Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts

Travel Series #1 - Puerto Rico

 
December means winter, which means freezing cold temperatures. So, because I 'm not going on vacation anytime soon I will reminisce and look back at some of my favorite vacation spots. So, be on the look out for my travel blogs. The first series will be  about Puerto Rico.
 
The flight from NYC to San Juan was a breeze. In less than 3 hours we were in San Juan. In NYC, I was bundled in a hoodie to protect myself from the cold and once I got out of the airport we were greeted by the warm breeze. It was such an amazing feeling. 
 
 
 
The first stop right after the airport was our friend's apartment. He lived right on the beach, which was amazing. It was a cloudy day when we arrived, but it was still nice walking along the beach. In NYC the beaches, are not as serene and clean. In San Juan the water is crystal blue.


 
After that we went and toured Old San Juan. We didn't really get to walk around. Just took a few snapshots. It was really nice to see how historic it all looked. Oh and if any of you ever go on any cruise ships that dock at San Juan, you will be able to see this.
 

 After that we went to our hotel. It was probably a 45 min drive outside the airport in Dorado. We stayed at the Aquarius Vacation Club at Dorado del Mar Beach & Golf Resort. I can't remember how much we paid but it was def worth it. We had a room with a balcony that overlooked the pool and the beach. The resort had a casino, golf area, and their own private beach. There was also 2 restaurants on site. We had a car so just outside the resort there were tons of fast food - Subway, Burger King, Pizza Hut. There was also a Walgreens. In order to get into the resort you have to pass through security and let them know you are a guest. If you don't, you cannot enter, so I felt really safe. From the resort to all the stores you could also. It was probably a 20 min walk.

 

The food was pretty good too
mofongo
As you can see I WON big. LOL

The resort had multiple pools and even had a hot tub and a kiddie area. Plus plenty of lounge chairs and towels to spare. In order to get to the private beach you need your room key. There is a gate to enter so all you do is tap and then you are in. On the beach there are various activities you can do from kayaking to paddling in water boats.

view from our balcony
View from our balcony

Private Beach
 
We didn't wanna spend all our time tanning and at the pool so we also went to El Yunque Rainforest. Be prepared you will do a lot of walking, but its so totally worth it. The views were very breathtaking and coming from NYC, I don't get to see these too often so I enjoyed it very much. If you want you can also take a quick dip in the waterfalls. We chose not to do that, but to each their own.









We spent four days in Puerto Rico and that is def enough time to explore. I want to return again someday. Have any of you been here? What are some of your favorite vacation spots? Leave a comment down below and let us know!

 XOXO,
Geri


Coming Soon ...

Welcome to Athens, Greece!

Over the summer, I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to travel and live in Greece! I worked for Athens International Airport, shopped in the Plaka, roamed ancient structures, hiked up the Lycabette Mountain, swam in the beautiful crystal blue waters and gazed at the night stars all thanks to my college internship!

Aegina Island, Greece

-d. rodriguez


Kalahari Resorts

We wanted a quick getaway from NYC and the Poconos was just the right location to unwind. The drive there was less than 2 hours even during a busy Saturday morning. Checkout is at 4pm but waterpark access starts when you arrive. So, we decided to go a little early. We arrived there around 1pm but decided to grab some lunch before we checked in. There are lots of places to eat nearby. McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Red Robin and Subway were just a few places I spotted. There are also a ton of local mom and pop restaurants and there is a Walmart nearby as well.
 
We ended up arriving at Kalahari Resorts around 2pm. Check-In was really fast. Probably waited 10 min and we were told our room was ready for us, which was fantastic news for us. They gave us our wristbands which was used as our room key, waterpark access and can even be used to charge items. They have tons of carts so bringing our luggage to the room was a breeze.  Along the way we saw all the cute safari themed animals which decorated the resort. 

Lobby of Kalahari Resorts. Ready for Christmas!

 


cute giraffes in the hallway
elephants in the hallways




wall decorations...of course more safari animals



 The room was really spacious. Two queen beds with a queen size sofa sleeper.

Room Amenities

  • Microwave
  • Refrigerator
  • Free high speed Internet access available
  • Telephone with voice mail
  • Ironing board and iron
  • In-room safe
  • Complimentary access to Fitness Center
  • Table and chairs
  • HD Television(s)

The only thing that I didn't like was that there was no sink in the bathroom. The sink was located outside. I don't know if they did this because they needed to save space or what, but I just thought it was strange.

sink, microwave, coffee maker, fridge

bathroom

2 queen beds and the sofa sleeper
 
Once we got settled in, it was time to change into our swimsuits and head to the waterpark. You need to enter the arcade to go to the waterpark. You can grab towels at the entrance. Once you enter you are greeted by 80 degrees of hotness. There are tons of chairs and tables so just find one and put your things there. No one took anything of ours, but if you are paranoid there are lockers that you can rent as well. The waterpark is huge. There is so many things to do for children, teens and adults. There are kiddie pools and slides, hot tubs, a lazy river and tons of slides. There were lines, but it moved pretty fast. If you want, you can even reserve cabanas and have your own private getaway. We didn't get this, so I can't really comment but I did see that it had a TV and couches. We spent a few hours here. If you get hungry, you can also buy food and eat as you wish.


waterpark


waterpark 
Once we were done at the waterpark we went back to our room to change and headed down to the lobby to grab some dinner. There is a buffet but, we thought it was too expensive so that's why we picked this place. Service was fast and the food was tasty. The portions are huge!!! So, you may want to share.
Dinner Time

After that we decided to hit the arcade and try our hands at glow in the dark mini golf. We spent about an hour and half here. We had a blast and of course redeemed our tickets for a bunch of candy.

 
After that, we headed back to our rooms. We were tempted by the yummy goodies, but, decided to pass since we were still so full from dinner. Once, we reached our room we decided to sleep since we wanted to head to the waterpark again before we checked out.
 

 
 
The next day, we woke up early and ate breakfast in our room. Once 9am hit we headed back to the waterpark. Going early in the morning, means no lines and no people in the hot tub. Check out is at 11am, but you have access to the waterpark for the whole day. There are changing rooms and showers so that was a great benefit!!! I just wished checkout wasn't so early...But, after we were done with the waterpark we changed and decided to take some more pics of the resorts. 




 

Kalahari Resorts was a great weekend getaway. For less than $300, I definitely recommend this place. I can't wait to come back again, especially in the summer. There is also an outdoor pool, but we obviously couldn't use it. Until next time...


XOXO,
Geri