Dominican Republic

[mkenwood]

My wife is hot on traveling to the Domican Republic (She has heard it is an up and coming vacation area) on our next vacation at the end of March. Does any one know of a good dive operation there? She is a non-diver so a resort strictly for divers is out.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[kckid]

Scubafun out of Bayahibe is a very good outfit. American... takes care of business. Very small town, decent diving.

Good place to stay while you are there:
Bienvenidos al Hotel Bayahibe.... Disfrute su estancia!!!!

Need a ride to the atm, there is not one in "town" (if you want to really call it a town). Also cheaper places to eat down along beach where they park alot of the boats at night. Down the beach from the internet cafe... maybe 300ft.


BTW: DR is a very dirty country... Everywhere you look trash has been dumped everywhere along side the roads and in the fields.

 

[mkenwood]

Thanks for the reply, appreciate the information. Will check into it. Is this a good place for the wife also?

 

[maj2]

My wife is a non-diver also.
We stayed in Punta Cana a few years ago. Great beach, but the diving was not very good- not many fish, dead and dying coral, and even a fair amount of litter.
We went snokelling off the south coast at Catalina Island (near Bayahibe) and it was well worth the trip. If we go back to DR, it will definitely be to Bayahibe.
At the time, we stayed at one of the Iberostar resorts at Punta Cana. At the time, they were building one in Bayahibe. Also stayed with them in Cozumel (a resort course there led me to seek certification when we got home). Good resorts for non-divers but would probably look elsewhere for diving.

 

[kckid]

I would say they have some OK beaches. There are trips for divers and non-divers on the same boat. They have some excursions to islands, etc...

Not much in "town", but the hotel I listed is a pretty decent place. No elevator though... (thinking back to the 50 pound scuba bags we had to carry to the 3rd floor). Number of mom and pop eatting places in town, some are more expensive than they should be. They get ALOT of buses from the resorts that visit and there is a small set of tourist shops (shops in the form of outside tables) around the parking lot. Fairly safe town and we hung out at the local bar along the street and had beers at night. The ATM is a distance from the town (i.e. need to get a ride).

Hook up with Jon from ScubaFun, which is just maybe 1/2 a block down from the hotel I listed. He organized rides for me to the ATM, rides back to Santo Domingo to leave, etc... Can't say enough about him and his crew. You can't miss their shop, it's right next to the local bus stop and grocery store.

If you fly into Santo Domingo or Punta Cana, organize a taxi to take to Bayahibe and ask Jon to schedule one for your return trip.

 

[mkenwood]

Thanks for the responses will check into ScubaFun, and do more research.

Have a great day
Mike