Day 1 : MY 10th ANNUAL NEW YEAR NEW PLACE TRIP!!

If you would’ve told 20 year old me that 10 years from now (pretty much – I’m not quite 30 yet😂) I’d still be doing annual New Year New Place trips I don’t know if I’d believe you. 

Of course when I made the goal I aspired for it to never end. There are endless places to go in this world, I would never run out of options. However, life happens and plans change sometimes. The fact that I’ve made it 10 years is something to celebrate!! An entire decade of travels🥳

And boy am I celebrating! This year’s destination is…

PUNTA CANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC!!!!!!

I figure I had to go kind of big for 10 years, right?! So we’re going out of the country! 

I say we because my two youngest sisters, Courtney and Izzy, and childhood best friend, Madison, are joining me! 

This is my first international flight, and I’m stoked! I’ve been to the Bahamas twice via cruise but, if you ask me, it doesn’t count since you don’t need a passport. This is also Courtney and Izzy’s first time going out of the country as well. 

It might not be Madison’s first time out of the country, but it IS her first time on a NYNP trip! So this trip is just full of firsts🥰

The flights worked out where I left Connecticut but had a layover in Florida. So everyone else just met me there! 

My flight was bright and early at 6am which would make getting up at around 3am pretty hard, except that I never went to sleep. I wasn’t tired, and by the time I started to feel tired it was cutting it way too close and I just pushed through. Luckily I was able to catch some zzz’s on the first leg of this flight. 

There was a 4 hour layover before we’d leave for Punta Cana, and I’d spend about half of that working from my computer so I wouldn’t have to do anything while I’m gone. It made the time go by pretty quickly, and once I was wrapping up they were coming through security. Perfect timing! 

It wasn’t long before we were on our way traveling internationally to Punta Cana! We got upgraded seats with extra leg room, our flight was pretty smooth, and we touched down around 3:30pm. 

I wouldn’t say I speak a lot Spanish by any means, solo un poco actually, but boy am I getting some good practice in. Customs was pretty quick and easy to get through, finding our transfer service wasn’t too hard, and we got all checked into our resort. 

I’ve never stayed at an all inclusive resort before, so I’m pretty stoked about that too. Honestly I think this could end up being one of my most budget friendly, most chill NYNP trips I’ve ever taken. Since we booked the trip in advance, those costs have essentially come and gone. With everything at the resort included, it should definitely cut our spending down quite a bit while here.  

As of now, it’s looking like we’ll spend the most on bottles of water since we’re not planning to drink water otherwise while here. Trying to avoid any potential bacterias…

We’re taking precautions for our safety as best as we can and will not be leaving each other’s side while here. Most of the time we’ll be at the resort, but we do have 2 excursions planned off resort with a group. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous at all, being in a whole different country for the first time and all, but I am staying optimistic that everything will be okay and these next few days will be filled with fun times. Which they will!

Since today was a pretty long traveling day, once we got settled in we just walked around the resort, ate dinner at the buffet, and sat on the beach listening to the waves crash while enjoying the breeze. It was the perfect way to kick this week off, and I’m so excited for what we have planned! 

If you’ve been a reader since the beginning, I can’t thank you enough. I truly am in disbelief that I have been doing this for an entire decade. I hope and pray I can continue for many more. So if you’ve been here since wayyyy back to the DC trip, you’re a real trooper. If you’re new here, welcome! You can read all about the previous years’ trips under Blogs > New Year New Place. 

Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any updates, this week and beyond, and stay tuned for tomorrow’s post when we have our first full day in the DR! I’ll be showering and catching up on some sleep I didn’t get last night in the meantime 🙂 ❤