Please help me choose where to go!

[MAZDA Kitten]

2nd week of October my bf and I want to peace out of here and have a week of chilling.
So we are racking our brains on where to go; we keep hearing a lot of mixed reviews

We both did the Cancun thing as well I\'ve been to Paradise Island, Bahamas (and both of those places we do not want to go to). Right now we just want somewhere to chill and not looking for a party scene.

Please any personal stories or tips I wanna hear them
:D

[dioxviad]

I cant help you, but those places seem like they would be dangerous

[MAZDA Kitten]

Why dangerous? :(
We\'re not planning to leave the resort... How dangerous does this look :D

http://www.accesstravel.com/destinations/caribbean/images/dominican_beach.jpg

[wtom]

I voted for Dominion (:p) Republic only because two friends of mine had, in each their own occasion, gone there and came back with good reviews. Personally tho, never been to any of those destinations before. :(

[PlatMS6]

dominican
...y not leave the resort tho? just bring little cash and explore a little :)

[Broli]

i had a great time in Cuba (havana area)
and Dominican Republic (sousua, puerto plata area)

i picked Dominican cause there was more to do in terms of day trips
white water rafting was crazy in DR.
and they have Bacardi beach there, where they shot the Bacardi Rum commercials
oh man it was nice


but Cuba was more chilled (cause i went to a smaller hotel)
they have a club in Havana, on the roof of a hotel, it is open to the the sky
oh man it was awesome


i felt safe in both places, people were freindly in both places . . .
it is tough

but, if this helps, my friend went with me to both cuba and DR and he also went to Puerto Valliarta
and he liked it the least

ah well that is my personal stories, at least the ones i am willing to share here . . .
lol ;)

[TheProfessor]

How much money are you looking at spending? For me it doesn\'t have as much to do with the destination as it does the hotel and property. My wife and I have done the Bahama\'s, Cuba, Florida, Palm Springs, The Mayan Riviera (twice) and are going on a cruise in December that\'ll take us to the US Virgin Islands, The Bahamas (again) and St. Maartin. Of all the places we\'ve been, Mexico (Mayan Riviera specifically) was by far the best.....like no comparison at all. All of the resorts there are relatively new, very large and spread out, and close enough to Cancun that you could still go into town for a day if you wanted.

Give us more specifics (i.e. where in Cuba would you want to go, cause there\'s places like Varadero that are packed all the time, or places like Holguin where the atmosphere is laid back, there are private beaches, and things are much more spread out).

[MAZDA Kitten]

Well we\'re gonna grab something last minute deal type thing. I loved Mayan Riviera too; it was so gorgeous and the beaches at Tulum were AMAZING.

Just to give you an idea you can get a 4* property for about $370ish plus $240 in taxes for DR and about $400 plus $174 taxes for Cuba. I hear Puerto Vallarta doesnt have super duper nice beaches like Punta Cana (DR) would have but then again its on the other side of Mexico and its more safer from the hurricanes (hurricane season ends Oct 31st). So far Im leaning towards DR because its a) cheap and b) the beaches look insane. I like Cuba because a) No loud ass mouth Americans b) CHEAPER but their currency sucks. What to do! :( :(

[TheProfessor]

If you\'re worried about Hurricanes then both Cuba and the DR are not the safest at this time of year. If it had to be between the ones you posted I would go to Cuba. I had a great time there, it was fairly inexpensive, and as you said, no idiot American\'s (dioxviad excluded from the generalization ;) )

[iconicrocket]

I\'m thinking about doing a trip in the Winter time too. Where are you buying your vacation packages from?

Personally, I have not got to any of those destinations, but my friends all say that Cuba is cheap and good.

[TheProfessor]

We\'ve used www.selloffvacations.com for years and have always been impressed both with pricing and service.

[MAZDA Kitten]

www.sellofvacations.com seems pretty good but I\'ve seen better prices. Other online sources

www.EXITNOW.ca (My personal fave)
www.BELAIRTRAVEL.com
www.iTRAVEL2000.com
www.TRIPCENTRAL.ca

can anyone add any others? I really like the service I get at Flight Centre but their website doesnt really contain any great deals for last minute getaways.

[TheProfessor]

If you like Flight Centre you should go into one of their stores.....a co-worker ended up getting the best deal by going and speaking with them as opposed to booking online through one of the ones you mentioned!

[Ex-Rolla]

Go with Mayan Riviera... more specifically, Playa Del Carmen... I sent you a PM with the link to my Photo album. From all the places I\'ve been, I think *so far*, Playa del carmen is the best. It has exactly what you\'re looking for. a lot of relaxation, but if you get bored, there are a lot of bars/lounges where one is nicer than the other. It\'s not Crazy partying like Cancun. A lot of nice shopps, just a reall nice place in general. Ohh you can hop on a boat and go snorkeling in cozumel for a day. Hotel i stayed in is call Grand Porto Real.

[MAZDA Kitten]

OMG! NO way...! I stayed at Gran Porto Real in Playa Del Carmen. Exactly about this time of year (Oct 16-23). I loved it there but the beach wasnt anything to rave about. I\'d want to try something different; ah fakkk.. :( So far DR seems to be getting on the top of my list especially Punta Cana

[Upyerkilt]

I just booked with Flight Centre, they will beat the lowset price by 5%
we booked for the 21st of Oct at Grand Flamenco, Peurto Plata D.R.
For myself, my wife and our 2 year old son it came to just under $2300. taxes in.
First time going to Dominican but I\'ve heard it\'s nice.
I have been to Bahamas and Cuba before both at breezes resorts and they were nice no major complaints.

[TheProfessor]

Punta Cana has awesome beaches but is always busy as a result.

[FLIPDADY]

Originally posted by PSIVIC


Punta Cana has awesome beaches but is always busy as a result.
Punta Cana was great! I went with the wife and kids. Had a chance to go again this year but my wife was pregnant.

[Hypothrml]

Try...

www.travellastminute.ca
www.redtag.ca
www.holidaymarkettravel.com (booked 3 vacations with them, great service)

[dead_cactus]

in January me and the gf went to Bahia Principe in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

It was an excellent resort, I cant think of 1 bad thing about it, very clean, very professional. excellent food, lots of variety. 5* resort.

I took alot of pictures when we were there, if you would like I can email you a few pictures of the resort.

Just let me know,

Jeff

[Electra-fire]

Hey I voted DR.
To be honest it all comes down to personal preference.

I stayed here
http://www.signaturevacations.com/svec/ApplicationSentry?Comp=300&ProductId=28
A little over a year ago and had an \"OK\" time... Food was bland, and was bored outta my mind... :zzz
Cayo Coco is a little island off CUBA so it costs a some $$$ to get into Cuba. I\'m not going to bash the hotel, its ok if you just want to read a book for a wk. :sarc Me and the bf decided to go on the horse back ride on the beach ($10 each) but when we got there our horses looked like beat up donkeys that hadn\'t eaten in a mth. And the \"beach ride\" consisted of going on a trail filled with trash which lead to a beach covered in large Rocks and Seaweed. hahaha I think we were on the beach for 2mins before we had to head back.

BUT I hear that if you go to Havana CUBA area, there is more to do and see. I voted for DR because I have heard tons of good reviews from friends who have been and had an awesome time.

[MAZDA Kitten]

Originally posted by Upyerkilt


I just booked with Flight Centre, they will beat the lowset price by 5%


We went to Flight Centre with all our information in tow and the girl told us there that they will not beat the price on PACKAGES :( :( wtf!? :(

[MAZDA Kitten]

Thanks for the feedback everyone; really appreciated.
I think we have settled on BAHIA PRINCIPE in PUNTA CANA (5*+) &GOLD CLUB.
Its really pimp and you get a lof \'extra\'s and \'perks\' and all the rooms are junior suites.
We\'ve talked to pretty much all the providers; we have good stuff to say about itravel2000.

[FLIPDADY]

Originally posted by MAZDA Kitten


Thanks for the feedback everyone; really appreciated.
I think we have settled on BAHIA PRINCIPE in PUNTA CANA (5*+) &GOLD CLUB.
Its really pimp and you get a lof \'extra\'s and \'perks\' and all the rooms are junior suites.
We\'ve talked to pretty much all the providers; we have good stuff to say about itravel2000.
That\'s where we were going this year but we had a baby instead. I heard that Bahia Principe was a great resort.(beer drinking contests):p

[Upyerkilt]

Originally posted by MAZDA Kitten



Originally posted by Upyerkilt


I just booked with Flight Centre, they will beat the lowset price by 5%


We went to Flight Centre with all our information in tow and the girl told us there that they will not beat the price on PACKAGES :( :( wtf!? :(
Wow,
that\'s weird maybe different locations have different policies? All I know is that my wife was told that when we booked...that sucks:(

I\'ve heard good things about Itravel too and from what I\'ve heard Punta Cana is nice too (never been there)
I guess we\'ll compare experiences when our trips are over!
when are you going ?
we are leaving the 22nd of October.