santanam81

My husband and I are in our 30s and other than Cancun have never really traveled. We love the carribean water, eating, relaxing, and are somewhat adventerous. I thought it would be great to go to Punta Cana in DR because I hear it is beautiful and thought all inclusive would be a nice more affordable way to go. However, other than resorts I'm not sure what else there is to do considering it is not close to any towns. My husband wants to go to Puerto Rico and so do I but we are not sure which island would be the most fun.
If we go to DR, what part should we stay at where we can relax at the beach and get to know the people and culture?
If we go to PR, same question and do you recommend renting a car? Is it more cost effective rather than paying for taxi's or is it more expensive with paying for parking and insurance? We are planning on going in Jan 2012 for our anniversary and are staying for 7 days. I really don't want to spend more than $2500 for airline and hotel which after reasearching online seems reasonable.
Last question. Anyone recommend staying in a vacation home rather than a hotel? There are some really nice affordable ones in PR. I saw a few that were as cheap as $500-$700 per wk directly on the beach. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

qwovadis

Puerto Rico is better for

Carib newbies to roadtrip around

carrentals.com good rental deals

betterbidding.com best SJ resort deals from $50/nt

luxurylink.com DR beaches AIs a bit nicer like Excellence

Also the new Hard Rock has some great deals puntacana.com

best resort beach golf.

So it kind of depends on what you want PR better for

adventuring for me DR for beach AI resort.

Happy Deciding,

suze

I think Puerto Rico sounds more like what you are seeking. I think renting a house there would be great! I have not been myself but recently have read some interesting travel magazine articles that looked great (Budget Travel Dec 10/Jan 11 issue).

Punta Cana is a build-environment made up of the all-inclusives catering to tourists. You can go out around the island, but most people do not. The DR is a very poor island and I've often read the comment that there's 'nothing to see'. I've been to Puerta Plata and Sousa myself and enjoyed it very much but it was years ago so can't comment on things there now.

schmerl

I also think Puerto Rico is a better fit for what you want.
We have stayed in the more commercial areas like Isla Verde and also in a non commercial area when we rented a condo near Luquillo
Beach. We were a half block from the beach and it was like having our own private beach. You would need to rent a car if you did this. The rain forest is near by and you could drive into Old San Juan for the historical aspect of PR.

tdelano

I have never been to DR so can't comment on comparison but loved renting a house in Vieques. See San Juan for a day then have a little adventure traveling to Vieques on the ferry to relax on gorgeous empty beaches!! The only thing we were not thrilled with on Vieques was the snorkeling but the Bio-bay more than made up for it! Rent a house a bit off the beaten path and you will never consider a crowded beach with high rises again

Nicole_Fleurys

you should go to DR because is better than PR but only you know where to go.

loveyou32

That's not true Dominican Republic is not that poor there or many beautiful places to go to Dont pay attention to other people the only why you can experience DR and its has the best beaches in the world trust me i have been There everyone has there own opinion PR has poor places too remember it all depends what part of PR and DR you go too

aiacono

I'm looking for long sandy beaches, but read Puerto Plata mostly rocky. Is that true?