Punta Cana

[BuiltLikeABulldog]

Greetings! I'm getting my diving cert this week! My girlfriend is a Marine Biologist and has had hers for years, and I'm getting mine because I'm jealous lol.. anyway We're planning a diving trip for next year and picked Punta Cana Dominican Republic, as we have a good deal on an all inclusive stay there. I wanted to check with Scubaboard and see if any of you have dived there and if it's as good as I'm hearing! Thanks!

 

[Dhboner]

Do a search for "Punta Cana" there have been a few threads recently. Bottom line is that the diving in Punta Cana is not very good (the reef is pretty much dead). The best diving in the Dominican Republic is on the south coast in the La Romana/Bayahibe area.

 

[Allen Herron]

I agree with Dhboner. I found Punta Cana diving boring! THe southern coasr, which is really on the Caribbean coast, is much better.

 

[Scuba_Noob]

I'm going to echo the opinion that Punta Cana local diving is mediocre due to the amounts of dead reef - it's still a fun experience and there still are a lot of fish. When I stayed at Punta Cana, I booked a couple of dive days in Bayahibe to Catalina Island and Saona Island. However, these trips are around three hours each way (i.e., around six hours total), including the drive and the boat ride. It'd be better to stay in Bayahibe if you want a good dive trip with a ton of life.

 

[BuiltLikeABulldog]

Thanks for the replies! I'm sorry to hear about the condition of Punta Cana diving. But unfortunately that's where we are staying (Now Laramar) so it should be a fun time anyway.. especially since it will be my first non-American dive lol.

 

[Dhboner]

If you don't have a lot of experience diving coral reefs you will probably have a great time. As I said the reef is in rough shape, but you will see morays, nurse sharks and the usual reef inhabitants. I would never consider Punta Cana as a dive destination but it is one of the best beaches I have ever seen and the beer is cold.

Enjoy your dives!

Bob