Why would anyone want to go to Punta Cana?

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healimonster

Guest
bob saunders said:
whiter sand, nicer beaches than where? Playa Fronton or Moron are far superior.
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I have never been to either of those places so that shows you what I know. But every beach I have been to on the North coast
(sure small sample size) has been rocky and rough unless it's part of a nice cove.
Each beach any where is different but I haven't had a bad time with the seaweed in the past 2 years. It was much worse two years ago in PUJ. Yes there is still some but if the beach isn't raked it doesn't make it un-swimable.
Everyone has different tastes.
Some people want their ocean to be like a pool. Some people want their ocean to be like wave machine or a kiting beach
I know what I would rather have.

Some people want to feel like they are living in vibrant exotic foreign country with all of its third world quirks pros and cons.

Other people would like to live with all the conveniences of home accept it's 85 degrees each day and you're next to a beautiful beach.

Other people would simply like to have a lot of prostitution nearby.

You can figure out which town is which.
 
B

Big

Guest
healimonster said:
I have never been to either of those places so that shows you what I know. But every beach I have been to on the North coast
(sure small sample size) has been rocky and rough unless it's part of a nice cove.
Each beach any where is different but I haven't had a bad time with the seaweed in the past 2 years. It was much worse two years ago in PUJ. Yes there is still some but if the beach isn't raked it doesn't make it un-swimable.
Everyone has different tastes.
Some people want their ocean to be like a pool. Some people want their ocean to be like wave machine or a kiting beach
I know what I would rather have.

Some people want to feel like they are living in vibrant exotic foreign country with all of its third world quirks pros and cons.

Other people would like to live with all the conveniences of home accept it's 85 degrees each day and you're next to a beautiful beach.

Other people would simply like to have a lot of prostitution nearby.

You can figure out which town is which.
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cheers to that
 
C

chico bill

Guest
healimonster said:
I have never been to either of those places so that shows you what I know. But every beach I have been to on the North coast
(sure small sample size) has been rocky and rough unless it's part of a nice cove.
Each beach any where is different but I haven't had a bad time with the seaweed in the past 2 years. It was much worse two years ago in PUJ. Yes there is still some but if the beach isn't raked it doesn't make it un-swimable.
Everyone has different tastes.
Some people want their ocean to be like a pool. Some people want their ocean to be like wave machine or a kiting beach
I know what I would rather have.

Some people want to feel like they are living in vibrant exotic foreign country with all of its third world quirks pros and cons.

Other people would like to live with all the conveniences of home accept it's 85 degrees each day and you're next to a beautiful beach.

Other people would simply like to have a lot of prostitution nearby.

You can figure out which town is which.
Click to expand...

No one likes seaweed to swim in or on the beach unless you are a seal or diving for abalone
 
H

healimonster

Guest
Chirimoya said:
"In many parts, like PC Village, it is still a relatively safe, quiet and well-organised place to live and bring up children. They can play outside freely and move around the neighbourhood, walk/cycle to school, enjoying a much healthier childhood than city children who are stuck at home and/or have to be ferried everywhere by parents/drivers. We don't have the stress of power cuts and crime.

The main drawback for us has been the limited cultural activity but we realise we are not in a proper big city and that is the price we've had to pay.
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Well Said.
 
C

chico bill

Guest
healimonster said:
Yes and there is not a seaweed issue in the ocean in PUJ.
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No not at the airport. But last time I was in Punta Cana - this time last year the beach was unusable to the high tide line and the ocean un-swimable (pleasantly) for 150 yards from shore
 
H

healimonster

Guest
Derfish said:
In what manner is it safer? And who has evaluated our beach and theirs and declared theirs better? And while I am at it, what means modern when you use the word?
Derfish
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There are three highly armed and visible police forces that patrol the Bavaro area. The tourist police know who is paying their salary and want to make sure they are continued to be employed.

As for the better beaches this simply can't be solved or resolved on a message board but when I first started researching Dominican beaches 10 years ago, time and time again I heard... if you want white sand beaches with clear head to Punta Cana. I don't think this comes as a shock to most. If it does, read some trip advisor forums.

And what does Modern mean? Well, it could mean a lot of things but I won't go there. I will limit it to infrastructure issues.
Correct me if I am wrong but the last time I was in POP was over two years ago. I am sure there were stoplights but I don't remember one. It's the worst driving I have seen in the world but back to the infrastructure. Punta Cana has plenty of stop lights, even with ones that count down so you know how long you can stare at your phone. That is certainly more modern than the US. The streets in PUJ while not safe are the safest I have seen in the country.
Having electricity and internet 24-7-365 is modern. So yes PUJ is more modern.
 
N

NALs

Guest
KyleMackey said:
Of course it is more beneficial to have an HQ in Jamaica so the government can collect corporate taxes of that operation and for some of the locals who work at the HQ. Nonetheless these Caribbean governments make a lot more taxing the resorts operating in their countries. Did 1 former Venezuelan Resort HQ move to the DR years ago after Chavez started confiscating companies. There is probably a few resort operators with an HQ presence in the DR, just guessing.
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There are a few hotel chains that are Dominican or the owners live and founded their companies in Dominican soil (Holdelpa, Ahmsa, Viva -I think it has an association with Wyndham-, to name the ones I know just thinking about them), and a few others. All of Cap Cana is Dominican owned, all of Punta Cana has a significant Dominican input, the biggest mall has a significant Dominican input and the Venezuelan guy lives in Santo Domingo for years and became a Dominican citizen, etc. Dominicans also owned many of the DR affiliates of the Spanish firms, in part because its the law. Dominicans must be involved in the investment or there is no foreign investment in the DR.

Without Spanish investors there would be no Punta Cana or at the very least, it would be significantly smaller. What is Punta Cana? The number one vacation destination in the Caribbean islands? The best connected airport to Europe and North America of any airport in Latin America? That too has significant Dominican input and it wouldn't be as big if most of the tourism investments was due to Dominican companies. Tourism isn't a major investment for Dominican business owners, never has been. Dominicans do create many businesses to support the tourist industry, but building hotels and such isn't really a Dominican 'action.' There are plenty of sectors that are mostly Dominican owned. Take for example the banking sector, the supermarket/hypermarket sectors (yes, many of the owners were born in Spain, but they became Dominican citizens, many married Dominican women, live in the DR, and claim they will never leave the DR), in fact most sectors in the Dominican economy is mostly Dominican owned.
 
K

keepcoming

Guest
"Why would anyone go to Punta Cana"? Because for many it is a "no brainer". Everything you need under one roof (AI), good weather and nice beaches (ok minus seagrass time). Pricewise it suits many vacationers budget. As for living there, for many it seems close to "back home comforts" due to living in a resort area.
 
K

KyleMackey

Guest
The OP initial post is tribalism. Historically the tourism and ExPat stuff was North Coast. Now another part of the country is the player.
 
A

Auryn

Guest
Travel agents described POP as “tired” and PUJ as “fresh” when I first went to an AI back in 2011. I still don’t find it that way at all, having flown in and out of the DR at least a dozen times since then. I have only lived in SD, so I can’t say I have long term, day to day experience in Punta Cana. But the resort workers don’t seem as genuine as on the north coast. The PUJ resorts are newer and the beaches aren’t as rocky, but I’ll take the north coast any day. I only spent a month in Cabarete, but personally, I found the vibe there was awesome.

I know exactly what beeza is saying, and I agree 100%.
 
C

cobraboy

Guest
Auryn said:
Travel agents described POP as “tired” and PUJ as “fresh” when I first went to an AI back in 2011. I still don’t find it that way at all, having flown in and out of the DR at least a dozen times since then. I have only lived in SD, so I can’t say I have long term, day to day experience in Punta Cana. But the resort workers don’t seem as genuine as on the north coast. The PUJ resorts are newer and the beaches aren’t as rocky, but I’ll take the north coast any day. I only spent a month in Cabarete, but personally, I found the vibe there was awesome.

I know exactly what beeza is saying, and I agree 100%.
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The difference is Florida vs. Disney.

The north coast evolved as local communities. Punta Cana was created. Huge difference.
 
H

Harleysrock

Guest
I always find it sad when people only go to PC when visiting the DR but I do like the beaches there, the highways are beyond wonderful and I always do grab a Sub from Subway :D I prefer the NC, but everyone has different tastes...
 
G

Garyexpat

Guest
the gorgon said:
i did not say middle level managers. i said middle level service people. the wife of my very good friend speaks fluent English, and works in a service position above menial labor and barmaid. she brings home 12k per month. she works 6 days a week, some days 12 hours. i will reserve calling the name of the august establishment for whom she works.
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Gorgon, If she really speaks fluent English I'm sure I can help her get a better paying job in a call center I do business with in Puerto Plata. It's a sales position but I know the guy pays well (and on time). PM me or give me a call if you think she would be interested in speaking to him.
 
N

NALs

Guest
cobraboy said:
The difference is Florida vs. Disney.

The north coast evolved as local communities. Punta Cana was created. Huge difference.
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Puerto Plata is actually one of the oldest towns (founded by Europeans) in the Western Hemisphere (despite there is only one building from its founding century, but the city has one of the first coat of arms granted by a European king to an American city back in the early 1500's).

Punta Cana was created yesterday... literally. There was almost nothing there in the 1990's. There was basically nothing there from 1492 until Frank Rainieri was inventing with a hotel in the middle of nowhere.
 
W

windeguy

Guest
keepcoming said:
"Why would anyone go to Punta Cana"? Because for many it is a "no brainer". Everything you need under one roof (AI), good weather and nice beaches (ok minus seagrass time). Pricewise it suits many vacationers budget. As for living there, for many it seems close to "back home comforts" due to living in a resort area.
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Yes, when you have only two weeks at most of vacation each year as is true for most Americans, an AI in PC can make sense to you. And that is why they do extremely well there.

I personally hate AI's and neither I nor my wife like the PC area. I can agree completely with the OP on the reasons why we don't like it.
 
B

Big

Guest
Punta Cana is mass marketed towards the Applebee's ,buffet restaurant and coupon crowd. The other boutique hotels and restaurants rely more on word of mouth, return regular customers and people who find eating at a trough while sharing tongs gauche
 
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