Hi I'm a fabulous and broke college kid planning to travel to punta cana in october with some friends. The resorts are crazy expensive so my friends and i were thinking of renting out a condo that is about a 6min walk to bavaro and is very highly rated among previous guests. However, some of my friends are afraid it will be too hard/expensive to party/eat/find stuff to do in punta cana without the help of the resort. Will it be easy for non-resort vacationers to find mildly affordable stuff to do besides golfing? some of my friends would rather go the cheaper resorts in puerto plata...
- Thread starter bananasand
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Punta Cana/Bavaro vacation without resort?
How long do you plan on staying, and how much are you looking to spend in an AI? Condo rentals are still available relatively cheap in Oct. I rented a nice 2br/2ba close to the beach for 1000 (30 days) last year in Cortecito (part of Bavaro). You'll have to pay the electric for the month. Amount is strongly influenced by how much you use the AC and dryer. If you rent a place with a good cross-breeze then you'll not need the AC much. Also, a cleaning fee which runs $60+/- when you depart. There are numerous restaurants in the area within walking distance, and the drinks are relatively cheap depending on where you go. You can buy bottles at the small stores and drink some at the condo prior to going out which should save some money. Walk down to the beach, and you can find people who offer excursions, para-sailing, fishing trips, etc. It's really a personal choice, but I enjoyed the condo. Would do it again; however, I since purchased my own apartment in the general vicinity of where I rented and plan to visit often. Best of luck in your travels. Don
Skip the resorts
There are plenty of places to eat and drink in the area. We took two college and two high school guys with us last month and their favorite place to eat was the Dominican restaurant, la Posada de Gladys. It cost $4.00 for chicken, rice, beans, and salad (I think a bottled water was also included). It can be slightly intimidating because the motoconchos hang outside the restaurant but they said it was the best and they wanted to go everyday. There is D'Angelo's pizza that you can get a great pizza for $10. Non Solo Pizza may be cheaper but they are both very good. We found a great place right off the beach that the beers costs around $1.50. You can also get beer from just about any market for a little over a dollar. You can also buy day passes to the resorts and just re-use them. My daughters had somebody give her their pass when they left and they used it everyday.
There are plenty of places to eat and drink in the area. We took two college and two high school guys with us last month and their favorite place to eat was the Dominican restaurant, la Posada de Gladys. It cost $4.00 for chicken, rice, beans, and salad (I think a bottled water was also included). It can be slightly intimidating because the motoconchos hang outside the restaurant but they said it was the best and they wanted to go everyday. There is D'Angelo's pizza that you can get a great pizza for $10. Non Solo Pizza may be cheaper but they are both very good. We found a great place right off the beach that the beers costs around $1.50. You can also get beer from just about any market for a little over a dollar. You can also buy day passes to the resorts and just re-use them. My daughters had somebody give her their pass when they left and they used it everyday.
Thanks for the replies so far! We're only there for a week. One of my friends has a budget of $500 dollars but I think the rest of us are in the $700-$1000 range. I've never stayed in a resort before and honestly I'm not sure I'd be comfortable in such an atmosphere, but some of my friends are worried about safety and affordable food and drink. The place we were thinking about renting is a residential complex close to hard rock cafe and the casino of hotel carabela, that should be a pretty safe place right? do most places in that area take US dollars?
With 500 dollars per person per week you can get a very decent 4* or even 5* AI resort in Punta Cana! If you do not know where to look for them, PM me.
The whole of Bavaro is basically a resort orientated venue to kick back and relax, the best bars, discos and fun times are actually within the resorts. There are several bars and clubs around but you will not find what you are looking for outside of the resort, it is fine for a night or two out of the resort but for the full vacation you will be hard pushed, transport between fun venues itself will run high as well as the cost of drinks being double of that elsewhere on the island.
I lived there for a while and the bordom level drove me around the bend, seriously consider visiting Sosua or Cabarete (Sosua if you aren't a surfy dude who is content to sit and watch other people play with kites all day and would prefer sitting on a nice beach with bars and girls and fellow normal tourists to entertain you). But forget Playa dorada.
I lived there for a while and the bordom level drove me around the bend, seriously consider visiting Sosua or Cabarete (Sosua if you aren't a surfy dude who is content to sit and watch other people play with kites all day and would prefer sitting on a nice beach with bars and girls and fellow normal tourists to entertain you). But forget Playa dorada.
For a strictly "no brainer / no worries / everything is taken care of" vacation ... beach / bars / babes.... and especially if this is you're first trip to Punta Cana, and you're not used to traveling in a developing nation = go to an AI... BUT do yourself a BIG favor and make it a point to get outside the A.I. a bit to get a taste of the neighborhood.
IF you're more into "immersion" kind of vacation, want to get a taste of the local culture, etc., AND are comfortable going with the flow, rent a condo in Cortecito. It's easy... you can find all that you'll need nearby... and it will be a great experience. (It will be a big help if at least one of you has a bit of Spanish too, but not totally necessary.)
One year on spring break from Univ. of Miami, I and a few friends chartered a sail boat and spent the vacation on Bimini. It was AWESOME, one of the highlights of my life. We knew nothing, (well... a few of us knew how to sail the boat, lol), but we just immersed ourselves in the culture. (This was a LONG time ago... and back then Bimini was as "developing" as the D.R. is.)
IF you're more into "immersion" kind of vacation, want to get a taste of the local culture, etc., AND are comfortable going with the flow, rent a condo in Cortecito. It's easy... you can find all that you'll need nearby... and it will be a great experience. (It will be a big help if at least one of you has a bit of Spanish too, but not totally necessary.)
One year on spring break from Univ. of Miami, I and a few friends chartered a sail boat and spent the vacation on Bimini. It was AWESOME, one of the highlights of my life. We knew nothing, (well... a few of us knew how to sail the boat, lol), but we just immersed ourselves in the culture. (This was a LONG time ago... and back then Bimini was as "developing" as the D.R. is.)
For a strictly "no brainer / no worries / everything is taken care of" vacation ... beach / bars / babes.... and especially if this is you're first trip to Punta Cana, and you're not used to traveling in a developing nation = go to an AI... BUT do yourself a BIG favor and make it a point to get outside the A.I. a bit to get a taste of the neighborhood.
IF you're more into "immersion" kind of vacation, want to get a taste of the local culture, etc., AND are comfortable going with the flow, rent a condo in Cortecito. It's easy... you can find all that you'll need nearby... and it will be a great experience. (It will be a big help if at least one of you has a bit of Spanish too, but not totally necessary.)
One year on spring break from Univ. of Miami, I and a few friends chartered a sail boat and spent the vacation on Bimini. It was AWESOME, one of the highlights of my life. We knew nothing, (well... a few of us knew how to sail the boat, lol), but we just immersed ourselves in the culture. (This was a LONG time ago... and back then Bimini was as "developing" as the D.R. is.)
IF you're more into "immersion" kind of vacation, want to get a taste of the local culture, etc., AND are comfortable going with the flow, rent a condo in Cortecito. It's easy... you can find all that you'll need nearby... and it will be a great experience. (It will be a big help if at least one of you has a bit of Spanish too, but not totally necessary.)
One year on spring break from Univ. of Miami, I and a few friends chartered a sail boat and spent the vacation on Bimini. It was AWESOME, one of the highlights of my life. We knew nothing, (well... a few of us knew how to sail the boat, lol), but we just immersed ourselves in the culture. (This was a LONG time ago... and back then Bimini was as "developing" as the D.R. is.)