Punta Cana: The Best Vacation Spot
Written: Apr 16 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful beaches, clear water, inexpensive vacation packages
Cons: nearest town is 45 minutes away
The Bottom Line: Great vacation destination if you want deluxe all-inclusive accommodations at an affordable price.
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| chilliwi's Full Review: Dominican Republic |
The Caribbean country, the Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and is located 800 miles southeast of Miami between Jamaica and Puerto Rico, so the weather is similar with temperatures in the 80’s and humid with short afternoon thunderstorms. The people here (from what I witnessed) were very friendly and hospitable, although there are con-artists who will try to swindle an unassuming tourist when bargaining out of their money, by trying to confuse the exchange rates. The people here are generally quite poor, which contrasts greatly with the lavish beach resorts. There are three main coastal tourism areas: Puerto Plata (northern coast), Punta Cana (eastern coast) and the capitol city of Santo Domingo & the nearby coastline. Spanish is the official language of the Dominican Republic, although English is widely spoken in tourist areas.
We decided to be married and spend our honeymoon in Punta Cana, which is an area on the eastern shore where will you find many of the newer resorts. Why Dominican Republic? After researching vacation packages in the Jamaica, Cancun, and the Bahamas, we found that the Dominican Republic was home to some reasonably-priced, very nice all-inclusive resorts. For airfare, transfers, and our all-inclusive stay at a luxury resort, we paid less than $2500 for seven nights. For a comparable vacation in Jamaica the cost was $3100 and in St. Lucia the cost was $4200. The only additional money we spent (less than $100) was on souvenirs. We wanted to stay at an all-inclusive resort because we didn’t want to worry about money or possible language barriers.
When we stepped off the plane, we knew we were in another world. The airport is quite small–a landing strip and a blacktopped surface that could park three large planes–no terminals or gates. Like most buildings in this country, the airport has no front doors or windows–open air–with a thatched roof that welcomes visitors to the relaxed beach style of this country. This airport has all of the amenities of a small airport like duty free shops and restaurants, but under giant straw beach umbrellas!
We didn’t rent a car here and I wouldn’t recommend renting one. Combine roads that are very narrow and often unpaved with fast and erratic driving and you’d rather take a cab ride with one of these drivers than share the road with them. For these same reasons, car rental prices are expensive.
We stayed at the beautiful Melia Paradisus Punta Cana which is an all-inclusive luxury resort located on the fine, white sand of Bavaro Beach. The ocean was a clear turquoise-blue and the sand was clean and white. Heaven! This is a wonderful place to stay! I realize this review isn’t about the Paradisus, but I’m including information about it because there are many similar all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic. This particular resort boasts 341 suites located in 2-story villas that each contain 8 suites. The rooms were decorated in the obvious Caribbean style, with ceramic tile floors, king size beds, sunken sitting area, balcony or terrace, air conditioning, fully stocked mini refrigerator, marble shower, and room service. There are fragrant flowers growing EVERYWHERE on this property. Numerous flower gardens and flower-trimmed walkways add to the beauty of this resort. Giant yellow, red, and pink hibiscus flowers as well as plumeria, bananas, and other beautiful tropical flowers and plants surround the pool making it not your typical hotel pool. The pool has a curvy, irregular shape allowing for secluded areas and different water depths.
There are five restaurants located at the Paradisus that include a very large delicious buffet that is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; a fine dining, reservations only restaurant that offers gourmet seafood and steak selections (the Chateau Briand was delicious); and Italian bistro that serves pizza and a variety of italian dishes, a Mexican restaurant that offers delicious authentic Mexican dishes; and an outdoor grill for lunch only that serves traditional caribbean items like paiella, seafood, and grilled meats and vegetables. Reservations can also be made at a French restaurant located at the adjacent resort, but is not included in the Paradisus’ all inclusive plan. The bars offer premium drinks and are located on the beach, in the pool, in the lobby, in the buffet restaurant, in the casino, and in the club. I was completely impressed with the variety and quality of the food and drinks here.
In addition to great food and unlimited drinks, there was a ton of things to do here. Although the activities offered by the various hotels vary, most include snorkeling, kayaking, biking, golf, tennis, boating, windsurfing, and of course swimming (by the way, topless sunbathing is permitted). The Paradisus also includes scuba diving (with training) on coral reefs and a shipwreck. The snorkeling was good, not great. We showed up at a specific time and were shuttled by a small boat to a nearby reef for about an hour of snorkeling. There were a lot of colorful fish that made for some great photos (with an underwater disposable camera). I think the snorkeling was better in parts of the Bahamas, but I’m sure there are other areas in the Dominican Republic that offer wonderful snorkeling.
Other excursions are also available through local businesses including jet ski rentals, excursions to an island for lunch and snorkeling, deep sea fishing, and various land tours. A small shopping mall was within walking distance of our resort that offered souvenirs, groceries, liquor and a currency exchange. The nearest city, Higuey, was a 45 minute cab ride were many visitors go to visit the disco.
I am currently planning a return visit to the Dominican Republic with my husband and friends. I am particular to the Paradisus Punta Cana, but I would return in a heartbeat even at another resort.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Mar - May
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Epinions.com ID:
chilliwi
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Location: Lake Michigan Shore
Reviews written: 137
Trusted by: 90 members
About Me:
Pretty busy with work right now …I guess I shouldn't complain!
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