Dear Duchess,
My husband and I are looking to take a trip to the Dominican Republic(from Tampa) during the month of November. We would like to enjoy our anniversary at an all inclusive resort and find a travel package that includes airfare and maybe a few excursions included too. I’ve began the search but I haven’t found any packages that have caught my eye. My husband tells me that I’m just too cheap to commit. His statement is partly true. I’m afraid if I commit I will happen upon a better deal. Please help this cost conscious wife to commit!
Thank you,
Too Cheap to Commit
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Dear Too Cheap to Commit,
Sounds like you and I have something in common, cheap commitment issues. I’m always sure I can find something cheaper, and I often gamble. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. With that said, let’s see how we can make this anniversary trip cheap and fun.
My favorite site for Carribean all-inclusive vacations is Cheap Carribean. It allows you to search by destination and includes flight and hotel. You can specify if you want an all-inclusive. I went to ITA Matrix see what the flights look like from Tampa to Santo Domingo. ITA Matrix provided these results:
It looks like the flights are pretty steady for the month of November, so we can pick any week to check on prices at Cheap Carribean. I chose November 12-16th and only 2 resorts came up for Santo Domingo.
There are plenty of options in Dominican Republic so let’s try Punta Cana. According to the ITA Matrix, flights are cheaper at the beginning of November:
I used the same dates over at Cheap Caribbean and got prices that ranged from $500 – $1200, for flights and all inclusive hotel. The average was about $650. I suggest you read reviews, on the site and on Trip Advisor, and then narrow down your field. There is sure to be something within your budget there. Play with the dates to see if there are any changes.
You can also check out their Deals and Packages tab for weekly deals. Here’s the current deal for Punta Cana:
If you are still too afraid to commit, you can hold out for a Living Social or Groupon deal like this one:
Just be aware that your desired dates may not be available and that your airport may only be available at a higher fee. Jump when you feel comfortable and don’t break the bank!
I hope your anniversary is splendid and let me know how it goes.
Keep traveling,
Deal Duchess
For Dominican Republic, you will want to narrow your search to Punta Cana and Puerto Plata. La Romana has some resorts too but these are mostly really expensive ones.
Puerto Plata – Northern part of the country. Less expensive resorts. Lots of 3,4, & 5 star resorts. If you want a clean room with good food and friendly staff, you’ll have PLENTY of options. Like Deal Duchess stated, read the reviews because some are better than others.
Punta Cana – Eastern part of the country (think, closest to Puerto Rico) is where THE BEST resorts are. President Clinton vacationed there twice during his presidency. Trump owns property. THE BEST golf in the world can be found there. Clear blue beaches, you catch my drift. Right now the “it” resort is the Hard Rock Hotel but you can go wrong with Barcelo resorts or the Riu and I’m sure there’s plenty more. Think of Punta Cana being the Beverly Hills of D.R. and Puerto Plata is a respectable 2nd place like Hollywood Hills.
Lastly, you can fly directly into either Puna Cana or Puerto Plata, they both have aiports. If its cheaper to fly to the bigger airports here is the breakdown… SDQ( Santa Domingo airport) is several hours from either location so keep that in mind. STI (Santiago’s airport) is about an hour from Puerto Plata and WAY too far from Punta Cana (maybe 5 hours!).
Cheap Carribean is great and protects you against rain which isn’t too big a deal in November but it’s there just in case. ONE LAST THING, the two weeks after Thanksgiving are usually REALLY CHEAP because noone starts traveling until mid December.
Best of luck!
**** I meant to say you CAN’T go wrong with BAVARO OR RIU RESORTS. They are good! (Bavaro not Barcelo which is a Dominican rum ;-))
Thanks Joelly! That was awesome advice…Hard Rock Hotel is lovely but definitely not ‘budget friendly.’ No breaking the bank allowed!