Here are some last thoughts regarding our trip to Punta Cana / Bravaro Dominican Republic. I am providing these trip reports so that some of the other questions without responses (such as ours) that were posted about the Dominican Republic are being answered.
The Bravaro beach has nice sand and most of the resorts have a variety of activities which makes this a great area for families. However, the water can be rough. There are breakers a short distance offshore and again directly on the beach. This area of the Dominican Republic is about average for diving and other areas such as the south Caribbean side of the Dominican Republic should be investigated if diving is a planned activity.
Few of the staff at the higher end resorts speak even minimal English. It is not uncommon to have to repeat yourself several times and still not be properly understood. I think I spoke more Spanish than our staff spoke English and I don't speak Spanish. You cannot drink the tap water anywhere in the Dominican Republic. You need to drink bottled water and use bottled water to brush your teeth. Fortunately, they freely dispense the bottled water in the room and at the bars. This is real bottled water, not like in Cozumel where you fill up from a dispenser in the hall.
A number of people in our party of 8 became sick, one seriously. There were several pages of sick peoples' names in the pharmacy. One of our assistant instructors who stayed in the sister facility Majestic Colonial earlier on in the month was so sick, he was forced to abandon 3 of his 5 scheduled dives.
You generally cannot leave the immediate resort or at most the immediate resort beach area. This is not all that different from many Caribbean locations such as Jamacia. Its a good idea to only leave the resort area if you are on a paid excursion to a specific activity. Only book the excursions through your designated travel agency representative. Regardless of what your representative says, do not take the "free shopping center trip".
The Bravaro beach has nice sand and most of the resorts have a variety of activities which makes this a great area for families. However, the water can be rough. There are breakers a short distance offshore and again directly on the beach. This area of the Dominican Republic is about average for diving and other areas such as the south Caribbean side of the Dominican Republic should be investigated if diving is a planned activity.
Few of the staff at the higher end resorts speak even minimal English. It is not uncommon to have to repeat yourself several times and still not be properly understood. I think I spoke more Spanish than our staff spoke English and I don't speak Spanish. You cannot drink the tap water anywhere in the Dominican Republic. You need to drink bottled water and use bottled water to brush your teeth. Fortunately, they freely dispense the bottled water in the room and at the bars. This is real bottled water, not like in Cozumel where you fill up from a dispenser in the hall.
A number of people in our party of 8 became sick, one seriously. There were several pages of sick peoples' names in the pharmacy. One of our assistant instructors who stayed in the sister facility Majestic Colonial earlier on in the month was so sick, he was forced to abandon 3 of his 5 scheduled dives.
You generally cannot leave the immediate resort or at most the immediate resort beach area. This is not all that different from many Caribbean locations such as Jamacia. Its a good idea to only leave the resort area if you are on a paid excursion to a specific activity. Only book the excursions through your designated travel agency representative. Regardless of what your representative says, do not take the "free shopping center trip".
