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Punta Cana Excursions

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Newbie
Aug 23, 2012
81 posts
5 upvotes
NORTH YORK

Punta Cana Excursions

hello all,

My girlfriend and I will be visiting punta cana mid February. This is our first time travelling together and we are not sure about a few things. After doing some research I am not sure if we should book our excursions before hand online or book it when we get to our resort.

We plan on doing a dolphin tour, dune buggy adventure and speedboat/snubba. We are staying a week so I guess we will stay on the resort for the rest of the days.. If you have any experience with these excursions please share! As well as any tips and suggestions...

So that being said, shall we book excursions online a couple weeks before or just do so at the resort? Would it be cheaper that way?

Thanks :)
7 replies
Deal Fanatic
Jul 26, 2004
5450 posts
2433 upvotes
Went to Punta Cana last year. Stayed at the Iberostar Bavaro, booked our excursions while at the hotel with the tour rep that's in the hotel. You can book online before hand and it might be a little cheaper, but the problem is you'll have to confirm everything yourself and it's a little hard to do if you don't really have access to a phone ( unless you want to pay hotel rates). You can always bargain a little bit with the tour rep.

I did the dune buggy... wasn't the best. If its the one where they let you drive thru mud soaked roads, don't bother unless you want to get hit with back country dirty muddy water for 3hrs straight. It was fun for the first 5 minutes, but it got old real quick. If you do decide to do the dune buggy, basically just wear your swim shorts and sandals, anything else you'll probably want to throw away after. And buy a bandana and some cheap sunglasses in the souvenir shacks before hand so you can tie it around your face to block out the crap filled mud water.

Also did a catamaran cruise that included snorkeling, was a little bit slower pace then a speedboat cruise, but it may be a bit more " romantic" if you're with the gf. We also go convinced to do a pirate dinner cruise thing, was OK a little on the expensive side. You do get a lobster dinner with it, more for the kids though in my opinion.
Deal Addict
Feb 5, 2009
2808 posts
940 upvotes
Newmarket
I did dune buggy and to be honest it was more fun for our teenagers than for us, if you decide to go ahead make sure you cover your mouth or it will be all you can eat mud buffet.

Not sure which dolphin tour you are talking about but if you care about environment you may want to inquire if it involves captured dolphins (not cool) or they take you up on the ocean to admire these wonderful creatures in their natural environment.

The tours you are mentioning are common and offered by many tour providers, I don't think there is a need to book ahead of time, you may want to do that while there and simply see what you feel like doing the next day.
Newbie
Aug 23, 2012
81 posts
5 upvotes
NORTH YORK
coilz wrote: Went to Punta Cana last year. Stayed at the Iberostar Bavaro, booked our excursions while at the hotel with the tour rep that's in the hotel. You can book online before hand and it might be a little cheaper, but the problem is you'll have to confirm everything yourself and it's a little hard to do if you don't really have access to a phone ( unless you want to pay hotel rates). You can always bargain a little bit with the tour rep.

I did the dune buggy... wasn't the best. If its the one where they let you drive thru mud soaked roads, don't bother unless you want to get hit with back country dirty muddy water for 3hrs straight. It was fun for the first 5 minutes, but it got old real quick. If you do decide to do the dune buggy, basically just wear your swim shorts and sandals, anything else you'll probably want to throw away after. And buy a bandana and some cheap sunglasses in the souvenir shacks before hand so you can tie it around your face to block out the crap filled mud water.

Also did a catamaran cruise that included snorkeling, was a little bit slower pace then a speedboat cruise, but it may be a bit more " romantic" if you're with the gf. We also go convinced to do a pirate dinner cruise thing, was OK a little on the expensive side. You do get a lobster dinner with it, more for the kids though in my opinion.
Thank you all for your replies. I am a bit iffy about the dune buggy. We are indeed 20 years old so you can consider us teen agers.. but the mud part I'm not too sure about. Do they provide bandanas for you or anything to cover your face at least?? thank you guys!
Deal Fanatic
Jul 26, 2004
5450 posts
2433 upvotes
raaymondd wrote: Thank you all for your replies. I am a bit iffy about the dune buggy. We are indeed 20 years old so you can consider us teen agers.. but the mud part I'm not too sure about. Do they provide bandanas for you or anything to cover your face at least?? thank you guys!
Had to buy your own. The buggy company we went with had bandanas for sale at their office, but it was 2X the price compared to the souvenir shacks that was by the beach at our resort.
Sr. Member
Jan 8, 2009
937 posts
656 upvotes
Simcoe County
I know this wasn't on your list but if you actually feel like seeing a little more of the island and learning how people live, etc, with an amazing guide and great food, etc, I highly recommend a tour with Punta Cana Mike (look him up on trip advisor): http://www.puntacanamike.com/ - hover over the heading tours and it will show you the three tours he offers. We did a tour with him where we went to the local school (which was amazing), played dominoes (in a whole new way) at the local car wash (and when a typhoon came close to the resort the following day and it rained like crazy, we ended up sitting under one of the covered dining areas playing dominoes with all the staff who were absolutely /thrilled/ we knew how), visited a cigar producer, a chocolate "factory", had a great fish lunch on an amazing beach and got shown all around and told about the countryside and the people. The locals love Mike and he loves them and you get a completely different view on everything. Can't recommend a tour with him enough.
Deal Addict
Feb 5, 2009
2808 posts
940 upvotes
Newmarket
jrbb0309 wrote: I know this wasn't on your list but if you actually feel like seeing a little more of the island and learning how people live, etc, with an amazing guide and great food, etc, I highly recommend a tour with Punta Cana Mike (look him up on trip advisor): http://www.puntacanamike.com/ -.
Keep in mind that OP is in the early 20s and seems to be looking for different type of trips. But I concur, trips with Mike are very interesting, I actually had him for one day of private tour as well where we went to even more unbeaten paths (including place where Haitians works at the plantations), the poverty of Dominicans seems like a luxury in comparison to conditions these people live in, but I digress ;-)
Deal Addict
May 2, 2011
1380 posts
549 upvotes
Oakville, ON
Stayed in Puerto Plata several years ago and went white water rafting. It was amazing! Highly recommend it. Way better than the one on the Ottawa River. There are some pretty intense rapids there and several boats flipped over on the trip, so you'd have to be aware of that risk.

We walked out of the resort like 5 min and booked with a tour group outside of the resort for about half the price of the same trip through the resort. No issues during the trip. If you're worried about insurance and stuff, just go through the resort.

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