alldaytravel

Hi All - I am thinking of putting together a "last minute" trip in January for either Cancun or Punta Cana. Can anyone advise on which place is "better? and which has a "better" beach? My husband and I are in our early 30's - just looking for a good all-inclusive, fabulous beaches, great pools, swim up bar is mandatory

Also, any recommendations for good resorts in each of these places? We don't need top of the line, five star - just a nice resort, reasonably priced, with an outstanding beach and nice amenities (I am a BIG beach person). Thanks!!

P.S. Both places seem comprable in price, so that is not as much of an issue.

patsfan1

Cancun has nicer resorts.
RC, JW Marriott, LE Meridien, FAGCB are the top resorts. Moon palace Omni, Riu,and Aqua are some other good choices.

Cancun offers more activities and much better shopping.

Punta Cana(Bavaro beach)has a nicer beach but only because the hurricane did a lot of damage to Cancun's beach. both have white sand and nice turqoise water. Cancun has rougher surf.

gabriele

Have been to both (Punta Cana 1x and Cancun 3x). The beaches in both are pretty, but the last two times I was in Cancun the water was so rough that it was impossible to swim. I have also read that Cancun's beaches were quite damaged by the hurricane. At the upper end, Cancun has a JW Marriott and Ritz; Punta Cana has some lovely 4 star properties that are as nice if not nicer than comparable properties in Cancun. In Punta Cana I stayed at the Gran Bahia Principe and was quite pleased, and it does have a swim up bar. You may want to look at Trip Advisor. As for the beaches, Punta Cana has a seemingly endless walking beach while Cancun's soft sand is very difficult to walk on for any distance. But in Punta Cana there is nothing to do outside the resort while in Cancun you could spend every day on the go -- Chichen Itza, Tulum, Xel-ha, Xcaret, jeep tours, not to mention shopping and restaurants. Since I went to Punta Cana to lie on the beach, that was not a problem. If you want more to do, you may want to consider Cancun. Both are nice, it just depends on what type of vacation you want.

alldaytravel

Thanks!! Actually, we are just looking for a totally relaxing vacation - we won't be doing too much running around on this trip and don't plan to do many (if any) excursions...

With this in mind, would you recommend Punta Cana? Are the beaches much better than Cancun as a result of the hurricane or is it a wash as far as beach quality??

Also, are the resorts much better in Punta Cana??

FYI - In Cancun we were considering the Dreams Cancun or the Riu Cancun...Didn't have a specific resort in mind for Punta Cana.

Thanks!!

patsfan1

I dont think the beaches are much better in PC, PC's are longer and wider than Cancun's due to the beach erosion from Wilma but Cancun has the same white sand and turquoise water.
I think Cancun has the nicer high end resorts and a better selection overall, PC has some nice resorts but they are mostly AI resorts.
Cancun has far superior dining options.
Dreams and Riu are both very nice
4 star type resorts.
Ritz, JW Marriott, Fiesta Americana GCB & LE Meridien are the 5 star properties in Cancun.

alldaytravel

Thanks everyone!! Based on everyone's feedback, I think I will try Cancun this time and do Punta Cana another time...Decisions, decisions

Patsfan, since you seem to be familiar with many of the resorts in Cancun, if we are looking at the Riu Cancun or Dreams Cancun, which would you choose?? Which has the nicer beach??

I don't know anything about these places, but it seems that Dreams may be a little more upscale, but more subdued and possibly not as much "fun"...

The Riu may have a little more "action" going on in the resort -i.e, water volleyball, maybe some on premise activities, dancing at night, etc., but Dreams may be a step up from the Riu Cancun in terms of quality...Again, I have no idea, this is just what I am inferring from tripadvisor reviews.

Any advice or feedback??

Again, if one beach is nicer than the other, I may let that be the deciding factor

Thanks everyone...Happy New Year!!

gabriele

Punta Cana also has a Dreams and a Riu Palace. However, I don't think you should stress about your choice. You will enjoy Cancun (even if it turns out the beach is still not up to par or too rough to swim in) and can go to Punta Cana another time. In my opinion, the best resource for selecting a hotel is tripadvisor -- there are variety of opinions from recent visitors. Also, check out Hotwire for possible discounts -- I once saw the Cancun JW Marriott listed there for under $100!

schmerl

There is also a Dreams in Tulum which has a nice beach. The Riviera Maya Mexico is FILLED with great AI resorts. The Barcelo is huge and has one of the nicest beaches.