A Trip To Bluebay Villas & Casa Veintiuno In Sosua

I decided to take a multi-centre holiday over the course of two weeks in February and chose two destinations, Sosua and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

The first destination I chose was Bluebay Villas in Playa Dorada because I had been there before, it was relatively close to the airport and the fact that it was an adults only resort appealed to me as well. The second destination was a new place to me called Casa Veintiuno in Sosua. I had researched this boutique bed and breakfast hotel and the reviews were amazing.

The plan was to book an all-inclusive two-week holiday at Bluebay Villas and stay there for the first four days and then travel the 25km or so to Sosua to spend three nights to include the first weekend before returning to Bluebay Villas to polish off the rest of the two weeks.

Including flights and transfers, a two-week all-inclusive package at Bluebay Villas in February cost around £1200 per person. Three nights bed and breakfast at Casa Veintiuno was around £400.

Flying from Gatwick to Puerto Plata takes between eight and nine hours and as such it’s a place that I would want to spend at the very least 10 days there as I would want to take one day to recover from the long flight.

The transfer time from the airport to Bluebay Villas takes around 30 minutes and costs around £30 for a private hire taxi. If you are going as part of a package, however, the transfer would be included which in most cases is on a coach that stops at various hotels to drop off holidaymakers.

Casa Veintiuno

We had decided to spend the first weekend at Casa Veintiuno so on Friday morning we took a cab from Playa Dorada to Sosua and checked in.  We were greeted by our lovely hosts Saskia, Marc and their two rescue dogs and shown our suite. It was absolutely luxurious. The bedroom was large and lavish, there was a walk-in wardrobe and in the bathroom not only was there a double shower but there was also safe to drink tap water.

After unpacking we took a five-minute stroll down to Sosua beach to have lunch at the famous Big D’s BBQ

Just thinking of those ribs now makes me want to hop on the next flight over to Sosua to sit down with Big D and chat over a couple of bottles of Presidente and those succulent ribs. Without a shadow of a doubt, they are the best ribs I have tasted in my life. Even Frank Underwood would swap Freddy’s ribs for Big D’s in a heartbeat.

If you are ever in Sosua why not visit Big D’s BBQ. Take a look at his facebook page here for the location

The Sosua Singers “Esta Noche”

Whilst having our lunch we were serenaded by a group of singers on the beach playing and singing this lovely song. Great music, great food, great beer and a great beach. After this, all I was good for, for a couple of hours was kicking my shoes off and lying back and enjoying the view.

 

 

Eating at Casa Veintiuno

One of the things that I like about Casa Veintiuno is that whilst it is a bed and breakfast hotel, they also have their own restaurant where you can have lunch and dinner if you want to.

If you like your seafood you will love this restaurant as they get freshly caught fish from the local fishermen and cook with fresh produce daily.

Always keep in mind that reviews are subjective and what I like might not necessarily be to your taste. They will, however, give you a general idea of what the majority of people think.

A Relaxing Sunday By The River

 

One of the things I did at Bluebay was to book a trip to spend Sunday by a local river where many of the local people come to spend a relaxing day having a swim, a picnic and a few beers whilst shooting the breeze about nothing and everything.

I always find when travelling to different destinations that I have the most enjoyable times when mingling with the local people even if my knowledge of the language is rudimentary. If you make an effort to mix and try and learn the basic greetings you will be appreciated. You don’t always have to be correct but you will definitely get a laugh if like me on waking up one morning you greet everyone you see by saying “Buenas Noches”!

Fort San Felipe

If you ever have the chance to visit Puerto Plata don’t leave without visiting the historic Spanish fortress Fort San Felipe. Before it was converted into a museum in 1965 it had been used on various occasions as a prison where amongst its famous inmates was Juan Pablo Duarte, one of the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic.