Enough to Do in Punta Cana???

[LadyCheese]

I came across this site for zip lining...

 

Dominican Republic Excursions - Dominican Republic Tours - Zip Lining in the Dominican Republic

[SunBride]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TA Dina The resorts have plenty of activities to keep you busy for however long you are there. I would check out all the "included" stuff before purchasing outside tours from anyone. And if you do go outside, my professional advice is to purchase a tour from a company like Scubacaribe or others located in your hotels. Apple Vacations has reps at almost every hotel and their mgmt company has tours everywhere (whether you booked your trip with Apple or not). I do not ever advise my clients to go wandering out into the towns, or to the local bars on their own. But that's just me. The locals will make their way into the bars etc that the resorts have (many have little "main streets" that have all their shops/bars on it). Just stick with them and you'll have a blast and be fine. My personal opinion as well as feedback I get from every client I send there, is don't waste your money on the tours to Santo Domingo or other town for thier sites. It's a looooong uncomfortable ride, it's expensive, and not really all that much to see. But again, just my opinion from the gazillion times I've been and hunderds of clients I've sent there.

Very good point about being careful not to go out on your own alone. Also it's true that the resorts offer lots of activities but that's not everyone's cup of tea (personally, of the five all inclusive vacations I've been on, I've rarely participated in the resort activities).

Anwyays, just to clarify, what I meant by doing stuff on your own off resort is, for example, in the mayan riviera many people will go to Xel Ha or Xcaret (eco parks) on their own, or visit the tulum ruins on their own rather than purchasing excursions. So you could go to Tulum for 5$ admission and a cab ride, rather than the 75$ that the tour companies sell it for! You could also take a cab or bus to a shopping mall. That's all I meant by saying that I personally found that in Punta Cana there is very little to do off resort except the organized excursions.

[KatyKo]

These are wonderful suggestions. Through my TA, I can post a "honeymoon registry" where folks who can't attend the DW can give money to help us enjoy the island through excursions like all these. Of course, I am also looking forward to just relaxing and being with my hunny...but...I can't wait!

[Debs]

We did the marinarium and it was amazing. We had friends who did the zipline and the dune buggies, all these excursions were amazing! So ya, lots to do on resort, and lots of extra excursions off resort, but it's not like Cancun where there's a really active nightlife outside the resort. It's just not built up enough.

[Jenn6603]

We spent a week in Punta Cana in March and never did any excursions... The resort had plenty to keep us busy (including keeping our 10 year old amused!)... From what I understood from some of the folks we met at the resort, the excursions were somewhat pricey... I guess it all depends on what resort you are staying at!

 

Jenn

[CJEB]

We didn't do any excusions on our week holiday but 2 weeks for us and we start to get restless

[EricaG]

The resort we are getting married at we went to in 2005 and had a great time. We didn't really do any of the activities at the resort although there were plenty. We did the Bavaro runners excursion, and we did a half day catamarran trip with Lorenzo. He is independant and has a small catamerran, we went out snorkling and had a great time. We had a group of 15 on that trip and 12 of us went with Lorenzo. He is well known with the resort, so they suggested him for a half day trip. 4 of us did go parasailing too, and that was sold on the beach. It was soo fun and I want to go again. As for the shopping, we did go off the resort to the Bavaro Plaza which was located right outside our resort. It was nice and they have a little bar there as well as a $ exchange that has way better rates than the hotels. At this marketplace it is better to use Dominican pesos though, because they get charged a fee for exchanging the $ back to pesos.

[foxytv]

We did the Saona Island excursion, and LOVED it! Sent our group the day we did our TTD pics and they had a ball. Tom and I went during our honeymoon and it was one of the highlights of the trip for us.

 

We also went to Steve's Corner Bar in Bavaro twice (once in the afternoon and once in the evening after dinner). No problems either time -- it's owned by a German and local Europeans and Canadians can be found there ... but also DR locals and some prostitutes, but none bothered us and we made friends with the bartenders and we re welcomed by everyone. The taxi stand was literally right across the street from the bar.

 

We walked down the beach and ate off-resort at Jellyfish twice -- the food was unbelieveably AMAZING -- and haggled with the beach vendors at some of the strings of huts (little "shopping malls") just off the beach. There was also a local bar attached to the huts right on the beach where they have lots of excursions offered.

 

Aside from Saona Island, which we booked through the resort upon arrival ... we only did the snorkeling included w/ our resort and it was well worth it for a first-time snorkeler!

 

We also walked into Bavaro for some of our TTD pics, but didn't stay long b/c we didn't feel wholly comfortable there.

[britb618]

Thanks for all the info! I am looking into doing the La Barcaza for a snorkeling trip for my guests. Has anyone snorkeled with them?