CC@Langham, Punta cana HAS different beachas than the North Coast.
Beaches are white sand, as opposed to yellow/brown sand at North Coast.
Water is clystar clear, Azul Aqua color is what it would be called in Spanish.
There are palm trees (mata de coco) and resorts are usually side by side so you can walk on the beach and cross form one resort into another. You usually cannot get INTO the other resort as the security guards are watching and won't let in anyone who has not the hotel bracelet. But you can walk on the beach for miles.
There are underwater rocks very close to the becah, so swimming is recommended only within 50 meters to the shore area.
As far as hotels are concerned, almost everything is AI. There are very few non-AI hotels (Cortecito Inn) and some cabanas. Non-AI price starts at 60 dollars for Cortecito and 1000 pesos for whorehouse cabanas.
AI hotels are MORE expensive than comparable category hotels in Puerto Plata. A RIU hotel in Punta Cana is more expensive than RIU in PP. Flamenco or Allegro in PUj is more expensive than Flamenco or Allegro in POP.
The best AI resort is Paradissus Palma Real (check the post "Best resort in Punta Cana"
http://www.dr1.com/forums/east-coast/61165-whats-best-resort-punta-cana.html
On avergae expect to pay about US$250 - $300 per room per night this time of year in any average AI resort in Punta Cana.
The less expensive AI resorts are Bavaro Princess, Carabella, and the "casino" hotels (e.g. Barcelo Casino) which are within the beach AI resorts, but have separate areas farther from the beach (usually requires using of shuttle).
Almost all resorts in PUJ have casinos, most of them operated by Tower Casino company.
There are 4 main areas in punta Cana area -
1) The "Punta Cana", which has the Punta Cana Resort and Club, and is adjecent to the PUJ airport, Club Med and new Cap Cana.
2) Then there is the "Cabeza de Torro" area, which is closed to a village called Beron, and has Allegro hotel, Catalonia Bavaro, Grand Paradise Bavaro (if I am not mistaken), and one or two more resorts.
3) The THIRD area is "Bavaro" area, which itself has several subdivisions.
aa - There is the "Barcelo/Melia strip" which houses Barcelo hotel complex (5 hotels) and Melia Caribe Tropical and Paradissus Palma Real hotels. Adjecent are IFA Villas AI complex.
ab - There is the "Cortecito" subdivision with Fiesta Bavaro hotels, Ocean Bavaro, Carabella and one or two more smaller resorts.
ac- There is the "Plaza Bavaro" subdivision with Occidental Flamenco, Paradissus Punta Cana, LTI, Ocean Blue, and one resort under development.
ad - "Arena Gorda" subdivision is home to a RIU complex (5 hotels), Iberostar, Bahia Principe, one new resort (don't know the name), AMHSA Marina, and the Barcelo Premium hotel.
4) The FOURTH area is "Uvero Alto", which is about 20 kms from the last hotel in "arena gorda" area. There are "Sunscape the Beach", Sirenis, Secrets, and one new hotel. There is also a development of Roco Ki (I hope I wrote the name right) which is supposedly an Uvero-Alto version of Cap Cana, with 20 million square metres of property location.
Out-of-reort life: you are limited to couple of places within the Bavaro area (Cortecito has some nice restaurants, Captain Cook and Langosta de Caribe, two must-eats in bavaro) some shops, etc., there are off-resort discos such as Mangu (public, but in Flamenco), Areito, Pacha (public, but in Riu). There are couple of "plazas" with small shops, usually on the "Plaza Bavaro-Friusa" route (about 2 kms in distance).
If you are into paid-for-sex, you can score at "La Punta" close to Friusa, and at Jazzy's close to Barcelo complex. Both places are pricy.
Your next best is "pueblo" Beron, but this is mostly unattractive, the best you get are some "colmadones" and "terazzas".
Your BEST off-Bavaro bet would be Higuey, 1 hour drive away (45 kms average, depends where you stay). It has some nice discos, shopping centers (Almacenes Iberia, Supermercado Higueyano) where you can buy everything from milk to a scooter, from TV sets to socks, from car batteries to toys. There is also a very nice "boulevard", which has a really nice atmosphere, and where lots of tourists gather, as well as locals. It's a 500-mt strip.
Right across from "boulevard" you have Basilica, the most important catholic church in DR. It's a place of pilgrimage for all Dominicans.
There are also some girl-places, such as Tropicana (higher-end), Piscina Agua Sport, Centro Cervecero Melo (lower end, the last 3), but you shoudl expect to pay much less than in Bavaro.
So here you've got it all alid out, from hotels, to sightseeing, to where to drink a beer. I hope you decid t o come to PUJ, you won't regret.
