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Where to go in Dominican Republic

Hi this is my first posting so I hope it goes ok.
Am thinking of going to Dominican Republic this year for a change. We have only ever been to Ibiza.
Can anyone reccommend a resort/hotel.
I have 2 children aged 17 and 8. Not too keen on busy resorts with nightclubs 18-30 etc. Would like to be next to the beach.Would it be better to go to the north or south in July. Only want to go on a All Inclusive.
Any ideas???

Comments

  • We went to Playa Dorada in Dom Rep stayed at the Playa Naco and went through Portland Direct. It was ten years ago tho as went 1997 and 1998. Its right on the beach and fantastic.

    That was in the days before the kids came along but my family who came brought a 2 year old and he was fine.

    Would recommend Playa Dorada as it is fantastic. There isnt much night life anywhere to be honest but with the heat you are glad to get up early and go to bed early.

    You have to be careful in July though as this is the rainy season from June - October. We went for two weeks at the Whitsun Holiday and stayed all inclusive which is excellent.
  • I stayed at Hotel Iberostar, Puerto Plata, Costa Dorada, (on the north coast) with 2 friends about 5 years ago. It was All Inclusive and the hotel was absolutely fabulous, flamingoes & peacocks wandering around etc!

    The All Inclusive did include everything, some AI deals only include locally produced beers/spirits but we could have smirnoff vodka, cocktails etc (the champagne cocktails went down very well :D)

    the food was buffet style mainly, but I think there were a couple of restaurants as well. There was a niteclub but it wasn't a very busy/rowdy one. Also there were kids clubs and evening entertainment.

    It had its own private beach too, in fact I don't think we actually left the hotel complex during the 10 days we were there (didn't seem to much else around anyway... it is ALL just hotel complexes!)

    We went in May, I seem to remember it rained occasionally at night, but was scorching during the day, blue cloudless skies... damn, I wanna go back now!

    View from our room:HolsMay04004.jpg

    beach & flamingoes:

    HolsMay04003.jpgHolsMay04008.jpg
    Wiggly:heartpulsFB

  • chuckles1066
    chuckles1066 Posts: 2,670 Forumite
    :T
    gerad_way wrote: »
    Hi this is my first posting so I hope it goes ok.
    Am thinking of going to Dominican Republic this year for a change. We have only ever been to Ibiza.
    Can anyone reccommend a resort/hotel.
    I have 2 children aged 17 and 8. Not too keen on busy resorts with nightclubs 18-30 etc. Would like to be next to the beach.Would it be better to go to the north or south in July. Only want to go on a All Inclusive.
    Any ideas???

    North side = Atlantic side, not so nice
    South side = Caribbean side, excellent

    July = hurricane season, avoid!

    The Iberostar in Bayahibe is quite outstanding
    You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretzky

    Any advice that you receive from me is worth exactly what you paid for it. Not a penny more or a penny less.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,873 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    The most beautiful stretch of coastline is undoubtedly around Samana.

    Try to avoid all-inclusive since most of the money you pay goes to companies based abroad (rather than helping the local economy), and you don't get much of an experience of the country. There are some delightful little restaurants in the Samana area that offer high quality at low prices and deserve your custom.
  • pompeii
    pompeii Posts: 257 Forumite
    I have to agree with ChucKles1066. We went to Iberostar Bayahibe for our sons wedding we were a group of 11 of all ages, we still talk about it and plan to do it again as a family when we can all get together. The journey from the airport was a bit tiring for the younger and older (me) ones in the group. the sea was great but is is a man made beach, so can be a bit rocky in places.

    In the North we stayed at the Riu Mambo when it first opened in 1998 and appart from the sea which is not as good as the Carribean i though it was the best. However my son has been there more recently and they do seem to be having problems with stomach bugs, so it could be worth looking on forums like Tripadvisor to see if this is still a problem.

    We did do a last minute in a Barchello hotel in Juan Dolio i think and it was poor in comparison to the other two.

    I Agree in part with Voyager2002 most of these big chains are based abroad. but i speak very little Spanish and felt safe (if caged) going all inclusive.
  • pattycake
    pattycake Posts: 1,580 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I have been to the Dominican Republic over a dozen times during the last ten years. I have been to the north, south and east coast. I have never had a bad holiday. Best beaches are surely in the east, round Punta Cana and Bavaro. Prices are cheaper in the north. My recommendation would be to choose the highest star rated hotel you can afford and to research fully on Trip Adviser and Debbies Dominican Travel before you book.

    If you do your research, you really cannot go wrong. I absolutely love there as you can probably guess by my number of visits. Next trip due in June 2008 was booked as soon as we returned from the last holiday there.
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