Punta Cana

Cherokeekid88

Cherokeekid88

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2007
Location
High Point, NC
So the wife and I are trying to plan something later this summer and we both want to go to Punta Cana. We have never traveled out of the country before and we both hear wonderful things about the resorts here. We are looking for an All-inclusive resort where we can just go eat when we want and drink when we want. I have been looking on Cheapcaribbean.com and found some what I think are pretty good deals on places... I am looking to spend around 2k +/- for both of us...We are wanting to go for 7 nights...anyone that can tell me that has been, what resorts to stay away from or what resorts are really nice and recommend.
I just honestly need some tips and advice on how to make this a memorable trip...neither of us have ever been on a really nice trip and really want to enjoy this.
 
7 nights all inclusive for $2k is going to take some work, especially with airfare. I have been to the Excellence resort in Punta Cana and it was awesome.
 
My wife was just there 2 weeks ago, stayed for a week at the Majestic Colonial with her best friend. All inclusive deal.
I have no idea if it's the best or anything, but she was very happy w/ the way they treated her.
A few tidbits:
- Everybody expects a tip for everything. They are obvious and aggressive about it. Exception is the primary host staff. They are barred from taking tips.
- The people make shit money. Terrible economy. People who work at the resorts have the "good" jobs. Even they only make a couple hundred $$ per month. Hence they really live on tips. The tourists are the real cash cow of the area.
- The resorts are isolated and by themselves, so you can be happy and oblivious of the reality of what the economy and welfare of the people is really like. I guess that is good or bad depending on your perspective.
- if you go to town - prepare for the shop owners to be pushy and overprice everything. They know you have $$. Likewise everything is up for debate on price.
- While she was there they took an "outing" to go ziplining. That week there was a major strike by the workers of many tourist places, and the town was a mess. Their guide for the day was working for 2x pay as a scab. He took them a long roundabout way to avoid town and the picket lines (literally blocking the roads) up 20km of dirt roads that she felt were pretty scary. But I bet I would have enjoyed the ride ;-). Anyway, political unrest is not unusual.
- Don't even think about driving yourself. Lanes and traffic signs are only loose guidelines.
- Not many options for beer. Lots of rum.
- She said the drinks at the resort were pretty low-booze content. But when they asked for more in their drinks - the bartender just handed her the bottle and said, here, load it up as much as you want....
- Lots of drunk old people everywhere. The staff at the resorts really work to make sure people enjoy themselves and get a little crazy. Probably b/c of the tips.
- the views re awesome and I get the impression most of the resorts are pretty similar. I think it would be hard to not be pretty memorable.

Sorry, I just realized I didn't answer any of your questions...
 
My wife and I were supposed to go to Couples in Jamaica a couple weeks ago for our 10 year anniversary. She is pregnant and the zika virus made us change our plans. We ended up in Vegas. Never been to Couples, but the way they treated us in refunding our $$, I will definately be going sometime in the next year.

We had about $1700 in airfare and about $2k for 5 nights all inclusive.
 
BigClay said:
7 nights all inclusive for $2k is going to take some work, especially with airfare. I have been to the Excellence resort in Punta Cana and it was awesome.
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I was going to mention that. I think they paid like $1200 for their room. That was only 5 days/4 nights.
 
I just got back from the Excellence in Punta Cana in October. It was FANTASTIC!

People were awesome. The drinks were awesome. Food was great! Pool was nice. Beach was nice!

It is isolated so if you plan to wander out of the resort, it won't be as easy as you'd expect.

The shows each night are fantastic. The circus show was great and the Michael Jackson concert was great too!


We took a few excursions and went to other resorts to pick others up and they sucked! Can't remember the names off hand but they were in the Catalina area. Just too built up and touristy.

Id go back to the Excellence again. It's a great price for what you get. The rooms have full 1/5ths of liquor in the bar, free. We had a new bottle of JD and SoCo nearly every night. Excellence has a nice swim up bar that tends to get very sociable in the early afternoon. They were young professionals there from all over the U.S. mans it was fun to hang out and drink and meet new people and explore.

If you go, let Piere at the on-site dive shop know I said hello and ask him how the mahi was I caught for him. :)

I heard Dreams resort was nice from some others that we met on our dive trip that it was their favorite between it, Excellence, and a couple others. I have no other input other than that on Dreams.

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My .02 - pick another place, you will have much more fun for the same or slightly more. Nothing against the dominican in general but we have tried three different areas of the island and it sucked. It's cheap but you get what you pay for. Expect a hand shoved in your face for everything. Want that drink from the swim up bar? Pay up. Want decent service from an a la carte restaurant. Pay up. We own a home in Costa Rica and have been going there for 10 years and have traveled all over the world. We never had anything stolen except in the Dominican. Excursions outside the resort were awful. Broken down 4 wheelers, horses that were physically ill. We took one look at them and caught a cab back to the resort. No way in hell we were getting on those horses. And a shopping trip that consisted of a half abandoned stripmall where the shops that were open were teeth whitening, a tour company, avis rental cars and fake silver jewelry. If it was me and I had never had a trip like that I'd save a little longer to ensure I had a great trip.
 
A quick tidbit about the tips at Excellence...

They are great and a good way to make a few friends that will work hard to make your stay better. A few well placed tips work much better than $1 to every person that does something for you. A $20 tip to the bartender meant that every time he saw me coming, all of our drinks were ready when I got there and didn't have to wait on others. Things like that made the trip enjoyable and not a burden. :)

The staff at the Excellence never ever asked, mentioned, or pushed for a tip. They worked like they should and were very grateful for a tip when given but never ever acted as if they expected. This made our stay much more enjoyable as we never felt pressured or obligated and tipped as needed.
 
rockcity said:
A quick tidbit about the tips at Excellence...

They are great and a good way to make a few friends that will work hard to make your stay better. A few well placed tips work much better than $1 to every person that does something for you. A $20 tip to the bartender meant that every time he saw me coming, all of our drinks were ready when I got there and didn't have to wait on others. Things like that made the trip enjoyable and not a burden. :)

The staff at the Excellence never ever asked, mentioned, or pushed for a tip. They worked like they should and were very grateful for a tip when given but never ever acted as if they expected. This made our stay much more enjoyable as we never felt pressured or obligated and tipped as needed.
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x2, feel and did the exact same thing
 
Mike07 said:
My .02 - pick another place, you will have much more fun for the same or slightly more. Nothing against the dominican in general but we have tried three different areas of the island and it sucked. It's cheap but you get what you pay for. Expect a hand shoved in your face for everything. Want that drink from the swim up bar? Pay up. Want decent service from an a la carte restaurant. Pay up. We own a home in Costa Rica and have been going there for 10 years and have traveled all over the world. We never had anything stolen except in the Dominican. Excursions outside the resort were awful. Broken down 4 wheelers, horses that were physically ill. We took one look at them and caught a cab back to the resort. No way in hell we were getting on those horses. And a shopping trip that consisted of a half abandoned stripmall where the shops that were open were teeth whitening, a tour company, avis rental cars and fake silver jewelry. If it was me and I had never had a trip like that I'd save a little longer to ensure I had a great trip.
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We were in Costa Rica October of 2014. Had a great time but enjoyed Punta Cana more.
 
Tagged just for the bits of advice. Wife, I and another couple are going to Excellence at the end of July for a 20th anniversary trip and can't wait after @rockcity posts.

After looking for almost a month and spending hours on the phone with staff from numerous sites (Expedia, Travelocity, Cheapcarribean.com, etc), we got the best deal through AAA. If you guys are a member or know of someone who is, I highly recommend going through them. Much easier to deal with and we only had to pay like half upfront with the rest due a month before we depart. Can cancel any time up til we pay the other half, so no trip insurance needed (buy trip insurance when we pay the rest).
 
What kind of off site activities are there in PC? I've always been told there isn't much to do there compared to other places Caribbean ? I have a hard time sitting at a resort more than 2-3 days.

I've been wanting to go to Costa Rica for 20yrs! There seems to be so much to do it's hard for the wife and I to settle on something there.
 
In PC, we went diving but it was down in Catalina. There are closer places but this trip had several dives and was in one of the best places there.

We did surfing right next to the resort as there was a really small local instructor next door.

We also chartered a sport fishing boat and caught about 12 mahi. We brought some back to the Excellence and they cleaned them and put them in the fridge to cook for us at any or all of our meals. We even brought extras for a couple of the staff that treated us well. It pays off. :)


If you get tired of relaxing, you can always shop at Kohls, Home Depot, and KMart next door to the Excellence! :D
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In Costa Rica, we ventured off and were a little more adventurous. We did horse back riding, rain forest zip line, scuba dive, paddle boarding, whitewater tubing, rented a car and cruised around all week, ventured off to local shops for cruising and some local hole in the wall eats, etc.


Both were fun. Costa Rica was more adventurous and fun but Punta Cana was more relaxing and the resort was nicer as well as the food. We thought the food in Costa Rica resort was trying to be too American than serving the local fare, which we didn't like.
 
We went there for our honeymoon last sept. Had a blast. But If your planning on having kids in the near future id opt for somewhere other than the Caribbean. The zika virus kept me from booking our anniversary this year. Other than that we had a great time at the Secrets resort. Adults only, all inclusive, private beaches, 4 nights and round trip airfare was $2100. It was the off season. There was hardly anyone there and the weather was in the 70s. We stayed at the resort and did water sports. Every night they had in house entertainment. .circus, talent show, fire show. I got to touch fire! But there are excursions, rzr tours, cigar maker tours, night life, dinner boats, ocean restaurant, etc. Just go have fun, everyone was super nice and like stated before..tip well. They will appreciate it!
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Places I am currently looking at:
Majestic Colonial Punta Cana | CheapCaribbean.com

Barcelo Punta Cana Resort | CheapCaribbean.com

Alsol del Mar - Dominican Republic - Punta Cana | CheapCaribbean.com

Like I said, I have never been on a trip like this...and of coarse I want to stay on a budget. 2k is what we both talked about sticking with of coarse a few hundred dollars in either direction is perfectly fine, but just want something nice to get away and not come back feeling like we spent way too much.

If we just stay at the resort and its all inclusive...how "inclusive" is everything really? you just literally walk up to the place you want to eat and and order whatever? can you go anytime they are open? Just walk out to the beach and walk up to the bar and tell them you want 2 rum and coke's and that's it?
 
All inclusive is just that, everything is included. No $ needed for drinks or food. However, some of these resorts only include house drinks and local beers, etc in the package and you have to pay for top shelf drinks. Just check with them.

Most places have non-motorized water sports included. Anything more elaborate like scuba, etc requires $.

Most places have 4-8 restaurants on site that each have a different theme. One usually has an all u can eat local and American cuisine variety and the rest of their restaurants require reservations and are themed (Italian, local, seafood, etc).

Most you won't need any $ except for tips.


If you are going as a couple, I would recommend choosing a resort that is adults only! ;)

Nothing is worse than trying to relax on vacation and having to deal with someone else's screaming and bratty kids!
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
If we just stay at the resort and its all inclusive...how "inclusive" is everything really? you just literally walk up to the place you want to eat and and order whatever? can you go anytime they are open? Just walk out to the beach and walk up to the bar and tell them you want 2 rum and coke's and that's it?
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I have been to three Sandals resorts and the Excellence resort in PC, and those are all inclusive, and just like you described, once you step foot on the property, you don't need money for drinks and food. There are usually several restaurants, and at night you need reservations, but during the day you just walk up and sit down. As far as the bar goes, yep, just walk up and order and it is yours.

Here is some advice that you didn't ask for ;) If it were me, I would not skimp out and go to a second tier resort, stick with the big names. This will make your experience much better. I would shave off a few days to stay in budget and stay at a nice resort. Also, check out the Caribbean, don't limit yourself to PC.
 
It's not the Dominican, but the wife and I went to Catalonia Playa Maroma in Mexico 2 years ago. It was great. Tips were not expected. The food was decent, but not fantastic. The catch was the price. We went for 7 days 6 nights for $1600 total. Cant' beat that.

sgtbriangreen said:
My wife and I were supposed to go to Couples in Jamaica a couple weeks ago for our 10 year anniversary. She is pregnant and the zika virus made us change our plans. We ended up in Vegas. Never been to Couples, but the way they treated us in refunding our $$, I will definately be going sometime in the next year.

We had about $1700 in airfare and about $2k for 5 nights all inclusive.
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We went to Couples Jamaica 10 years ago for our Honeymoon. It was Fantastic! You will not regret going there. It has gotten bigger since then. It's just not in our budget anymore.
 
BigClay said:
I have been to three Sandals resorts and the Excellence resort in PC, and those are all inclusive, and just like you described, once you step foot on the property, you don't need money for drinks and food. There are usually several restaurants, and at night you need reservations, but during the day you just walk up and sit down. As far as the bar goes, yep, just walk up and order and it is yours.

Here is some advice that you didn't ask for ;) If it were me, I would not skimp out and go to a second tier resort, stick with the big names. This will make your experience much better. I would shave off a few days to stay in budget and stay at a nice resort. Also, check out the Caribbean, don't limit yourself to PC.
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I am willing to go from 7 nights to 5 nights if it means a much better experience... I mean, honestly...I just want to eat, drink, and lay out by the beach. don't really care to do anything else...I just want to relax....
So what are the big names? I just don't want to spend a fortune... I feel that we could have a nice vacay for around our budget.
 
I e stayed at Excellence and it was fantastic. I'd stay again. Everything was great. EVERY worker was very nice and very helpful no matter who we encountered, even the pit boss at the on site casino. :)

The food at Excellence was excellent! The main all you can eat restaurant had a wonderful selection of fresh local foods, drinks, sushi/sashimi, American food, and some that I didn't know what it was but tasted great! The caviar was pretty good as well for an all you can eat joint. :)

All of the all inclusive resorts tend to try to make it where all you need to do is already on site with the exception of a few excursions.


If you just want to relax and not be adventurous, just go to Myrtle Beach. I'd recommend venturing out and experiencing some of the local activities and culture in DR. ;)
 
rockcity said:
I e stayed at Excellence and it was fantastic. I'd stay again. Everything was great. EVERY worker was very nice and very helpful no matter who we encountered, even the pit boss at the on site casino. :)

The food at Excellence was excellent! The main all you can eat restaurant had a wonderful selection of fresh local foods, drinks, sushi/sashimi, American food, and some that I didn't know what it was but tasted great! The caviar was pretty good as well for an all you can eat joint. :)

All of the all inclusive resorts tend to try to make it where all you need to do is already on site with the exception of a few excursions.


If you just want to relax and not be adventurous, just go to Myrtle Beach. I'd recommend venturing out and experiencing some of the local activities and culture in DR. ;)
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hell no to myrtle beach...I always feel anx'd out when I go there. I guess what I should have said was no stress.
 
Cherokeekid88 said:
So what are the big names?
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In my opinion the big names are Sandals, Excellence, and Couples. That is for couples only resorts (which I recommend). You may also get a break on flights by going at odd times (fly in Monday Fly out Friday). I would recommend using a travel agent to help you get the cheapest rates, and most travel agents don't charge you anything if you go with one of the big names because they are given a percentage from the resort when you book.
 
BigClay said:
In my opinion the big names are Sandals, Excellence, and Couples. That is for couples only resorts (which I recommend). You may also get a break on flights by going at odd times (fly in Monday Fly out Friday). I would recommend using a travel agent to help you get the cheapest rates, and most travel agents don't charge you anything if you go with one of the big names because they are given a percentage from the resort when you book.
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So travel agents can beat online deals?
 
good ones. yes.

My next big trip is a private catamaran cruise around the BVIs...
Ive known a few to do it and they all RAVE.

Im not a DR fan...unless you are looking for sketchy excitement. DR and Jamaica ae the same to me. If you are going try to score some good bud or some cheap powder go ahead. If you want to just kick back and relax and stare at badass ice blue water...Costa is nice, Grand Cayman is hard to beat....and Jost Van Dyke is the coolest place Ive ever been. If I as diagnosed with a terminal illness and given an unlimited budget until I passed..They'd pick my exhausted carcas up from either JVD or Tortola.

Also I like Puerto Rico...its highly under rated and you can get there cheaper than most places.
 
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