nothing to do with the balls ..
You asked, so heres my reason(s):
The good:
*) basically no insects! even at night I didn't see any insects attracted to lights. This was amazing compared to back home.
*)mamajaunna
*) Local people outside the resorts seemed very nice and friendly.
*) Macow beach (sp) I would say this is my second favorite beach i have visited. second only to the bahamas.
*) The Ibersostar's are very beautiful
*) The Rancho LLand excursion was fun and the locals where great! The children we met where wonderful. I just wish we would of brought more items with us to give to the children.
The bad:
*)The wind! windy every day and night! never stops!! Hard to book a charter when its blowing so hard (unless you like chumming over the side of the boat)
Kinda hard to book a charter days ahead only to be taken out in 4-5 foot seas.
*) Punta Cana beach was a disapointment. sand wasn't as white as I read, water wasn't as clear as I read either.
*) The reef makes for difficult snorkling. meaning you need to charter a boat to go out OR you can limit yourself to just a couple little spots from shore.
*) ALL the trash along the sides of the public roads! trash, trash and more trash...amazing! why would people dump trash on the side of the road where they live? Actually, how did the trash get along the roads in the middle of nowhere anyway?
Now, I realize some may rip me for such trivial things, but I have to base my opinion on by past visits to the Bahamas. DR is a vacation in the caribbean and so was the Bahamas. In my opinion, there is NO comparasion to the islands of the Bahamas! the white sands, the crystal clear waters, the clam waters, the great fishing, the fantastic snorkling!
For the same money, I would choose the Bahamas hands down...period!
After all, why do people go to the caribbean if not for the above mentioned things?
If I was to return it would be to visit the schools and people not the resorts and cetainly not Punta Cana area