Punta Cana: A luxurious adventure

If you are one for luxury, the Dominican Republic’s eastern most point, Punta Cana is truly the place to spoil yourself silly. Rightly called the Land of Lavish, this postcard-perfect Caribbean experience will give you all, while you live in the lap of luxury at all-inclusive resorts. You’ll soon discover that no request is out of bounds here. Want to tour the Cayman Islands on a helicopter How about hiring a luxury yacht for a booze cruise, slide into the ocean and be served exotic cocktails on the reef Or perhaps, you’d like to snag some tee-time at the Green Monkey, one of the most exclusive golf courses on earth Yup. They have it all.

While sitting on the silvery shores of popular Blue Flag beaches like the Bavaro, Macao or Playa Juanillo and working on your tan is an option, the darling of the Caribbean Isles has a lot more to offer. Adventure, perhaps, tops that list. If you love the feeling of adrenaline coursing through your veins, put yourself on an aerial assault course by zip lining (Hoyo Azul is a personal favourite). Renting dune buggies to explore caves and beaches, body boarding at Macao Beach, horseback riding, cave explorations, safaris or simply snorkeling to get a closer look at the stingrays, sharks and parrot fish are your other options. Don’t miss out on the popular Caribbean Buccaneers adventure that allows you to set sail from the pirate village of Tortuga towards the Shark Island for a true pirate feast under the stars!

No trip is complete without gorging on local delights. This one has an interesting Spanish-African variation. Allow Bizcocho Dominicano (pound cake with pineapple and fruit), Sancocho (stew of rice, beans, yams, yucca, potatoes and chicken), La Bandera (red kidney beans cooked in tomato sauce and meat), Pastelitos (Cuban puff pastry filled with sweet or savory fillings including guava, mango, cream cheese or coconut) to soothe your palate. Your best bet is to visit Higuey, a tourist-friendly Dominican village not far away, to get an authentic taste.

The locals also love to dance and will show you how to move! For the young (at heart), Punta Cana has a party scene that’s full of zip. Remember to dress to dance and hit a club like Coco Bongo for visual treats of your favourite celebrity impersonators and trapeze artistes, ORO for a Vegas/Miami-esque experience and the Imagine Punta Cana Disco for a near-rave like situation, considering that it is one big cave (yes, a cave!). If you want to revel in Caribbean dance music — merengue or bachata — then a handsome club like Pacha is the place to be. You haven’t lived like a local if you haven’t done shots of Mama Juana, a local concoction of rum, red wine and honey soaked in a bottle with tree bark and herbs.

Take a breather by exploring your resort, lounging on the beach and buying ‘I Love Punta Cana’ tees for your folks, because, you’ll be coming back for more. That’s a promise.

Getting there: All you need is a valid passport to get to the Dominican Republic. Purchase a tourist card for $10 at the airport. Most flights from India stop at Frankfurt, Paris or USA before a local carrier takes you to Punta Cana.

Best time to visit: March-May where temperatures are 30 degrees Celsius and up, June-November is hurricane season. Language: Mostly Spanish, a little English.

Getting around: Take a motorcycle taxi (Motoconchos) for as less as $4. Choose a driver with an orange vest signifying membership in the local driver union. Taxis and car rentals are safer. Money: 1 Indian Rupee is roughly 0.68 Dominican Pesos that can be exchanged at Western Unions across. The widely used currency is, however, US dollars. Buy: Sugarcane wine, pineapple rum, Mama Juana, chocolate tea, locally produced coffee, cigars and Larimar (blue gem only found in Dominican Republic) jewellery, amber jewellery, hand-painted faceless dolls made of clay or ceramic.