Ahhh, back from a nice and relaxing spring break, what every college student looks forward to and not-so-meticulously plans. It seems like everyone is buzzing around the week before spring break with murmurs of Cabo, San Juan, and, dare I say, Punta Cana humming in the background.
I was never a “college spring breaker” as some might call me. The stereotype of partying for a week at an all-inclusive on a parent’s credit card is a far cry from my life. However, this year, my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided for my senior year that I would travel to the popular spring break destination of Punta Cana with two of my best friends.
We opted for an Airbnb, as opposed to the traditional resort setting, to save money and to experience the culture. We told ourselves that we would still see other spring breakers on this trip, but oh, we were so wrong. As the detail-oriented planners we are, we curated a well-balanced itinerary with a mix of excursions, relaxation time, and time to go out on the town. Our excursions included a zip-lining park with tons of local animals like iguanas and monkeys, a boat snorkeling excursion, a salsa lesson, and a surfing lesson. What we found time and time again is that there was no one under the age of 30 on such excursions.
That is, until one night we attended the infamous “Coco Bongo”, a six-hour open bar acrobatic show full of TikTok viral dance performances and elaborate stunts. We hyped up Coco Bongo for the full week, looking forward to what we thought would be the pinnacle of our vacation. However, upon entering Coco Bongo, we were confronted head-on by such an intense crowd that one had to fight to protect their rib cage and air space, and that’s when we knew we had found the spring breakers.
Coco Bongo can only be described as dangerous yet exhilarating. The venue was far beyond capacity limits by U.S. standards, and one need not even try to get to the bar, as it was clearly an impossible feat. The show itself was amazing, as popular characters such as Spiderman flipped through the air, as well as “Benito” in an impressive rendition of the Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show. Words cannot describe the randomness of which pop culture phenomena was selected for inclusion into this show.
What struck me was that the young people we had been searching for were here, but nowhere else we had been in Punta Cana. After chatting with other young spring breakers, we learned that, yes, in fact, literally everyone does stay in the all-inclusive resort, and they only leave to go on very select field trips on resort chartered buses. Some even looked horrified to find out we were staying in an Airbnb and coordinating our own excursions.
I think it’s important to remember that when visiting other countries, we are their guests. Balance that includes relaxation is always necessary, but tourism should always support local economies. I encourage everyone to veer off the resort, hire a local guide, and explore something beyond the swim-up bar. Speak that “white girl Spanish,” be kind to locals, and remember that you are in their home. You can party in Hoboken literally any weekend, but traveling to another country without experiencing an ounce of local culture seems like a waste of time and money, as well as an affront to the locals.
