From the moment I made contact with Tony, the owner of this beautiful haven, I felt very welcome to his beautiful condominium on the beach in AquaMarina in Cap Cana. After we arrived, the sights brought the experience to life. This condo is in a very safe, gated, exclusive community, and its location on the first floor, right on the beach, made waking up each day to the beautiful sunrise the highlight of our trip. It was a quick drive from the airport, where Ana and Moises greeted us, to take us to the Supermercado Nacional to pick up groceries, as recommended by past visitors. The condo is spacious, cleanly decorated and provided more than enough room for my family, which included my husband and two teenage daughters. Initially, we did not rent a car, but we wanted to explore the area outside of Cap Cana, so we ended up renting a car for 4 days; in hindsight, we should have rented the car from the airport for the entire week, as taxi fees can add up and the car provided us more freedom to explore the area. Highlights also included Monkey Land, which was about 1.5 hours away, where a guided tour allows you to hold and feed squirrel monkeys right in their natural habitat - my daughters loved this! We also explored Macao, El Corticito and Playa Juanillo beaches, and while all were beautiful, none compared to the beautiful beach and pools right outside our door at AquaMarina. Water shoes are a must, as there is a lot of coral, but the shelling is very fruitful and was part of our daily morning ritual. There are plenty of restaurants, including Api, which is steps away from the condo, as well as upscale restaurants across the harbor which include seafood, Italian and tapas dining right on the waterfront. Little John restaurant (right on Juanillo beach) was fun and delicious. Punta Cana Village is a short drive away - Mama Luisa's is good Italian. Lunch overlooking the golf course at Punta Espada is worth it too, but we also enjoyed lots of meals at home outside on the condo veranda, where the view of the water is stunning. A nice perk included Tony providing for discount tickets to Scape Park, which was amazing. This trip was our first to the Dominican Republic, and while we were sad to leave, we hope to be back! If you are looking for an alternative to an all-inclusive hotel, away from the crowds and with more autonomy and privacy in the Dominican Republic sun and sand, I would highly recommend staying here. Thank you, Tony! I hope we return soon!
