Caribbean 2023: A Week of Fitness and Adventure in the Dominican Republic

January 2023 saw 15 legends join us for our first ever Escape to one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful and diverse islands, the Dominican Republic. Our crew joined us from the US and the UK for an unforgettable week spent sweating, exploring and relaxing in this INSANE beachfront villa, set amongst never-ending palms in the Samana region of the DR. With 12 gorgeous ocean-view bedrooms and tropical gardens stretching out down to the sands of Playa Coson, our luxury villa made for the perfect base camp for our week in paradise. 

We arrived on the island a few days early with our team to prep the final arrangements for our crew’s arrival. Our first days in the DR happened to include a very romantic beach proposal for two of our besties, who got engaged and then joined us on their first Salt Escapes week, as fiancés! Naw, cute. 

OK enough with the romance, here’s what went down in the Dominican Republic on our first ever Caribbean Escape…

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Day 1

Arrivals - welcomed with hugs and fresh, ice cold coconuts

Checked into rooms and unpacked

Explored the villa, checking out the beach and meeting new friends

A slow, stretch-y Pilates session with Rhi to wind down after travel day

Cooled off in the pool, showered and changed for welcome dinner

Sipped on rum punch whipped up by the Salt team!

First night group dinner as the sun sets over the ocean

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Day 2

Woke up with the sun trickling through our windows, overlooking the ocean

Grabbed a coffee freshly brewed by the Salt team, and took it down to enjoy on the beach with new friends

First workout LFG! Amy & Mike explained the session, warmed up the crew and turned up the tunes. Here’s what we got stuck into for workout 1.

Pairs Workout - You Go, I Go

45 seconds work, 45 seconds rest

X 6 rounds each block

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Block 1

10 KB swings

Remaining time: Max burpees

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Block 2

10 Push ups

Remaining time: Max sandbag thrusters

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‍Block 3‍

10 sandbag cleans

Remaining time: Max shuttle sprints

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‍Block 4‍

10 DBall Squats

Remaining time: Max deadball over shoulder throws

Got stuck into the brekkie spread

Slapped on the SPF and kicked back by the pool to get to know our new mates properly

Pilates time - a little stretch and wiggle to recover from our morning workout

Lunchtime - workout, eat, relax, repeat. Could get used to this

A whole afternoon of chill time - we hit the beach, went for a dip in the ocean and read our books in the shade of a palm tree

Hit workout #2 - some partnered boxing. Kicked off with some hilarious warm up drills, learnt our foundation punches, and got stuck into some combo work. Straight into the ocean to cool off!

Showered and changed for dinner, and then poolside to enjoy a sundowner with the group

Sunset dinner did not disappoint

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Day 3

Woke up and sipped the coffee!

Big day of activity ahead, so straight into workout 1. This morning’s workout covered the garden and the beach and was a whole lot of fun in teams of 4. Our workout finisher included some beach burpees, sand runs and a run into the ocean shallows, around Mike, and back up to the beach. Sandy, salty and savage, but it’s what we’re here for!

Hit the delicious brekkie spread, before getting to work on our tans by the pool

Pilates with Rhi was a great way to stretch the sore muscles, before sitting down for lunch

Afternoon was a mix of relaxing by the pool and surf lessons with Mike. The waves right in front of our Escape villa are perfect for learning to surf

As the sun begins to lower, it’s time for workout 2. A pairs chipper style workout tonight - a crowd pleaser!

Cracked open some beers and poured some rum punch whilst watching the sunset from the beach with the group

Dinner, lots of chat and laughter, and bed :)

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Day 4

Woke up, coffee… There’s a buzz in the air for Boat Day!

First though, workout time. Got our sweat on in another teams beach workout, finishing with a full team dip and picture in the waves. Would be rude not to

Breakfast time - extra big one today to fuel up for Boat Day

Grabbed our swimmers, our SPF and our best vibes, and headed in the Salt Party Bus (not really a thing, but totally should be) to the port

All aboard 2 big beautiful catamarans for our first ever Caribbean Boat Day

Spent the day exploring the coastline, jumping in to the aqua coloured sea, and swimming up to picture-perfect, white-sand tropical islands. Enjoyed a delicious Caribbean-style BBQ lunch on board, some ice cold drinks, plenty of summer tunes, and non-stop laughter. The most epic day of letting our hair down, soaking up the salt and making memories

Back to the villa for sunset dinner and a well-earned sleep

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Day 5

Coffee by the pool, after a little post-Boat Day sleep in :)

Perfect rolling waves this morning, so we hit the surfboards for round 2. A whole morning at the beach, cheering each other on in the surf, and laughing at all the #fails

Pilates to wind down after a salty morning

Long lunched at the table reminiscing about Boat Day and sharing stories

Afternoon spent walking along the beach, sipping coconuts by the pool and treating ourselves to massages overlooking the ocean

Worked up a sweat amongst the palms for our afternoon session - Mike & Amy had found some big logs for the crew to carry, sychro squat, flip and burpee over as part of our workout. Our workout finisher ended in the ocean, because what better way to cool off

Pina colada and ice cold beers on the menu tonight for our beach sundowners

Ate a big beautiful group dinner under the stars before winding down for bed

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Day 6

Woke up for our last full day in paradise, and sipped our coffee on the sand as the morning sky turned shades of pink

Turned up the tunes and got stuck into our Friday morning workout. A classic Salt Escapes workout, working as a pair through different exercises and reps, with an added E3MOM for some extra spice! Every 3 minutes, wherever we are with our reps, we stop what we’re doing and hit 5 synchro burpees with our partner. Nothing like a whole lot of burpees to get you pumped for Friday

Brekkie, massages and chill are on the menu for the rest of the morning

Relaxed on the mat with Rhi for some midday Pilates

Lunchtime feast to set us up for the afternoon

Afternoon spent exploring with friends along the beach, wandering through the palm trees and tanning by the pool

Tonight it’s time to head out for sunset dinner at a beach restaurant - so we get our best fits on, and head poolside for a group drink and pic

Walked along the beach barefoot to the restaurant as the sun is setting and the sky does it’s magic, to enjoy a special meal together and toast to an unforgettable week

Back for bed with a big smile on our dials

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Day 7

Last time waking up to the sounds and smells of the ocean (for now)

Morning coffee, followed by our final team workout, and hugs all round to celebrate a huge achievement - a full week of Salt Escapes workouts complete!

Big brekkie to set us up for travel day, followed by some last minute packing, hugs (and a coupla tears) all round, and that’s it, we’re on our way

But of course, it’s not goodbye, it’s see you on the next adventure…

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Sound like your dream week? Join us on our next Caribbean Escape.

Week 1: 25th February - 2nd March 2024

Week 2: 3rd - 9th March 2024