WE'RE FINALLY TRAVELING AGAIN!!!!!! Anddddddd I'm 30.... At least this year I was able to take an actual birthday trip unlike last year due to covid. I am still hoping to take my 29th birthday trip later this year to Portland and Seattle.
My original plan for my 30th was to go to Bali. I was super pumped to spend this huge birthday on the other side of the world with a group of other travelers but covid struck again. After hearing that the Dominican Republic was open, I decided a Caribbean island would be a good back up. My friend and I stayed at a Riu resort, one that is adults only which is the best decision I've made in awhile. Not a bad way to celebrate 30 than without children. We spent most of the time at the resort but like my normal birthday trips, I needed more than just a resort. I wanted to experience culture and food and truly see what the DR is like. We planned two off resort excursions. One was a day trip to Santo Domingo which is the largest city in the DR. It was a three hour ride there and back which made for a very long day. But worth it. Our tour guide Anthony was amazing and really showed us some great spots in the city. Our second excursion was a 5 in 1 with horseback riding, zip lining, dun buggy, local market and a very fancy church. The zip lining was the high light for me. I don't have any photos of it though because you can't bring your phones/cameras obviously. Our tour guide Fernando was also super fantastic and gave us a very memorable experience.
We mostly ate resort food which was pretty good but the two lunches we had on our excursions were by far the best. Very authentic and part of the reason we love to travel. I also loved being in a country where english was not the dominant language. I learned a little more spanish just in one week because that was the only option.
Overall I had a great time for my birthday but I only brought my camera to the Santo Domingo day trip so that's the only photos I have from my actual camera. The rest are from my phone which are on my Instagram. @kelseynicolesmith Here are my camera photos...
