Dominican Republic Travel Answers

Hi! I can't answer all of your questions, but when I went to the Dominican Republic I booked all of my trips/activities with the hotel. There was a specific desk that dealt with these. We booked a Safari which was wonderful (and would recommend it to anybody!) and a speedboat trip to Paradise Island (where you could go snorkelling and feed the tropical fish bread!). As we booked these trips with the hotel, they organised all of the transport needed, made the necessary phone calls, gave us the early morning wake-up call needed and we paid them. This way we didn't need to carry much cash around with us. They also told us exactly what we needed to take i.e. swimming costume and towel for the body-boarding and snorkelling, and warned us about the need for hats and suncream etc. All in all, we had a really good experience booking through the hotel, also, if the trip is late-they find out what's going on for you. I hope this helps in some way, Hayley :)

Hurricanes are always a risk that time of year. If it happens, do what you are told and all will be well. The locals are used to dealing with them. Mostly, it will be an inconvenience and lost beach time. If it's a cat 4 or 5, you might want to bail!! Otherwise, stay out of the water til you are told it's safe. Rip tides can be a big issue. I would NOT go wandering around Punta Cana on my own. As the other poster mentioned, your hotel concierge will set up excursions for you with people they trust. That's going to be your best bet. We did a lovely snorkeling excursion that included sharks and rays and it was a great 1/2 day of fun. Most of the all- inclusives have lots to do on their huge properties. Even the shopping 'comes to you' as an on-site offering one day a week while you are in residence. The beaches in Punta Cana are really pretty and tropical and laid back. The all-inclusives are great with night-time entertainment, clubs, spas, etc. and you'll surely have a super time! I'm not sure about surfing there (I saw no surfable waves) but your hotel concierge will surely know if there's an area near. I went in May and there were throngs of tourists and I'm sure you won't be alone in June!!

Punta Cana is a pure tourist trap...not in a bad way...but setup to cater to the average tourist. There will always be plenty of people on the beaches and the hotels can arrange the tours. However the flip side to Punta Cana is that there are plenty of locals who will scam you if given the chance. I would not recommend booking a tours outside of you hotel...even if its a little more expensive you will have the comfort of knowing its 100% legit. I would not recommend wandering outside the resorts into the town, Punta Cana is a very poor and underdeveloped town and can actually be kind of scary to walk around. You will see this for yourself when you take take the airport shuttle to your hotel. When you are walking on the beach be aware of the many locals who will hit you up on offers of souvenier, cigars, and other adult option. Again I would not recommend accepting any of their offers. There are some legit souvenier stands along the beach where you can bargain safetly and most of the resorts have locals come set up booths in the resort where you can buy authentic cigars and jewelry...they will be slightly overpriced but again a safe way to buy.