Dreams Punta Cana

A very good friend of mine is a rep at dreams and i know they are very good with families and have an excellent childrens club, the food is also very good but then opinions always vary. I have visited briefly and the lobby and theatre area is very well kept. I know alot of hotels seem to have problems when changing management as it changed from sunscape to dreams, but as far as i know all has been smoothed out. The hotel itself is very isolated in an area called Uvero Alto so book yourselves on a few trips just to get out and about as there is nothing to do nearby, i can recommend carribbean festival and saona island is very popular. What are the ages of your children? and is a fair ride from the airport, but there is plenty to look at on the way. I am sure you will have a very nice holiday.

For a bit of the REAL dominican republic be sure to take a day trip to Higuey where i live, it is only about 45 mins from dreams and a real eye opener, you will see plenty to laugh about. You will also pass through Higuey on the way to La Romana, if you would like some beautiful photos be sure to visit Altos de Chavon, a well known tourist spot. It is a replica 16th century village made from coral and it really is beautiful and the views of the river below are stunning, it is also rumoured to be where Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were married. But i believe the most interesting things to photograph are the people jut going about their daily chores, children in the street and so on.
You will no doubt get a few people willing to be your tour guide, but please be careful as on occasions they will try and take advantage of you. As i would advise anyone going to any unknown destination, keep your valubles secure and try and have a good idea of the exchange rate in your head if you are going gift shopping as nothing has a price and before you know it yourself or more likely on of your children has bought a worthless necklace for $50 or more.
Also if any of your children are female, keep them away from the male animation staff at the hotel, they are the peeps that organise the daily and nightly entertainment and can be very full on with the young girls, and the young girls usually for it! As long as you are aware of that you will be fine.

Ive rambled on but please if there is anything else dont hesitate to ask!

I know many brits go there as the kids club is supposed to be very good, they give you a pager when you drop them off and page you when they have had enough (the child not the staff ha ha or maybe that is the case tee hee)so you can relax and not have to keep checking on them.

As for gifts you would be crushed by the stampede if they knew there was a tourist around giving gifts for photos, a friendly smile will usually do the trick, but if you want to see lots of childrens faces pick up a huge bag of sweets/candy at the supermarket first. There are lots of children begging and you may feel obligated to give them money, but you wont get a smile or a thanks for it so dont feel you have to, i am used to it now and if they dont ask me properly i say no or a make them ask me and say thank you (by god i will get them one by one ha ha)
If you would like a guide around Higuey and La Romana send me a private message, i dont mind showing you around if i am free, be quite nice to visit altos de chavon again.

njmike said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'd love to be able to take you up on your offer to show me around, but I've learned that when traveling with the family I don't make definite plans. You never know what's going to happen.

Do you know anyhting about the company that is running the Zip Line "tour"? That'a the one thing the family has agreed upon.

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I dont know the company but i know a few people that have gone and said it was awesome. Have a great holiday!

Tours

Zip line is a bit much for your kids 10 & 14, try the Bavaro Runners, a great way to see the countryside away from the resort strip and some great photo's can be taken.
BavaroRunners Home Page

Leave the candy, while it sounds like a nice thing to do, it encourages begging.

While other suggestions are good it is a long trek to La Romana and Altos de Chavon from Dreams.

I have an album with hundreds of pictures of the property posted at Sunscape the Beach/Dreams Punta Cana 01/19/07 - 01/26/07 pictures, photos, and videos, from caribbean on webshots In the collection are shots of the Explorers Club and the bike road from the hotel. It's isolated, but that makes the bike ride extra beautiful and it's only 15-25 minutes in any direction to a bunch of excursions. I did a great sunset horseback ride on the beach which is one of my all-time DR highlights (the horses are beautifully cared for), and an ATV outing with Tropical Wheels (pictures of that are at Dreams Punta Cana ATV excursion with Tropical Wheels pictures from caribbean photos on webshots).

I did the drive from Dreams to Bayahibe where the boats go to Saona during 5:30 rush hour on a Friday and including a stop for gas it took 90 minutes. Add 15 minutes to that to get to Altos de Chavon. It is actually further east than La Romana so if you look at a map, you don't actually have to go as far as La Romana.

The entertainment team is excellent at this resort. They group is tight and even other than those who work in the Explorers Club there are some who are better with younger kids and others who excel with teens. I'm sure your children will have no trouble having a great time all of every day. Keep an eye on the schedule of activities and you may find that they'd rather do the party games on the beach than be in the Club.

Kaki