A piece of heaven
by Joan58
Punta Cana is what everyone imagines thinking at a tropical heaven. Fabulous beaches, long tracts of white sand adorned with coconut palms that look like bow for invite you to admire them. Beyond the beach there are luxuriant gardens with huge bushes of hibiscus and plants that I try to grow at my home with difficulty. This was my first travel to a tropical place. Before I saw those pieces of heaven just in the pictures. I couldn't belive to be really in a place like this! I remember my first tought was: 'Then these places truly exist!!'.
A BIT ABOUT PUNTA CANA
by LoriPori
Covering about 1,100 acres, PUNTA CANA is a region in the south-eastern tip of the Dominican Republic, which occupies two thirds of the Island of Hispaniola and lies in the Caribbean Sea between the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Its western border is shared with Haiti.
Named after a local cape, the region is home to a coastline of beautiful sandy white beaches and borders the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The coastline tends to be mildly windy. I can attest to that, as it was quite windy most of the week we were there.
The Punta Cana La Romana International Airport serves about two million tourists per year. The bus ride from there to our resort was about 35 minutes.
The weather is fairly constant, with an average temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. It was quite hot when we were there, but also very windy and cloudy, with two full days of rain.
Spanish is spoken and the currency is the Dominican Peso (RD) but U.S. dollars are widely accepted. The Hotel was offering 33 RD for one U.S. Dollar.
Electricity is 110 volts AC, 60 Hz with American style two-pin plugs.
Canadians entering the Dominican Republic for tourist purposes must purchase a tourist card, at a cost of $10.00 U.S. which is valid for 30 days. Since we were all-inclusive, this tourist card was prepaid by our tour company.
Phone scam
by jhnatko
Make sure to bring an activated international calling card with you to make phone calls.
The phones go thru a system called BBG Communications when a credit or debit card is used.
The rates are falsely advertised as $4.99 to $5.99 a minute.
I was charged $252.00 for 2 phone calls of less than 15 minutes each.
An internet search of BBG Communications will reveal many others who have been unknowingly charged these outragious fees for phone calls.
Be prepared with singles
by Nuna25
I would recommend going to a bank and getting a $100 worth of singles for tips . This way you are prepared for your whole trip , and even a dollar can get you the extra "help" you need. My fondest moment of Punta Cana happens now, 6months later. My daughter still talks about it and she was just shy of being 2 years old when we were there.
I just loved feeling carefree and relaxed during our visit
Tipping
by zora55
Even if you booked an all inclusive vacation that includes tips, bring extra funds with you for just that reason anyway. The resort staff work very hard to make you happy and comfortable, for very little money. My favorite memory of Punta Cana is getting a bit drunk with my husband on the beach about 11 pm and building a huge sand castle with anything we could find in our hotel room.
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Imagine Punta Cana
My husband played volleyball a lot.
Punta Cana - Floating Around inParadise
Pool bridge
