Talk to me about the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana - things to do

[LovesTimone]

We are heading down to the Dominican Republic later on in the year, and are going to stay at all inclusive. We will be traveling with our friends, and possibly another couple.

This will be the first time for us trying an all inclusive resort, we have been researching and have picked one out, they offer a adult only area, within the resort so we will be going this route.

All inclusive?
Tips for the all inclusive, so we get the most out of our time. Pointers on dinning, and anything extra charges that might be hidden, things we need to look out for

It states that tips are included, but we find that tipping a bit extra goes along way. So do you tip extra for bartenders, and what about butler service?

Excursions ?
We all love to snorkel, and love the water and beach. Suggestions for tours or a destination to check out.

Any suggestion for fishing charter or private boat charter, this is sorta up in the air whether we are going to do this or not. We are thinking about a private charter, but we want to be able to come back in if it gets to rough fish and maybe snorkel or ride around. My DH and our other friend have both been out on fishing charter and they would not bring you back in. It was so rough that everyone was sick on the boat, but the captain just laughed. So we are hoping with a private charter it would be a better way to go. What's the best way to handle this?

Shopping?

Of course we will want to pick up a few T-shirts and some other things, preferably local art or ceramics. Where to go?

Safety - We have been told that we should not go into town not unless on a tour, and most definitely not to venture out at night, to stay on the property. When we went to Turks and Caicos they would not let us leave the resort at night without someone with us, one night we went to town for dinner, and they had a car take us and was waiting for us when we came out. I am pretty sure our driver was armed.

So what else do I need to know?

 

[MIGrandma]

I can't help you with your questions but hopefully others can, as I too am interested in learning more. Our son and daughter-in-law want to take a vacation with us again next year and she mentioned Punta Cana but when I looked at their website I didn't see anything about it being "all inclusive" and it looked like it was a bunch of different hotels all in one "resort." What am I missing?

 

[nkereina]

We've stayed at many all inclusive resorts but have only been to Punta Cana once, many years ago. Which resort are you staying at? Many are chains, but knowing which one it is may help because some of them do things differently.

We've never run into extra fees at all inclusive, but we have only stayed at the chain resorts you can find all over the Caribbean. Tips are included technically, but it's almost always expected that the bartenders and cocktail servers will get a couple bucks when you get a drink so we brought lots of singles. We did not tip housekeeping, but if you have a butler service that checks in throughout the day and is assigned to only a few rooms, I would tip them.

At many all inclusives, you will need reservations to dine at their a la carte restaurants. These are the specialty/theme restaurants that are not the buffet. Find out when you arrive what the protocol is for reserving these. At most of the resorts I have been to, you have to get up early to be at the reservations desk when they open in order to snag a reservation. They go quickly so keep this in mind. We always wanted to sleep in, but that usually meant we had to eat the buffet for dinner. We were ok with that, and have always found the buffet options to be fine.

Can't speak to any specific excursions in Punta Cana but usually non-motorized water sports are included with many all inclusive resorts. They may have snorkel equipment you can borrow for free on days you don't do a tour.

I recall Punta Cana, and DR in general, to be very third world. Even more so than Mexico, Jamaica, or Bahamas. Tons of poverty there, and remember, Haiti is just across the island. The vendors were very aggressive. I probably wouldn't venture off site for shopping, only for tours where you will have transportation provided. If you do venture out on your own, don't bring bags or purses with you.

Have fun!!!

 

[LovesTimone]

I can't help you with your questions but hopefully others can, as I too am interested in learning more. Our son and daughter-in-law want to take a vacation with us again next year and she mentioned Punta Cana but when I looked at their website I didn't see anything about it being "all inclusive" and it looked like it was a bunch of different hotels all in one "resort." What am I missing?

You can Google All Inclusive's Punta Cana, or (we use) Expedia so we can get airfare included in the price. What I normally do is see what Expedia has, then pick a few I like then check out there website, seeing what appeals to your family and needs of your family, such as a waterpark, babysitting offered, family environment, and read the reviews. Which are..what they are reviews someone else's opinion, so keep that in mind.