Flying into PC, but then what?

Stateside

New member
Dec 11, 2007
38
0
0
My fiance and I recently made a decision to visit DR for the first time this coming Feb, and we've been stressing ever since. Being notorious pre-planners, we're lost in a sea of indecision because we want to do everything in a relatively short amount of time-- and in an area that's seemingly very difficult to get anywhere fast.

About us:
Never been to DR before, only speak English, love to see 'real' cities (eat local food stands, shop where locals shop, etc), and are pained by the idea of missing the best of what the country offers by being confined within the walls of an all-inclusive for our entire trip. We're torn between the real possibility we may never have the opportunity to return to DR (so want to experience it all now) -- or -- if we do return where we want to spend all our time on the next trip (see it all now to know what we like 'best').

Here are some details:
Our perfect wish list: whale watching, carnival (read La Vega was the best), snorkeling, Samana peninsula (most beautiful from what we've read)
What's locked in: 3 nights in an all-inclusive in Punta Cana (staying with family), flying in and out of Punta Cana
What's undetermined: length of stay (option 1 (10 nights)-- arrive Fri noon, dept Mon noon; option 2 (7 nights): arrive Mon noon, dept Mon noon)

Plan A--
Day 1 (F): Arrive Punta Cana airport, take bus to Santo Domingo
Day 2 (Sat): See SD, take afternoon charter flight to Samana Peninsula
Day 3-5 (Sun, Mon, Tues): Stay Samana Peninsula
Day 6 (W): Take afternoon charter flight to PC
Day 7-9 (Thurs, Fri, Sat): Stay PC
Day 10 (Sun): Go to SD (carnival), stay in SD
Day 11 (Mon): Dept PC airport
Problem: concerned our plans are too aggressive (time and distance), charter flights (expensive, and haven't be able to successfully connect with companies via phone or email)

Plan B--
Day 1 (M): Arrive Punta Cana airport, take bus to La Romana area
Day 2 -3 (T, W): stay La Romana area
Day 4-6 (Thurs, Fri, Sat): Stay PC
Day 7 (Sun): Go to SD (carnival), stay SD
Day 8 (Mon): Dept PC airport
Problem: feel missing out of the best the country has to offer-- the Samana Peninsula

Can anyone offer thoughts that would help us make a decision? Thanks!
 
Feb 7, 2007
8,005
625
113
This si difficult... the problem is your PC stay midway through your vacation, so you have to do lots of travel back and forth, thus losing lots of time.

Are you able to change your flights to Santo Domingo? Usually thy are less expensive than PC flights.... it would be best option for you to fly in/out of SDQ so you would basically enjoy 2 more full days, which you could dedicate to, let's say seeing Jarabacoa or Constanza or Santiago or Ocoa or Barahona, or anything else in the country.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
514
113
I have to agree with friend rubio_hig?ey.
Just a change of flight plans would work wonders with your schedule. You would not feel pressed for time and enjoy the whole experience more.
The fact that you have ten (10) days is a break, so make the best use of it.

From Santo Domingo you can comfortably bus to Saman?. Flights there are truly expensive. IF you have to, all well and good, since the whales are worth every penny it takes to see them. the waterfalls at El Lim?n and the beach at Rincon are two more things to enjoy. So is Pescado con coco , a local dish.

Santiago is perhaps one of the most typical cities, and its carnival is well documented on this board. Perhaps you can return from Saman? via Santiago, spend a night (Sat) and enjoy the Carnival on Sunday>?) ..Connections to Santo Domingo are easy and inexpensive.

Although a little more complicated, a trip to Jarabacoa is also a trip to a completely different place. River rafting, pine trees, horseback riding...and very Dominican.

Let us know your thinking, and we can keep suggesting.

HB
 

ben jammin

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2007
648
160
63
just got back from 8 days in the DR and here was our visit in a nutshell and what i'd possibly do different.

day 1:arrive at PC at 4:30 rented car for eight days, ate dinner at jellyfish restaurant and got room for the night at golf suites resort(excellent dinner $120 for 4 persons, excellent room @$180double room)

day 2: drove to SD where our timeshare was(a guy from the hotel that was from SD drove us there in the car and took bus back, we compensated him nicely) took a tour of colonial zone $25 for the guided tour and ate dinner with our friend's family

day 3: rested at the resort, swam, ate :sleep:

day 4: our guide joined us,drove to jarabacoa, visited salto baiguite(waterfall), rented a house for $150 per night(3bedroom,2bath)set up whitewater rafting trip for next day, got groceries and cooked at house

day 5: went whitewater rafting with rancho baiguite(highlight of the trip imo)went out to eat in jarabacoa(nice, inexpensive meal, good steak at BON restaurant)

day 6: we really wanted to visit samana but thought the trip would take most of a day and we would be even farther from PC for our return and did not want all of the riding and rush so decided to stay extra two nights at our lovely house, drove over the mountains to constanza(stunning drive), ate lunch at lorenzos restaurant and returned to house to relax

day 7: drove to puerta plata for some beach time and to see the north coast, ate lunch at chris and mady's restaurant, drove back (my wife and i live at the beach in nc so we did this leg for our traveling companions)

day 8:drove back to PC via timeshare in SD to check out and stayed again at the golf suites

day 9: had some more beach time and shopping before our flight at 5:30

we had a good deal(or so we thought) at dollar rentacar but found out they were out of business so our $690 van turned out to be a $1200 suv but was a nice car and got us through many tough drives;)

we spent a lot of hours driving but got to see some spectacular sights and experienced much of the things that make the DR so special, the landscape and the people. we decided against the samana trip partly because it was raining there for a few days straight and the time restaints but from all i've heard it is a place worth staying and visiting(maybe next trip) i also hear the barahona region is nice. to fly is the way to go in my book if you can afford it as it gives you more time to sightsee and is much less strenuous. also our guide lives 15mins from PC and if you wished i could call him and see if he is available(a translator is nice to have as few outside of the resorts speak english).. just pm me if you want me to call or have any questions. most of all have a wonderful time in the beautiful country!
 

Stateside

New member
Dec 11, 2007
38
0
0
First I want to first start out by thanking everyone for being SO gracious in taking time to share thoughts/experiences and wanting to help us out. There's no substitute from what I will ultimately gain from you and this site!

Flights / into DR. Though it'd just result in air credit on another airline we'd need to use in a year, it's not impossible to change our plans to either fly roundtrip in/out of SD or to fly into SD/out of PC. So if doing so opens up a better travel schedule, we'd love your thoughts on a revised 11-day itinerary (keeping in mind, we're locked in to the a PC resort on days 7-9)!

Flights / within DR. While my fiance and I are thrifty travel spenders, we try to select where our money will work the hardest for us. Thought about renting a car for a while but we read mixed reviews on being a first-time visitor / first-time driver in the region -- so we dropped that idea. While a large cost separates extremes of taking the bus vs taking a charter flight, we too thought air would be a better investment than bus as we'd be buying time (rather spend it at our end destination, than in commuting). The challenge we face (as pre-planners) is trying to get ahold of anyone who offers these flights so we can solidify time/cost, etc. Tried calling on occasion (an expensive option) and no response yet via email inquiries. Any suggestions?

Carnival. Since we enjoy seeing the 'best of the best' as defines the the personality of all areas we visit, it was our original goal to go to carnival in La Vega. Again wanting to do everything, but started to conclude it was not possible. Are we wrong and is it possible/realistic to day trip to/from Las Terrenas to La Vega to see carnival? If so, how do we do it (recommend renting car for a day? if take bus, how do we find schedules/stops -- or tour companies that offer such an excursion)?

Thanks again!
 
Last edited:

Stateside

New member
Dec 11, 2007
38
0
0
Update: Flight / into DR. So we are in the best position to travel based on the postings to date, I just changed our flights-- we are now officially flying in/out of Santo Domingo. So now we can use that as the start/end point of reference :)

Carnival: Same question applies as my last posting-- is it possible to do a day trip between Las Terrenas/La Vega to see carnival? If not, our plan will be to see carnival in SD the day before we fly out (advantage: taking on the country in one big loop, without backtracking).

Commute / Samana to Punta Cana: After our stay in the Samana Peninsula, we will need get back to Punta Cana on Day 6. Options range from a pricey commuter flight, to bus going ALL the way back around the country, or taking the ferry across the bay. Thoughts on the ferry option (seems happy compromise between time on bus and cost of flight)? If recommended, how would we go from the ferry port landing of Sabana de la Mar to our Punta Cana resort (Bavaro Princess)? Better off incurring the cost to fly back? Spend all day on a bus?

Thanks!