PrintI am traveling to the Domincan Republic in June and am excited for the trip! I would like to spend some time in the beautiful Punta Cana area, but my wallet doesn't agree with the prices of many of the large resorts. Are there more affordable places to stay in the area?
Thanks!
Matt in Maine
Dear Matt,
I'm surprised that you're finding prices in Punta Cana high. In fact, the Dominican Republic is consistently the cheapest nation in the Caribbean to visit. To get the best prices, however, you have to be smart about how you book.
Punta Cana is a destination with a huge number of hotel rooms. To keep the rooms filled year round, the resorts work closely with air/hotel packagers. They give them deeply discounting room rates, in returns for assurances that the packagers will keep their rooms filled year round. Frankly, it's near impossible for you or me, as individuals, to get rates anywhere near as good, because we simply don't have the buying power. Let me give you an example: I just looked at the Vacation Travel Mart site (www.vacmart.com) and found a 7-night stay at the Bavaro Ahmsa Resort, with airfare from Portland, ME for $849. That price includes all meals, drinks and most activities (but not taxes). I wasn't sure when you were traveling, so I priced a vacation in mid-May. You'd likely pay 40% more on that vacation if you attempted to book independently.
Beyond Vacation Travel Mart (see above), the following companies also provide consistently good pricing for vacations in Punta Cana.
- BookIt.com
- Expedia.com
- TravelThemesandDreams.com
Good luck!
Cordially,
Pauline Frommer
