Caribbean vacation. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when Ryan and I decided to plan a vacay to the Caribbean.
I had always thought it sounded magical….Turquoise waters, pure white sand, good music and lots and lots of rum!
Ok, it wasn’t hard to convince me to go, but I didn’t realize there were so many flippin’ islands to chose from!
We go to Cabo every year and it’s SO easy. Two hour flight, same hotel, amazing gym, beaches, etc. etc.
Planning this trip was a bit more intense. Besides locations, I wanted a mix of luxury, relaxation, ADVENTURE… and of course lots of ways to stay active and work of all those cocktails!
We finally decided on Dominica & Antigua/Barbuda (P.S. It’s NOT the Dominican Republic….it’s a great little Island just north of Martinique pronounced “Dominique-uh”)
These islands gave us the best of both worlds. Dominica is known as the “Natures Island” and it’s covered with rainforests and amazing volcanic reefs. On the flip-side, Antigua/Barbuda has a beach for every day of the year…literally! 365 of them! Um… Bikinis all day every day!
I envy those of you who are close enough to visit the Caribbean to visit like we visit Mexico. Traveling from Cali was a bi-otch. There are a few ways to go, but basically we flew to NY, then off to St. Martin, and finally got on a teeny tiny plane to Dominica. Sounds daunting, and it was, but 100% worth every hour of recycled air.
Dominica
We spent our first week at Secret Bay Resort in Dominica. The drive from the airport is long and on the windiest road ever, but luckily our driver stopped to grab us local welcome drinks and snacks for the trip. Sign me up!
I can’t even begin to describe how ridiculously beautiful this place is. Hawaii is great, but it is insanely expensive and over-touristy (new word?) Dominica was lush and basically untouched and I was ready to touch it haha.
We had a crazy active trip here for sure. We started off the trip with snorkeling at Champagne Reef.
I was really hoping this meant I’d be swimming in Veuve Clicquot, but alas.
It literally has tiny little bubbles flowing out of the reef and hundreds of technicolored fish. We also did a pretty intense waterfall boulder hike, canyoning in the rainforest and repelling down cliffs, a tour of the Indian River where they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean, and private yoga on our deck. One of the coolest parts was going spearfishing for lion fish on our last day. Thankfully Ryan caught some because they planned on preparing it for us for dinner. They did and it was delicious!
Because it’s such a small resort, their chefs prepare individual meals for you and serve you in your villa each night. What!? So cool… I mean, they seriously cooked some of the best food I have ever had and I’m a total foodie.
I know….it’s a lot, but we did have some serious R&R time too!
I really want to go back to get some dives in and maybe try the advanced canyoning trek next time! The owner and staff of the resort completely made this a trip of a lifetime. They went above and beyond to make us feel at home (but better!)
Antigua/Barbuda
After a ridiculously adventurous week in Dominica we headed to Anitgua so I could ditch the nikes and throw on a bikini.
Anitgua was exactly how I imagined the Caribbean. We stayed at Coco Bay Resort where each cottage was painted in a fun color. Ours was ocean front with a dipping pool, hammock and bathtub on the patio.
This is a major honeymooner paradise for sure. We’re four years in, but I’ll take it!
The property had some private beaches and infinity pools. We hopped around a bit everyday to take full advantage of it all. We also did a private dinner on the sand with lobster and wine.YUM! Between that and the couples massages we for sure felt like we were on a second honeymoon.
Best day ever…. the D-Boat. I so wish we had one of these in Cali. The owner Jamie took this old oil tanker and transformed it into a floating playground. Two words: Water Sides & Rum Punch! None of that booze cruise sugar crap. Legit fresh local stuff. Ryan and I were the only two on it and they were so nice to let us just run around and play all day.
We also went to Stingray City which was ridiculous! We took the boat out until there was suddenly a huge sand bar in the middle of the ocean. As soon as we got onto the sandbar with squid in hand they started to swarm, stingers in! They’re actually super sweet and gentle, but one thought I had food and sucked on my leg leaving a giant welt and hickey! Souvenir?
Barbuda
The next day we headed to Barbuda it to see the pink sand beaches. PINK SAND!! I know…crazy! It was so flippin’ beautiful I can even believe it. The ride across the Atlantic to the Island was rough, but definitely worth it! Ryan could barely pull me out of the water…it was so warm and clear!
Eventually we did have to come back home. Waaaaaaah. #RealLife Luckily I LOVE where we live & I missed being able to chat with you girls all day. Where they lack in Wifi, the Caribbean makes up everywhere else! I did get some good workouts in along the way and even filmed one from Secret Bay for you! Click Here to get the workout!
Now time to hit the gym to make up for all that fun!
@lovesweatfitness
During the month of July, I went on a humanitarian trip to Central America and the Carribean which included Dominica! I totally agree on how beautiful the country is and those roads! On the trip, I was fortunate to have access to a gym which I took advantage of for cardio, but I missed your workouts!! Not having wifi made things a little tricky. I did the June challenge and I did some of the workouts that I remembered. However, this Vacation Workout is exactly what I needed! I’ll definitely keep this handy for days I’m elsewhere exploring the world.… Read more »
Oh my gosh that is so cool! The wifi there is tough, but I’m so glad you’ll have it for the next trip now 🙂 That is so awesome you still tried to keep up with your workouts as much as you good with limited resources too! I’ve got your back on playing catch-up:) Plus, the Sept. challenge is right around the corner!
I just started following and watching all your you tube videos , i absolutely love them , you are amazing !
Ypur workouts are easy to follow and can be done anywhere
Thank you thank you ! I wanted to ask what brand of workout gear the teal outfit you have on is in the vacation workout … I love it and the top looks supportive. Thank you !!
That is so great to hear!Thank you so much for you kind words! I always want to bring workouts that anyone can do without needing to spend money on tons of equipment etc 🙂 The outfit is from Public Myth. I Love their stuff! Super comfy and supportive for sure! xoxo