Top 5: Dominican Republic
- Georgia Louise
- Jan 30
- 6 min read
We travelled to Dominican Republic a few years ago, staying in the resort of Punta Cana. With the island being an 8 hour flight from London it does require a long day of travelling, however we were greeted at the airport by friendly staff and once at the hotel, with a cool drink and a warm welcome. Punta Cana is filled with all inclusive hotels predominantly made up of small low rise blocks of apartments with central pool and entertainment areas, restaurants and lush gardens, each hotel has its own charm and of course, a beautiful beachfront. Outside of the hotel grounds, it is best to be escorted or to be on an organised tour bus etc.
It is worth mentioning here that Punta Cana is on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island so although the sands may be soft and pale, the waters are not crystal clear and it can become quite breezy on this side of the island.
We stayed in the Riu Bambu hotel for 14 nights on an all inclusive basis. We had a free mini bar in our room, two double beds for our family of 3, fridge, decent walk in shower and nice bathroom area. There was a safe and decent sized closet too and the usual array of sockets, lamps and a large flat screen TV set above the desk / dressing table area.
The food was plentiful and looked beautiful, however do beware - fruits and vegetables are NOT washed with bottled water and all of us suffered with stomach upsets at one point during our stay - just something to be mindful of if you are sensitive. The food itself was great and the staff were just so friendly and accommodating. We were even able to organise a cake, free of charge, for G's birthday!
There were several restaurants where you could book a table and receive table service which was a nice touch and the hotel itself had a small shopping 'street' which was pleasant enough although a little over-priced. Entertainment wise, the hotel was pretty lively! Aerobics, dancing and signing (very lively entertainment team the year we visited!), weekly BBQs, singers, shows, kids entertainment, water slides etc - there really is something for everyone. The pool area does get busy but you are steps away from a beautiful beach with free towels and free beds where you can sit all day if you wish!
So here are our top 5 (or more!) of the best things to do whilst staying on the island.
The No 1 thing to do in my humble opinion is to take the Outback Safari which takes you through jungle terrain, through small villages where you can see the inside of the local houses, to a school where you can give gifts of sweets to the children or perhaps take some stationery with you - the schools in DR are crying out for supplies so pop a few bits in your suitcase. We visited on a non school day but were still surrounded by small children when we arrived looking for treats. It is a very humbling experience as taking some pens, a toothbrush or even sanitary products would really make a huge difference. Our guide and driver were both fabulous and kept us all topped up with rum throughout the day! I would highly recommend this trip or something similar to get a real feel of the island. You can book something similar o Viator or Tui (Countryside, Culture and Beach Escape with lunch) with prices starting at around £70 per person.
Outback Safari Whilst staying in Dominican Republic Georgia celebrated her birthday and as a treat we took her to swim with dolphins. Again, this can be booked through your Tour Operator (I think we booked with Tui at the time) or through your hotel. As this was for a birthday treat we booked in advance and I have to say it was very well organised. As a non swimmer I was given a special floating platform to sit on and the dolphins came to greet me - FAB!
Tui offer a visit to the Punta Cana Dolphin Explorer Park where you can tick this off of your bucket list. There are various ticket options starting from as little as £27 per person.
We took a half day excursion over to the Caribbean coast to swim with the stingrays. As a non swimmer this one I sat out and instead enjoyed a lazy afternoon at the hotel, however you are taken by coach to the other side of the island where you board a speedboat that whizzes you out to a private floating platform where you can swim, snorkel or sunbath, get a massage, or grab a healthy juice from the rooftop health bar. You can also paddleboard or kayak here. The water here is very blue and crystal clear and the fish swim freely.
Book the Reef Explorer through Tui - priced today (Jan 2026) at £109 per adult.
How about a trip to another Caribbean island ? We travelled with Tui from Punta Cana by catamaran out to the secluded Saona Island
Here a feast of a barbecue was waiting for us with meats and rice, flowing drinks and an absolute stunning beach and crystal clear waters. One thing to note is that the catamaran is too large to dock at the island itself so you have to change boats in the middle of the sea into a smaller vessel which can get onto the beach - as a non swimmer this was a little scary! On the way back, however, we picked up a speedboat and after popping on our life vest, we pelted back to Punta Cana in record time, stopping briefly on the way to see the sea life close up on a raised part of the seabed where you could stand, knee deep, surrounded by deep ocean while watching the starfish!
If you fancy a bit of a road trip, you can visit Santo Domingo, the capital of the island. Your Tour Operator can organise a coach tour for you but beware, it is around a 3 hour drive EACH WAY! Tui offer a city tour including lunch from £92 per person but do be mindful that this is AT LEAST 8 hours.
Santo Domingo There are plenty of other things to do whilst on the island; why not visit the Monkeyland Adventure Park, perhaps take a horse ride along the beach or let your hair down at Coco Bongo, the resort's legendary nightclub!
And finally, remember DR is a relatively poor country and wandering outside of your hotel grounds, especially at night could be dangerous. Make sure that if you do explore the island you are on an organised tour. All of the shops we found inside the hotel, in their shopping area and along the beach at what they called Caribbean Street, goods were over-priced but lets face it, they are the only shops around for miles so they can pretty much charge what they like! My advice - haggle ! For that reason please please remember to pack your own toiletries and sun cream - that Soltan (or similar) you buy for £5 from Boots will cost $25 in resort. I found this out to my detriment when I realised that I needed a hat as my head was burning - a straw brimmed hat I could buy in Primark for under a tenner cost me $50!!!
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