GETTING THERE
We all know how major airlines are these days, and with that said, taking a charter airline was a
great move for my family and I. We took USA 300, and everything went perfectly. We took a 6 am
direct flight out of Cleveland, and we were sipping down drinks on the beach by 11:30 am. Unlike
the major airlines, our flight was not crowded at all either way. In fact, on the way back I had all 3
seats in my row to my self. The best part of all was that we saved $2,000 by taking USA 300 out
of Cleveland. Granted we had a 4 hour drive home from Cleveland, but we only lost about 2
hours, and the drive really was not that bad. So I really recommend getting a travel agent, If you
get a good one, they can find you great deals like we had. THEY CHARGE $10 PER PERSON TO
ENTER THE COUNTRY...so if you are going soon, don't forget! Other than that, Dominican
customs are practically non-existant. Just give them the money, they check your passport, and
just like that you're in. You take a bus to your resort. If you book through Apple Vacations, there
is a representative that will give you your bus number. One last note, there are a lot of sky caps
there desperate to make tips, and they can be very pushy...if you don't want them helping you,
simply say your fine, and they will leave you alone.


CHECK IN
The check in was about as effortless as it can be. Since we got there so early, our rooms were
not ready. So just pack your bathing suite and some sunscreen in your carry on, and hit the
beach while you wait for your room. We stayed at the beach until about 5:30 until we finally went
back to get our room. They drove our bags to our room, and we were all set. If you are looking to
book two joining rooms, I really don't think chances of that happening for you are pretty slim. In
fact, I'm not sure if they even have conjoining rooms there. My family had 2 rooms in the same
building, and that worked just fine.

THE ROOMS
The room's are kept spotless. However, as it is anywhere you go, the more you tip each day, the
cleaner the room. The beds are a little hard, but once again thats to be expected. Marble floors,
big closet, safe, his and her sinks, jacuzzi tub, and everything you could ever need are in there.
The rooms look out over the very well kept landscape of the resort. Trust me, you're not going to
spend a lot of time in your room if you go, so it's hard to find a lot of stuff to complain about.

THE BEACH
one word...WOW! I've been to the Caribbean every year for the last 7 years and this beach simply
blows everything else away. There is a reason it is rated as one of the best beaches in the
world. The sand is perfect, and the beach is very wide, and very long. You can walk for miles if
you'd like, and u can see a lot of the other resorts located on Bavaro Beach.. The water is so
blue, and is really breath taking. Now, when I was reading reviews before I went, I read a lot of
complaining about the amount of beach chairs, and chairs by the pool. If you wake up no earlier
than 9:30 like I do, you are going to have to go chair hunting. It's really not that as of a pain as it
sounds like though, and if you keep an eye out, you won't have a problem. I would highly advise
you to do some tanning before you go. Your tan will be much more even, darker, and better
looking when you come home. If you live in a cold place full of people as white as snowmen like
I do, all you're friends will surely be jealous. It is an a beautiful beach and you will not want to
leave! Here are some unique things that go on during the day at the beach: There are some
guys walking up and down the beach selling excursions. They sell stuff like snorkeling, and
banana boat rides. We did a snorkeling excursion and an ATV excursion through one of these
people ( his name is Miguel). Here is the thing about booking through these guys instead of say
Apple Vacations. You will do everything they say the excursion includes, and the prices they give
you will always be cheaper than the big services like Apple. In fact, on the ATV excursion, we
went every single place the Apple tour took its customers, but we payed much less than we
would have had we gone through Apple. But the catch is, the way you book, and get to the
excursion is a little bit shady. When we booked our ATV excursion, we walked with Miguel to the
end of the beach that is off resort property. Miguel talked to his boss who called "his boy" to
reserve our spot on the trip. Then later that afternoon, "his boy" came and picked us up and took
us to the ranch. The excursion was a lot of fun, and the point is that these guys on the beach can
be trusted, even though at times it may not seem like it. However, if you don't like to be weary,
don't book excursions through the guys walking up and down the beach. I have to mention the
shops at the end of the beach not owned by the resort (it's the same place Miguel took us to
book our ATV excursion). If you are not in the mood to do some tough haggling, DO NOT go to
this end of the beach, because these guys working the stores are sharks! They are very pushy
and simply do not take no for an answer. Once you have something you want to buy, negotiate
for the price. NEVER, EVER take their first price. If you pay 50% of their original asking price, you
are still getting ripped off! For example, A guy wanted to sell me 4 necklaces for $95! I ended up
paying 20. These guys are brutal though, and it takes a while to talk them down. Be firm with
them, and don't show any weakness, because if you do, they will smell blood, and then you are
sure to get screwed! If you are ready to buy some gifts, haggling with these sharks can be
entertaining, and you can land some great deals. They will make you feel like you have screwed
them, but trust me, you haven't. If they were the ones getting screwed, why would they accept
your price? There is a massive blow up slide owned by the resort by the resort on the beach as
well. However it cost $5 for 6 slides. Finally, beware, there are a lot of topless tanners, and a lot
of men in Speedos. You get used to it after a while. After all, you're to busy checking out the
beautiful scenery!

THE FOOD
I thought the food was authentic, unique, and best of all, great tasting. I'm not a very picky guy
though. To me, if it taste good, it taste good. It's that simple. The A la Cartes do not require
reservations. I thought the food, and the service at all of them was great. The Buffets are great
for every meal of the day. They rotate themes every night, so you are not eating the same food
over and over again. The staff in both are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, and if you
try to speak some Spanish they really appreciate it. There is a 24/7 sports bar, that serves the
basics like hot dogs, and chips. The soft serve ice cream machine was a big hit with me.

THE NIGHT LIFE
As I said before, I have been to Caribbean every year fr the past 7 years, and this resort by far
has the best night of all I have been to. There are two theatres to choose from that have after
dinner entertainment. If you happened to get called up on stage, trust me, you will be doing
something that will be funny for others to watch, but not so funny for you. However, it's all in good
fun! After the show, the place to be is the disco, especially if you are young and single. During
the day, it might seem like the resort is full of nothing but couples and honeymooners, but all the
younger singles surface at the disco every night. So for all my late teens, early 20s people who
are heading down with parents and friends, trust me, although it might not seem like it during
the day, you will be just fine. Alcohol flows like a river all night, and if you love to party, you wont
be let down.

EXCURSIONS
Contrary to popular American belief, you CAN go off the resort with out getting abducted. People
off the resorts are used to seeing tour groups going around every day, and they are not going to
do anything to you. As you read before, We booked our stuff through the guys on the beach. We
did an ATV excursion, and a short snorkeling trip. I'll start with the ATV excursion, From the
ranch we went to a cave full of water (went swimming in it), a few small shops, and a really cool
secluded beach. We went in the afternoon, and I think this was a much better option than going
in the morning. We left at 2 and were back at the resort by 630ish. The strongest from 10-1,
which is smack in the middle of the morning tour. Who wants to be away from water during the
hottest hours of the day? I had a lot of fun, and if you go make sure you wear old or dirty cloths.
ATVs are really cool machines, and I'm glad I did it. For families, I highly suggest this be father
son trip. However as I said before, the way they book it, and get you there, all seemed a little
shady. The second excursion we did was a short snorkeling excursion. We payed a few extra
bucks to have Miguel (the guy on the beach who sold us the excursion) to go with us, as the boat
driver did not speak English. They take you down the beach a few miles to a reef about half a
mile off shore. The snorkeling is not half bad, but I've done better. The water is also a little
choppy. The best part about this was that there were not other guests on the boat with us. This
way, we could do just the amount of snorkeling we wanted, then leave with out having to wait for
a bunch of other people. We saw some other snorkeling boats packed full of people, and I think
being stuck on one of those boats would have been awful. To top it off, we were paying less than
those people on the crowded boats. So my final suggestion is to book an ATV excursion
through a big name group like Apple, and to do snorkeling through the guys on the beach. There
were a lot of other excursions out there, but we had a hard time leaving the beautiful beach! I
heard the "out back safari" was great. You ride around through different parts of Punta Cana,
and you even see a Dominican school. We talked with a lot of people who really enjoyed it.

OTHER GUESTS
There are very, very few Americans. But don't let that alarm you. There are a lot of Canadians,
and you will meet plenty of people who speak English. There are even more people from
Europe, Mostly French, English, and German. If you only speak English, I really don't think you
are going to have much of a problem at all, however, knowing a second language will double the
amount of people you can talk with.

GOING HOME
Going home is the absolute pits. There is nothing good about it. There is nothing worse than a
4 hour plane ride thinking about how cold you are going to be when you land. There are some
important things you should know before you head to the airport. When your bus pulls up, the
sky caps literally swarm around the bus and get your bags out, because they are all out there to
make some tips. Once again, if you don't want help, just tell them you will take them your self,
and you will be fine. You have to fill out a Dominican customs for before you go through security
so be ready for that. Also, have your plane tickets and passport on you the whole time you are in
the airport until your sitting on the plane. DO NOT put them away before you get on, because you
will just have to get them back out. You have to show both at the gate, and at the stairs leading
up to the plane. The airport is all open air, and there is even a patio you can go to and soak up
the sun for one last time. Our USA 300 flight was great once again. Plenty of extra room. It really
made the trip home a lot easier....i wish there was more i could put on here...i have website so i could do just that...its coreygibson.com if you would like to check it out