Dominican Republic

[hilz22]

Morning Fellow dibbers,

I am thinking about a 2 week holiday in the Dominican, the resort i like is in Punta Cana.

Has anyone been?
I am wondering what the beach is like? Is it good for snorkelling?

Can you explore the Dominican? Hire a car?
We are not the types to just lie on the beach everyday although i can do that some days.
We are having a massive debate in this house. The kids would prefer a beach holiday. I like to visit somewhere different and dh wants to go to Florida.

Looking forward to reading anyone’s experience of Dominican

Thanks

[anna68]

Hi
Never been but have researched it. Very resort based. Not somewhere you’d hire a car and explore. From what you’ve said members of your family want Mexico probably riviera maya is better. Stuff to go out & see but large beach/resort hotels and much more American!

[Smilesonfaces]

We have been but a long time ago. The hotel was fabulous and the beach beautiful, crystal clear water perfect for snorkelling. Lots of activities and sports organised, great food but everything was resort based. I felt unsafe to venture outside the resort. We really enjoyed the winter sun ( we went just before Christmas) but we have never done this type of holiday again as we are not the sun lounge type either.

[salmon70]

Hi there

Myself and my DD went to the DR a couple of years ago. We stayed in a resort in Punta Cana. The beach was beautiful, the water was turquoise however, it suffered with a LOT of seaweed which was all washed up on the beach. The seaweed got all tangled around your legs (not pleasant) so we spent most days in the pool. You couldn't go walking offsite as there was nowhere to go to due to the location. As for hiring a car, I'm not sure as I don't drive.

We had a tour guy who worked at the hotel who made it his mission to pounce on us during our first few days. I had to walk past him one day and he had his mobile facing me as I came towards him and walked past like he was filming me. We saw him holding his phone up towards myself and DD as if he was taking photos too he was an utter creep.

We did a couple of trips too but I have to say this is what spoilt it for us. We know people make a living (mainly through tourism) but every trip was set up with sellers wherever you stopped and they would be trying to push goods on you. One trip we'd stopped off at a cenote and as we headed for the steps down to it a group of men just all flocked to us trying to get us to visit their shops, buy goods in their hands, it was relentless. A young child was stood on the steps down to the cenote ready to dump an iguana on you it just got too much. My DD hated it and felt very uncomfortable. We also had children running after us holding out their hands for money whilst we were driving a buggy. We ended up at the beach for an hour and straight away the sellers were on to you. When we finished our time at the beach we headed back to our buggy for a small child to be srood there trying to assist me with my seatbelt. i told him i was okay and didn't need any help but he was insistent and then proceeded to rub his belly hold his hand out and say "lady lady hungry". to get rid of him I just gave him a couple of dollars. He then did exactly the same to the next couple and so on. We had other experiences like this which I won't bore you with.

Would I go back to the DR ...🤔 probably not.

[salmon70]

As mentioned above by Anna68 Mexico is definitely worth going to. We've been 3 times and absolutely loved it. Safe to go off resort and so much to see and do.

[hilz22]

Thank you. Definitely more research needed.

[janey2000]

If you aren’t the type to lie on a beach everyday, you could do a trip that makes a difference to the DR! We just went this summer with our 10 yr old and finished off the building project of a community centre. It was a life changing experience, especially for our daughter. Oh and we got a bit of pool and beach time thrown in

[anna68]

Originally Posted by janey2000

If you aren’t the type to lie on a beach everyday, you could do a trip that makes a difference to the DR! We just went this summer with our 10 yr old and finished off the building project of a community centre. It was a life changing experience, especially for our daughter. Oh and we got a bit of pool and beach time thrown in

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Oh wow tell me more about this please. Who did you do this with?

[Nicky Mouse]

Originally Posted by anna68

Hi
Never been but have researched it. Very resort based. Not somewhere you’d hire a car and explore. From what you’ve said members of your family want Mexico probably riviera maya is better. Stuff to go out & see but large beach/resort hotels and much more American!

See more...

Totally agree with this, Mexico is fabulous

We have been to DR twice and it is definitely resort based. Don’t get me wrong, the resorts are great but if you want to go out and about DR isn’t for you.

On the other hand Mexico is on another level, fab hotels and you can go out and about without any problems, some of the best beaches anywhere and loads of things to do.

Mexico is our second favourite destination after Florida

[SimonB]

We went a couple of years ago. Thought it was very sterile and resort based. Very Americanised too. Prefer the vibe of Barbados and Antigua with cricket and reggae as opposed to DR with American football and baseball.