On July 14 sophomore Sara Jewson will board a plane and travel approximately 1787 miles to begin her week-long vacation. After the six hour flight she will arrive in a city with a year-long average temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit, over 2.5 million visitors a year, and Spanish as it’s official language. This tropical paradise is Punta Cana, located in the Dominican Republic.

“I’ve never been out of the country before,” Jewson said. “It will definitely make the summer more interesting.”

The city lies on the east coast of the country and is considered one of the Caribbean’s most popular resort areas. Jewson will be taking the trip with a long-time friend Brittany Darnley and her family.

“It’s our first time going there,” Darnley said. “We chose Punta Cana because by mom’s friend told us about it. She told us it was really nice and had a lot of fun stuff to do.”

With over 30 resorts, this tourist hot-spot has plenty of summer entertainment. The place the girls plan on staying at, the Ocean Blue Resort, has a long list of activities such as horseback riding, kayaking, and scuba diving.

“I’m mostly looking forward to the beach,” Jewson said. “And hopefully there will be some good food there. My family trip got canceled, so I’m glad I still get to go on vacation this year.”