad, just not exceptional like everything else was. I don’t know what time I went to bed, but I’m certain I did not stay up late.

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2026

I was up in time for sunrise today! It was soooo windy but gosh sunrises on the beach hit different.

Bored of buffet breakfast, I decided to order room service. I ordered 2 crepes and Aaron ordered the American breakfast and a glass of OJ. They ended up delivering the two crepes and American breakfast with 2 glasses of OJ, coffee mugs, a full pitcher of coffee and another of creamer, a plate with toast, croissants, chocolate croissant, lemon danishes, and a bread twist, as well as a plate of fresh fruit. Man, was that divine! 

Seasonal Crepe (filled with cantaloupe, pineapple, papayal)
Cap Cana Crepe (passion fruit, banana, hazelnut sauce)
American Breakfast (over easy eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, hash brown)

Our shuttle picked us up for our excursion at 10AM and we took the 30 minute drive to Dolphin Encounters - again booked through Punta Cana Adventures. The process was slow, but it was fun! First, we stood around for 20 minutes after checking in. Then we took pictures (that you had to pay extra for) with some parrots. Then we got life jackets and sat around for another 30 minutes. Eventually we took pictures with a sea lion (also that you had to pay extra for), and were led to the dolphins. Our group walked down the ramp into the ocean and there was no shortage of “brrr!” exclamations! 

We spent 50 minutes in the water with the dolphins. We got to belly swim, swim while holding its back fin (I'm sure there is a name for this, but I don't remember what it is), "dance" with the dolphin, kiss the dolphin, and watch her do cool tricks! My favorite was making her “sing.” Our instructor showed us her blowhole and prompted her to take a big breath through it, showed us the the tiny holes that are her ears, and pointed out her “boobies” and where the “poo poo” comes from. He also showed us her “belly button” which he then tickled, making her flip around like she was ticklish.

Once we got out and returned our life jackets, we rinsed off in the showers, retrieved our belongings from our locker, then had some free time. First thing we did was went to the pictures. You aren't allowed to bring a camera or cell phone with on the excursion with the dolphins, but they do have photographers there you can buy the pictures from. I ended up choosing the package that came with all our dolphin photos and one video - it cost $150. If you wanted the pictures with the parrots and sea lions you had to pay an additional fee, and we didn't really care about those ones so we opted to skip them.

After checking out the gift shop, we got to go feed some parakeets! One of the workers came to Aaron and I and said “you can go feed the bears.” I must have given her a look of horror because she quickly realized her mis-translation and said “birds!! You can feed the birds!”

We went into an enclosure with a bunch of others, stood in a large circle and were given a handful of feed. We all held out hands out and they released the parakeets from their secondary enclosure. Their tiny little feet were so ticklish on my hand!

When finished, the buses were ready to go and we took the shuttle for the quick ride back to our resort where we grabbed a quick snack from Coco Cafe and headed to our room.

After dumping our things in the room, we headed down to check out the swim up bar and hang at the pool until it was time for dinner. There was a kayaking contest, and while we didn’t participate, those who did were having a grand ole time. Half of them were middle-aged women and their obvious (drunken) joy brought me joy. They were truly living their best lives!

Around 4:30P, we went up to the room to shower and get ready for dinner. We decided we would head to the Seaside Grill, which turned into a steakhouse for dinner. Aaron had a salad, steak, and cheesecake, whereas I had chicken and the best banana split I'd ever eaten!

Big Mountain Salad
(lettuce, beef pastrami, tomato, potato with cheese,
fried onion and ranch sauce)

Grilled Ribeye 
(with royal sauce, charcoal vegetables,
fried potatoes, green beans with bacon,
Cajun roasted potatoes and corn on the cob)

Cheesecake
(with cinnamon cookie and passion fruit pulp)

Grilled Marinated Chicken Breast
(with royal sauce, charcoal vegetables,
fried potatoes, green beans with bacon,
Cajun roasted potatoes and corn on the cob)

Banana Split
(banana, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream,
chantilly, chocolate sauce, almonds)

Earlier in the day, we had remarked on how we hadn’t seen many animals just hanging around - specifically lizards. On the way back from dinner, what do I see on the ceiling in the hallway? A lizard! We then went on a lizard hunt on the way back to the room. The smallest has a body of about an inch and the largest maybe 2.5 inches.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2026

After an early, lazy morning, we headed down for breakfast at the buffet around 7:30. There were churros today! Yum!

By 8:30 we were pool side with books and beverages! Today was our “do nothing day,” so we spent all morning by the pool, going in to rinse off for lunch around noon. We went to the lunch buffet for the first time this week before taking a rest in the room. Then, we headed back to the pool until nearly 5. 

I'd still been thinking about the delicious gnocchi that had defeated me earlier in the week, so we got fancied up again and headed back to Portofino for dinner. Still full from the lunch buffet, we didn't go to dinner until close to 8. There was a wait, so they gave us a buzzer and we went to lounge by the pool where they had baseball playing on a big screen and I star-gazed. 

At dinner, Aaron ordered the chicken caesar salad, lasagna bolognese, and cheesecake. I just ordered the gnocchi, armed with a strong will to finish it. I only allowed myself one piece of the delicious focaccia appetizer until I succeeded in my goal!

Bolognese Lasagna
(classic lasagna Bolognese)

Ricotta Cheesecake
(ricotta cheesecake with citrus)

Gnocchi
(gnocchi gratinated Neapolitan-style)

Too full for dessert, I picked up a chocolate eclair from the Coco Cafe and put it in the fridge in our room to save for later. We watched CSI and I read on my iPad until I inevitably fell asleep.

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2026

The day I had been dreading. I was NOT ready to leave.

We went back to the breakfast buffet one last time and I enjoyed one last Nutella crepe, chocolate croissant, and fresh pineapple. Our shuttle wasn't picking us up for the airport until 11:30, so we decided we would go to the pool for an hour or so one last time. 

I didn't even bring my iPad with me to read on. I just enjoyed the sun and the people watching. We took one last walk on the beach before heading back to the room to shower and pack up. (And squeeze in one last pineapple juice!)

At 10:50, staff came to collect our luggage and I started saying my goodbyes to everything I would miss.

"Goodbye, sunshine. Goodbye giant shower with two giant shower heads. Goodbye pool. Goodbye beach. Goodbye unlimited desserts 24/7. Goodbye palm tree. Goodbye palm tree. Goodbye palm tree..."

We went to checkout a little after 11, just in time too, because our ride had just pulled up. We took the short ride to the airport, then checked our luggage and went through security. 

Let me tell you, the Punta Cana airport has it down. Most organized airport I have ever been too. First, you go through a quick ticket/passport scan - completly machine-driven. Then you go through 'TSA' - but they're so efficient. The line moves so fast. The bins are all automated - they move on a conveyor belt. Five people at a time go to the conveyer belt and pull a bin from the belt below, putting it up on the counter. You put your bags, shoes, etc. into the bin, and push it onto the top conveyer belt which will take it through the scanners while you go through the human scanner. You don't have to push your stuff through and you don't have to wait for other people to get their -ish figured out. Grab your stuff out at the other end and the belt just pushes the empty bin into a stack of empty bins where the process resumes - no people needed to handle the bins at all. Then there was one last passport scan/photo before we actually got into the terminal - again, automated.

We were hoping for a sit-down restaurant inside the terminal, but there weren't any. We opted for Wendy's (our other choices were Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Nathan's Hot Dogs). Honestly, I just really wanted a frosty and spicy chicken sandwich.

Our flight departed PUJ at 2:40PM. I slept a couple hours, and it was an overall uneventful flight. We landed in Chicago earlier than planned, and there wasn't a gate open for us, so we had to hang out in the plane for awhile before unloading, going through customs, collecting and re-checking our luggage, and going through TSA once again.

I ended up going to a taco shop in the airport for dinner. I always see it when I pass through, but I'm never passing through at dinner time, so I never get to eat it! Turns out thats okay, because it wasn't that great.

We headed to our gate with about 30 minutes left until boarding. This ended up being pushed back because we had to wait for the flight attendants from another plane. Then we had to wait because the gate sensor kept going off, alerting that the ramp was disconnecting (turns out it was a faulty sensor, but we still had to wait for it to be replaced). We were suppose to leave at 9:50, but didn't end up leaving until nearly 10:30. Despite that we still landed in Minneapolis earlier than expected, though it was a very bumpy and windy landing! (Followed by a very late and windy drive home!)