Punta Cana and Bavaro are two gorgeous resorts which can be reached by various means. If you have booked a vacation directly in Punta Cana (via your travel agent or internet ) then you will fly directly into Punta Cana International Airport and be ferried away in your tour companies air conditioned bus. If you are an independent traveller and are coming from the north then the drive is direct, however lengthy. It usually takes around 7 hours by road to reach Punta Cana by private car. You may wish to use one of the reliable public bus companies either the Metro or Caribe tours who will go as far as Santo Domingo (these bus services are regular, clean and reliable, air conditioned and most importantly - on time! Metro buses are a quieter service often with a lot of professionals onboard going to the capitol for meetings and such, Caribe tours are more entertaining as they play merengue music throughout the journey or play a movie in Spanish of course so take your pick)You will need to change buses in Santo Domingo for a more local bus service to take you into Punta Cana and Bavaro.  This is approx another 3 hours of travelling from Santo Domingo. If you are travelling from the other direction say La Romana again you will need to use one of the local bus companies or use a gua gua to reach Punta Cana.

The other option from the north of the island is to use Air Santo Domingo. Air or Scare Santo Domingo flies out to Punta Cana early in the morning from the north, Gregorio Luperon International Airport in Puerto Plata and returns early evening (takes approx 40minutes). Planes are small and seat from 5 to 20 people, the service is great because it is so quick but never on time and over bookings are very common leaving you stranded at either airport!

Punta Cana and Bavaro have developed over the last 5 years into real top class Caribbean resorts.  Predominantly the hotels are “all-inclusive” and are beach fronted offering families and holiday makers a wide variety of packages to suit all tastes and budgets. (Please see The Real DR Hotel Directory for listings)

Many of the all inclusive hotels can almost be classed as small cities, as they have been constructed over such wide areas one can wander quite far along their beaches or trundle around tropical gardens with coconut and other indigenous plants and trees with natural streams running through this lush environment.  The hotels are grand in stature and status but as with the rest of the Dominican Republic can be built no higher than the tallest coconut tree in the immediate vicinity(this is true fact and constructors and builders must abide by this law!).

The hotels in Punta Cana are far newer and grander than those in the north coast of Playa Dorada many of them being true five star quality. Most of the people staying in these hotels have booked package holidays and so it is usually quite rare to telephone one up and just ask for a room for one night.  If you are looking to travel around this area, there are now a few more bed and breakfasts or small family run accommodations available.

The Cortecito Inn is always a good place to start and is a smallish budget hotel offering rooms with fridges and breakfast included. The advantage of this hotel is its location as it is set right amongst a main high street offering a supermarket, internet cafes, restaurants and bars and a bank with ATM machines.  Most popular are Captain Cooks seafood restaurant and also more quieter and cheaper but just as good is the Cortecito seafood restaurant just next ‘doorish’. Captain Cooks restaurant provides water taxis back and forth from your hotel if you need transportation. Ask your hotel receptionist as now there are a lot of restaurants outside the all inclusive resorts and some are excellent, many Spanish, Argentinian and Italian places and it is worth getting out of your resort at least for a night and paying for a taxi ride.

Within the Bavaro and Punta Cana areas there are no small villages as such but a lot of shopping plazas have now been built with bars and banks, small supermarkets, coffee shops and gift/clothes shops and pharmacies.  Easily accessed by car or a short taxi ride from your hotel you will quickly come across one of the many plazas in the area.

In between soaking up the sun and generally marvelling at your luck at having landed on your feet and the fact that you are staying in such a super resort, strange as it may seem you may experience a yearning to venture out and see what this part of the island does indeed have to offer. There are an abundance of tours and excursions to choose from (We offer both Bavaro Excursions and Punta Cana Excursions) from the very wet and watery to trekking inland a while on a jeep discovery tour. Wet and watery things to do include deep sea fishing (massive game fish can be caught in the east of the island pretty much all year round), various boat rides from party rafts to cruising up the coast line and then snorkelling over rays and sharks, dolphin encounters in the middle of the ocean, diving (some good wrecks to discover) and snorkelling tours. Hobi cats and small individual speed boats can be hired for organised fun tours!

Jeep Safaris are a safe and fun way to discover the DR inland and actually learn a little about this beautiful island (Check out Outback Safari by clicking here or why not book the Outback Jeep Safari online today). With professional guides and drivers you will be taken across country and encounter first hand plants and animals, people and their way of life over here. A great entertaining way to appreciate your vacation retreat!

Golfing is rapidly becoming an integral past time in Punta Cana, with five all inclusive hotels owning golf courses themselves and offering superb golf package holidays. Punta Cana boasts the first Jack Nicklaus golf course built here in the DR at the Punta Espada Golf Course, Cap Cana. The course combines fantastic ocean and bluff-side golf holes with spectacular views of the sea! The other golf courses are:- Golf de Bavaro , Cabeza de Toro Golf Club, Cocotal Golf & Country Club, Punta Cana Golf Club, White Sands Golf. (Please see The Real DR Hotel Directory for further details).

After winning a round of golf you may like to spend your earnings at one of the fabulous casinos on offer in the resorts of Punta Cana, a lot of the hotels now have on site casinos and disco/nightclubs if you feel like buying all your new found friends a frisky cold Presidente Beer! Quick beer fact -: Robert Redford the actor will only ever drink the Dominican brewed beer, Presidente!