The south (and East) has the picture postcard beaches she is looking for. Only a couple of hotels in the south seem to get good reviews (the Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus and the casa del mar). The east has loads of good hotels - I personally would pick an iberostar or a riu hotel.

June is officially the start of the hurricane season in the Caribbean and although rare, they should be aware that the south and east are more at risk than the north of the island. The north has some great hotels but the beaches are yellow sand not white like the east and the south. personally that doesn't matter to me.

What sort of budget do they have we may be able to reccomend the best hotel for thier money.

They have a budget of about £800 each so quite tight I saw some holidays within that price range with First Choice, but I'm going in blind not knowing the areas.

Thanks!

£800 will be a bit tight for booking a decent hotel in advance - you'll get a a late deal for that price but who wants to bank on a late deal for their honeymoon.

The Iberostar hacienda dominicus is usually over £1000 pp person but you might get the casa Del mar within that budget.

The east is also more expensive than the north so you will get more for you money if you look in the north - plus much reduced risk of hurricanes and bad weather. I did look a while ago for our holiday next may and Eclipse were offering good prices for the Riu Merengue, but you could also try the Gran ventana which also gets good reviews.

I would also suggest you stick with Eclispe / first direct as there newly refurbished long haul planes are very nice and loads of legroom - much better than Britannia, TCX and Airtours.

Thanks again! Thats exactly why I recommended first choice for them.... knowing that they have the better legroom as they can't afford to upgrade.

I'll let them know about the North!

also remember that the south is in carribean waters which are very calm and clear and shallow. the north is atlantic waters and can be quite rough and dont have the crystal clear look

it is more expensive in the south but as my girlfriend said if you go to the carribean you want carribean beaches sea etc...

we are off to iberostar hacienda dominicus in may 06. costing approx £1100pp inc extra legroom seats with thomson

cant wait

Try the Sirenis Tropical suites in Punta Cana in the east. I saw a wedding while I was there this year in May/June and it looked fabulous.

The hotel is wonderful, good quality food and accommodation without the high price tags of some of the hotels in the east.

My photos from May/June are in the gallery and as we are going back 1st December I will get some of the rooms and restaurants on my return.

If I had to find a downside to this hotel, and there aren't many, it would be that it is very isolated so unless you did excursions you are hotel based and the transfer from Punta Cana airport is and hour and a half and part of the journey is along one of the worst roads I have ever experienced (the pot holes had pot holes ) but in my opinion its well worth it.

I just looked up some prices on the FC website and it can be done for just under price you mentioned or just a few pounds over depending on the departure airport and date. The flight with FC is very good without paying extra for an upgrade.

Lynn

So....resort wise, is Punta Cana a good bet for them? I would personally go for the most isolated and natural resort, but that would be a bit of a culture shock for my friend!

I love the south the sea is so tranquil...as it is true caribbean...the east cusps into the atlantic...but the beaches and sea are just as pretty just not as calm...the IHD is a beautiful hotel as is the CDM both in Bayahibe...on a clear day you can see Catolina and Isla Saona from the beach in Bayahibe...have stayed in Juan Dolio and have to say I didnt really care for it...sand was very dark and sea was very cloudy with lots of seaweed...water was crystal clear in Bayahibe....check out my online photos here http://www.imagestation.com/album/index.html?id=2120881017 http://community.webshots.com/album/187146343slHutA [/url]

Hi

We'd just like to add our voice to the suggestions and say that there are some great resorts and beaches in the North of the DR.... We realize that the South & East have had the big bucks spent on making them the touristy hotspots they are, but we still think the North has more of the 'real' DR to offer.

We think that the Samana Peninsula is well worth a look, Las Terrenas and Las Galeras have some wonderful beaches which we reckon are a match for th South any day...and less likely to have so many hawkers and pedlars (depending on where you go in the South).

You can book your own thing (admittedly perhaps for a honeymoon you want 5* bells and whistles) but on the Samana Peninsula you can find some great villa hideaways and some spots that you will never forget for that romantic and special time...it depends on your tastes. We did dig up some good suggestions and ideas for those wanting to arrange something special on a budget and we're happy to provide any info we have. Much is already on our free info site, including a run down of the weather variations thro the year around the island...and some of our best beach ideas that are away from the mass tourism spots.

We have been offline ourselves (our answer service that is) due to house move and tech problems but hope to be up and running fully again soon for those with any queries we can help with.

Hope your friend has a GREAT honeymoon, June is a fabulous time to go to the DR (but then we're bound to say that...outside of October/November almost any other time is almost guaranteed to be superb!)

Kind wishes

bizzy (ruth)

Hi there..We went to the east this year on 9th June to Riu Palace and i must say it was fantastic...I have been married 11 years but if i was going to marry again it would be here!! we saw quite a few weddings..on the beach or on the grass outside the hotel and they were fantastic..the hotel cost us £800 each this june..we went with Portland..dont know how much next year is..but if you want..everything in your wedding package, this really looked like the place to go!!..
good luck.....
Tracey..

We stayed in the Ocean Bavaro Spa & Beach Resort in June this yr and had a fabulous time. Booked with Eclipse/First Choice.

Pics of pool & beach here:-

East coast was beautiful

I cannot comment on the north however I have just returned from IHD and it was superb - excellent food, sun, sea sand and couldn't find fault

The south is very expensive and the east has the same weather and the white sandy beaches but is cheaper because its not on the caribbean sea.
Punta cana is a perfect place to choose

I've just returned from Cabarete in the North where we had beautiful weather everyday and were more than happy with the beaches however we did go on an excursion that took us to the south east of the island and we couldnt believe the difference. We found calm turquoise water and talcum powder white sand in comparison to the yellowish sand and rough waves in the north. However I will say one thing, the weather in the south was not as good. We experienced dark dark skies, thunder and torrential rain so its really just whats more important to you. Good luck, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time wherever you go.

Planning a winter hol in Jan . Was considering Cuba or Mexico, however bit concerned the weather is not too clever.

Dom Rep is on the table, however I have been the North and it was Okish and the beaches were nothing special.

So I would only consider the East/South.Bavaro, Juan Dolio, Punta Cana

My question therefore is has anyone been to both North and South and was there a dramatic difference in the quality of the beaches.

I see you have ruled out Bayahibe in the South.
The IHD (A/I see other threads) beach was sandy, not gritty. There were waves and calm days.
There is an artificial reef in about 5ft of water for snorkelling.
There is a lighthouse/bar on the beach open all day.
Windsurfers, sailing (small) cats, and canoes are available free.

Fishing from the rocks by the bar does catch fish. Even caught an octopus and very small Morey eel type thing.

Depends on what you are looking for really.

Hi

Have been to North ( PP ), East ( Bavaro ) and South both Boca Chica and Bayahibe.

Our favorite is Bayahibe ( been there 3 times ) - white sand and calm caribbean beach as opposed to yellow sand Atlantic coast with Atlantic rollers.

Depends what you want - Boca Chica is close to Juan Dolio as so both are good for trips to the capital but I'm not sure if you can still get charter flights to Santo Domingo so transfers could be several hours. Of these two resorts I think Boca Chica has the best hotel ( The Hamaca ) which has its own private lagoon beach protected by a coral reef.

In Bayahibe the best two hotels are the Casa del Mar and the Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus ( IHD ). Casa del Mar now only through Thomson and IHD is best through Eclipse or First Choice depending on which site has the best price. Certainly First Choice Airline has the best planes with their new Star Class.

January weather should be fine.

Good luck with your choice

Scubaman

Hi thanks for your reply. Bayihibe does look good but I am a little put off by a 2-3 hour transfer after a 9-10 hour flight.

Looks like Bavaro then, will I see a difference compared to Playa Dorada.

Cheers

Transfer times

It depends where you fly to !

If you fly to Punta Cana then Bavaro transfers will be around 30 - 45 minutes and Bayahibe around 1 - 1.5 hours.

If you fly to La Romana then Bavaro will be about an hour and Bayahibe about 20 minutes

First Choice/ Eclipse and Thomson fly to Punta Cana and MYtravel ( and Thomas Cook ????? ) fly to La Romana.

So thats just made your decision more tricky again

Sorry

Scubaman