Visiting Bavaro, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
I stayed at an Airbnb called Shirley’s beach place for three nights in the Bavaro region after Now Larimar Punta Cana Resort.
Recommend for local interaction; good location
I knew after staying in an all-inclusive resort, I would not get to experience real Dominican food which is why I chose to extend my time and stay someplace outside of the resort. I was debating between a hostel or Airbnb, and after reading the reviews for Shirley’s Place, I knew I wanted to get the experience by staying with locals. Shirley was away traveling in Southeast Asia, so I met her friend, Claudio, who hosted me and helped arrange excursions, provided recommendations on what to do around the area and even joined me for a few meals. The only catch with this place was that there was no air conditioning. I was provided a fan and an electric mosquito/fly swatter in my room. Upon booking, I thought I could survive without AC for a few nights, however, each night was warmer than the last and I could not take it anymore and decided to splurge on my last night and stay at a hotel with AC. I need AC in my life, so that is the only reason why I did not stay the full four nights. Outside of that, I enjoyed my time at Shirley’s and the surrounding area.
Food Nearby:
Posada de Gladys – Went here with Claudio, my Airbnb host, when I first arrived at the Airbnb. I told Claudio I wanted an authentic Dominican meal which he indicated was meat with rice and beans. I had the fried chicken with rice and beans. Fried chicken was kind of dry, but it was a good first meal outside of the resort. Claudio’s dish of non-fried chicken with rice and beans looked much better than mine though…but I had only just met him to ask for a bite of his food, lol.
Dahlia’s – Went here for breakfast and it had AC. Hallelujah!! I stayed there for majority of the day working on some things on my laptop and didn’t feel like they were pushing me to leave at all, which was nice. Cute café and the breakfast was really good. I had a traditional Dominican breakfast which was fried eggs, ham, and mangu which is pureed plaintains with olive oil. Really good breakfast and atmostphere!
Wacamole – Went here for late lunch/early dinner (Linner? Dunch? Haha) Anyways, ordered the al pastor tacos and side of guacamole as well as a mojito. Tacos were super packed with meat and toppings which I appreciated. The guacamole was alright..I’ve had better at Chipotle, but still did the job. The mojito was excellent. The restaurant is all outdoors and blasted old top 40s music videos, I especially enjoyed the Bruno Mars segment, haha.
Don Pio Restaurante Cubano – Went here with Claudio and we both enjoyed what we ordered. I got fried beef with rice and beans – super tasty. Claudio ordered plaintain mashed potatoes with chicken – even better! We were closer at this point and shared our meals, lol. Sharing is caring!! Really recommend this place to anyone who is in the area.
Pranam – Indian restaurant that I did not get to go to, but heard from the locals that it was really good. Will definitely visit next time I’m around!
Excursions:
Santo Domingo Day Tour – I booked this excursion through Claudio. They picked me up at a nearby hotel and took the nearly two hour journey to Santo Domingo. We visited the highlights within Zona Colonial which was the first European settlement with the guide. Basilica Cathedral of Santa Maria la Menor was the first stop and was the first cathedral established in the New World. We also stopped for lunch at a Dominican restaurant which was buffet style, the name escapes me, but it seemed like this is where they took the tourists during their tours – food was pretty good! Then went to see a number of other places within the town and then headed to Los Tres Ojos which is comprised of three lagoons within a limestone cave. Really cool to see, but really hot! I was sweating the entire time I was down there, lol. Then after that, headed back to Punta Cana and got dropped off. Overall, very interesting to learn about the history and seeing the city for a little bit. I do wish I stayed in Santo Domingo for a couple nights, but that will have to wait for my next visit.
Isla Saona Day Tour – I booked this excursion through Viator and it was a miscommunication nightmare. I ended up not being picked up and missing the entire tour altogether because they told me the wrong time and no one bothered to call me before leaving. But there is always a silver lining! Since I had nothing planned for the day, I decided to move to the Westin Punta Cana so I could live my AC life again and had a fabulous chill day at the beach instead, so it’s all gravy..lol.
To learn more about my stay in Punta Cana, read this post: One Week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
To find out about the best beaches in the Dominican Republic, read this great article from AllTheRooms.com: 7 Best Dominican Republic Beaches