Dominican Republic

irishspur

I'm trying (!!) to plan a honeymoon for myself and the bride to be to Dominican Rep. I've heard that there's a "good" side and a "bad" side of the island, north and south or something like that. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to which is the "good" side of the island and maybe go one further and recommend a resort. budget is about 3k for july/aug.
Thanks!

missconnie

We haver been to both sides and I would definitely go Caribbean over Atlantic. Much nicer beaches. I must say that we stayed at the Luperon on the Atlantic side and the service and staff were amazing but we stayed at the pool bar rather than going to the beach.
On the Caribbean side we were at the beach all day. It was amazing. I would definitely do some excursions- we went parasailing Christmas day which was great but my number one was the jurassic tour which took you into the community- to a typical home and school and up into the area where jurrasic park was filmed.
If you can do this tour you might want to take some pencils, stickers and/or sweets along for the kids. They are so appreciative.
We also did the snorkeling trip.
Some resorts that are all-inclusive have daily horse-back riding for free so make sure you check it all out. And do the teletext and calling around thing- we saved hundreds of pounds even tho it takes time!!!
We will definitely go back!!!:T

turtle2k1

irishspur wrote: »

I've heard that there's a "good" side and a "bad" side of the island, north and south or something like that.

There is no good side and bad side. The north of the island is the Atlantic whereas the South and the East is the Caribbean Sea where the beaches and the sea are nicer. Expect to pay more if staying in the South or East.

beduth

Hi irishspur. Make it a point NOT to recomend hotels. But in this case I will make an exception. Done north and south. Try Punta Cana , Riu Palace Macao. White sand blue sea ,paradise. Should get it for about £1200 each with PORTLAND ( thompsons). Enjoy. ps. Palace Macao (not punta cana palace).

simplepete

I stayed at the Riu Mambo in Bahia Maimon, Puerton plata, which is on the north coast. It was very well valued compared to other hotels, it was all inclusive for 2 weeks in june, and we managed to get it for around £1200.

I would definately go to the dominican again, but we did get ill, which took 6 days of our holiday. It took numerous trips to the rep and chemist before we visited the doctor, who cured us that very same day; but we were so wary of eating and drinking it tarred the experience a bit.

The trips are amazing, and I must reccommend Ocean World, where we swam with dolphins.

Am I allowed to post links to other sites? try this
www.dr1.com/forums
(remove if not allowed) I found it incredibly helpful.

Its a beautiful place. A poor country, but on the up. Definately want to try other parts of the island in the future, Bavaro has been reccommended to be, especially the Riu Bambu.

Feel free to PM me if you want anymore help on the dom rep!!

jockettuk

we went last june north side.. beach wonderful, we stayed in the holiday village playa dorado near peurto plata..

check out this site gives you good and back reviews on hotels north and south..
http://www.debbiescaribbeanresortreviews.com/domrep/domrep.html

we did the outback safari another one for the tour of the local community and again would recommend taking some items for the kids at the schools.

http://www.outbacksafari.com.do/

we also did the ocean world tour, you can get it cheaper offsite but it normally means you on one of the last tours of the day so can sit around at ocean world a long time waiting your turn..

we also did a taxi ride from the resort of the town thats another eye opener

do the cable cars the taxi recommended this and the views fantastic

dont forget you will be going during the school holidays so prices might be dearer than normal.

we went all inclusive and to much food put you off lol

http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/caribbean/dominican-republic/83/

gives you a bit more info at the bottom of the page..

dont forget plenty of suncream coz its hot very very hot and insect repellent by the gallon

enjoy

and the north side is were the rum factory is thats worth a visit as well even though the locals call it gasoline lol

ethansmum

simplepete wrote: »

I stayed at the Riu Mambo in Bahia Maimon, Puerton plata, which is on the north coast. It was very well valued compared to other hotels, it was all inclusive for 2 weeks in june, and we managed to get it for around £1200.

I would definately go to the dominican again, but we did get ill, which took 6 days of our holiday. It took numerous trips to the rep and chemist before we visited the doctor, who cured us that very same day; but we were so wary of eating and drinking it tarred the experience a bit.

Oh no, we're going to the Rui Mambo in 2 months- any pros/cons??

simplepete

Its a very high quality standard, as its a huge huge chain.
Its great because you can use the facilities of the merengue and the bachata too.
They're all on one stretch of beach, that can only be reached through the riu's, apart from a few 'shops' at one end of the beach - approach with care!!
I'd say the mambo had the nicest bit of beach, very beautiful, and its great that you can get drinks whenever you want. They're always chopping up wild coconuts for people to drink straight from, and there was a beach bbq too!

There are themed buffet nights in the evening, and generally a huge spread of food to choose from.
The staff just cant do enough for you and are always smiling.

Cons - its kinda in the middle of nowhere, so apart from the planned excursions, we didnt venture out, whereas we usually like to have a walk around in the event, visit bars, restaurants etc, we didnt.
The entertainment was the biggest let down, but if you can be content sitting with a cocktail or drink or something, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. There are shows and things, they're just rather tacky.

Don't think you're onto anything bad, its a really beautiful hotel, and a lovely place to stay.
I have no idea what made us ill, but go to the dr straight away if you get ill.

Its very hot, take suncream with you, as the UV level is extremely high, and its more costly out there...

Im not sure if Ive covered everything, anymore q's feel free to ask!! )
xxx

MKwife

From my experience, the north is more commercialised. There are bars, shopping centres etc. Whereas the east and south are very quiet and peaceful with the white beaches.

It all depends what you are looking for. We liked it down south as we were happy with the entertainment in our fab hotel every night and the variety of trips were excellent!

sunjunkie

Hi all, I'm a newbie here but feel maybe I can contribute a useful answer..
When we researched the Dom Rep - we chose to go to Punto Cana for 2 different reasons, firstly, the beaches are reputedly nicer - the soft sandy ones with palm trees - the idyllic Caribbean experience, and secondly because seemingly the hotels are newer and the area is more up-market.
Not wanting to offend anyone - this was just our research.
We stayed all-incy in the Caribe Princess and of course you can use the facilities of the other Princess Hotels. We found the hotel perfect (we had an ocean front view) the food was varied and outstanding - never ho-hum, the staff friendly and genuinely eager to make your stay fun and not least, you have Bavarro Beach but a few steps away - plenty of sunloungers and shady palmtrees. Can't comment about the 'shows' as we didn't choose to go - we preferred to eat in one of the terrific restaurants and then just 'chill' together in one of the beachbars and enjoy the beach at night and the views...
One of the best clubs in the area was actually attached to the property - Aurieto... mix of sounds and agegroups - something for everyone.
We saw a few weddings whilst there - sundown on the beach - spectacular! The staff decorated with ribbons and yards of chiffon and torches and then one bridal party had their meal and speeches and dancing in one of the beachside restaurants, specially decorated and dedicated to the wedding, the other had tables, canopies, music and dancing on a specially cordoned and private bit of beach - (the staff worked hard making and erecting 6 foot bamboo breakers for privacy)
The whole thing looked truly idylic and perfect (we watched some of it from our balcony)
Finally - we booked through Thomson Holidays website who were offering the best deal at that time and they are currently offering the Caribe Club Princess from Gatwick in July for about £2,200 for 2 - thats 2 weeks all incy.
And no, I'm not a rep or anything - haha! I just got a little carried away here remembering.... my husband and I had a wonderful 2 weeks there - very romantic and the perfect Caribbean holiday (Nov 2007) - hope this helps and you manage to organise your 'fairytale wedding' in paradise! Best wishes and good luck to you..... Sunny.....