Above: the beach at the Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe hotel in Punta Cana

BAVARO — Sometimes we forget. We forget how beautiful Caribbean beaches can be.

How quiet. How relaxing. How perfect.

There are so many wonderful things about the region.

But sitting on Playa Bavaro a few steps from the Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe in the Dominican Republic’s Punta Cana hotel reminds one of what remains the region’s best selling point: the sand.

And it’s particularly good here, at the modern all-inclusive complex, a massive resort that you immediately forget the minute you step on the sand and are surrounded by palm trees.

The water’s warm, the beach stretches on for miles … and so does the afternoon.

— CJ