Punta Cana

The Easiest Caribbean Arrival There Is

Punta Cana occupies the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic, where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean, and it exists because of one thing: the flights. Its airport is privately built, unusually pleasant, and connected non stop to more North American cities than almost anywhere else in the region. That accessibility is why forty miles of coconut palm backed beach filled up with resorts in a generation, and it is also why the range here is so wide. There are properties on this coast that are among the best in the Caribbean and properties a mile away that are not. The area does not determine the holiday. The specific hotel does.

The planning decision: Cap Cana, Bavaro, or the quiet north

Cap Cana, at the southern end, is the gated, low density, marina and golf development where the top hotels sit, along with the best restaurants and the calmest water at Juanillo beach. Bavaro, the long central stretch, is where most of the volume is, with excellent beach and a very broad quality range. North of that, Uvero Alto is quieter, more remote, with rougher Atlantic surf and a handful of good properties and very little else. Cap Cana for the best of it, Uvero Alto for privacy, Bavaro when a specific hotel there earns it.

Season, and the two things that vary

December through April is the dry season, the best water and the busiest months. May through November is hotter, wetter in short bursts, and cheaper, with hurricane season running June to November and peaking from August into early October. The second variable is sargassum: the east and south facing beaches take the seaweed in the warmer months, with severity changing year to year and week to week. Cap Cana's sheltered Juanillo cove is among the least affected on this coast, which is one practical reason it costs what it costs.

Where to base, and how far things are

Punta Cana International is fifteen minutes from Cap Cana and twenty to forty from the Bavaro hotels, an hour or more to Uvero Alto. Transfers are simple and the roads are good. Santo Domingo, the oldest continuously inhabited European city in the Americas, is about two and a half hours west and is worth two nights on the front or back of a beach week for anyone interested in the history, which is considerable. Saona Island, in the national park to the south, is the standard day trip and is far better done privately than on the party catamarans.

Stay strategy

Eden Roc Cap Cana, with its suites and private pools, is the small luxury property and the most personal. Sanctuary Cap Cana and the Westin at Puntacana Resort cover the reliable full service category. TRS Turquesa and the better adults only all inclusives in Bavaro are strong for what they are, and the gap between the best and the worst in that category is enormous, which is precisely where a specific recommendation matters more than a brochure. For families and groups, the villa market at Cap Cana with staff and a golf cart is excellent and often better value than adjoining suites.

When to begin

Six months for the winter season, nine to twelve for Christmas, New Year and Easter, when the whole coast sells out and rates roughly double. Three to four months is fine in the low season. Golf at Punta Espada and Corales should be booked with the accommodation, as should any private boat, because the good ones are limited and the alternative is a very crowded catamaran.

Four experiences worth building the days around

• Juanillo beach at Cap Cana on a calm morning, which is the best swimming water on this coast.
• A private boat to Saona or Catalina, going early and anchoring away from the day boats.
• Golf at Punta Espada, where several holes run along the cliffs directly above the sea.
• Two nights in the Zona Colonial in Santo Domingo, which is the oldest cathedral, the oldest street and the oldest fortress in the Americas.

Who this trip suits

Punta Cana suits families, groups, weddings and anyone who wants a short flight to reliable Caribbean beach without a connection. It suits golfers particularly well. And it suits a first Caribbean trip, because the infrastructure removes almost all friction.

When another plan may fit better

If you want a small island with its own character and no resorts, Anguilla or St Barths are the trip. If you want boutique and design, Tulum is closer to it. And anyone travelling in late summer who cannot tolerate seaweed or storm risk should look at the southern Caribbean, where the ABC islands sit outside the hurricane belt.

Plan it with one accountable advisor

The whole job here is picking the right property out of a very wide field, and that is exactly what we do. Tell us who is travelling and what the week is for. Our luxury leisure travel planning covers it, and our group travel planning handles weddings and multi family weeks.