Dominican Republic – practical advice, how to spend your vacation cheaply?

Dominican Republic – a paradise dreamed of by hundreds, the destination of many honeymoons…. including, perhaps surprisingly, Poles.

This was also the case with us. We flew to the Dominican Republic on our late honeymoon. But no no no… we did not use the offer of a travel agency. We organized everything ourselves, obviously saving a lot of money :)

How it all started… That is, cheap flights!

Our trip to the Dominican Republic was already several years ago. How did it get started? Of course, as is usually the case, from cheap flights. There was a mega-promotion for SWISS (Swiss International Air Lines) flights in various destinations around spring. As we dreamed of a honeymoon almost in paradise, so we chose the direction of the sunny Caribbean!

The trip itself on SWISS planes was pleasant and comfortable. Travel, of course, via Zurich. We covered the Zurich-Dominican Republic(Punta Cana) stretch itself with Edelweiss Air, which is de facto owned by SWISS and is their “charter” branch. We flew on an Airbus A333, and the flight itself took about 9 hours(!). The flight attendants were very pleasant. Food even tasty (free!, which is not standard in charters).

One note when it comes to Edelweiss Air: there is no seat reservation. We can get them only on the spot (or 24h before departure) or we can pay extra to be able to do it earlier. Nevertheless, it did not bother us, we had seats next to each other anyway.

How to fly cheaply to the Dominican Republic?

That’s how it used to be… But how to fly for the proverbial “pennies” to the Dominican Republic now? Well, it is better today than it was those few years ago. Why? First of all, thanks to the famously magnificent Dreamliners(i.e., Boeing 787s) purchased by our national carrier LOT.

For the time being, direct charter flights between Warsaw and the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) are offered during the winter. And this can already significantly reduce the price. Buy your ticket from one of the Polish travel agencies (you can buy the ticket itself). The prices as of today start at about zł 2,500 per person roundtrip for a stay of 14 days.

A shorter stay in the Dominican Republic than 10-14 days is not recommended. Too bad about the time zone change and our rest for such a short stay. Besides, the price difference between the 7 days is usually not that big anymore. We also had this dilemma…. But about that another time.

But back to the topic. zł 2,500 is still a lot. Although at the average cheapest price of zł 3,200 – 3,500 if we wanted to fly with a connecting flight in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Paris or another European city, zł 2,500 is stillzłbargain. Although there are more interesting promotions for connecting flights.

Promotions for connecting flights (or not) sometimes vary. Last spring it was, among other things. Promotion for a flight to the Dominican Republic from London for 800 zł!!! The flight to London itself is a cinch (but not on a single ticket, of course – which means that the connecting flight is no longer so convenient). From Brussels, tickets went for zł,700. What will it be like this year? We’ll find out soon enough….

[Update]: And it happened, flights from Madrid were available for 800 zł!…. maybe something else will hit :)

I’ll console you with the fact that promotional flights to the Dominican Republic usually appear just in the spring period, so soon :) It is also worth hunting for last minute flights departing from Poland.

When to fly to the Dominican Republic?

Here, opinions are already divided. We asked ourselves the same question. We finally flew to the Dominican Republic in late September/early October, which is supposedly still the rainy season. It rained for two whole weeks…. twice… 30 minutes each. Full sun, paradise beaches…. But what will I persuade you ;-)

You can read more about the weather in this post.

Cheap hotel in Dominican Republic

But a cheap flight is not everything. It is also necessary to spend the night somewhere. Preferably in good conditions, because it is the Dominican Republic, after all! Heavenly beaches require heavenly hotels :) Dominican Republic is a destination where you go to relax in the sunshine, so the hotel should also allow this. Just so you don’t go completely broke in the process…. Well. The answer is simple – there are plenty of offers.

Where to look? The basics are price comparison sites like Booking.com. My tip is to look for a hotel very early (even 6 months and earlier before arrival) or just before arrival (even 2-3 days before). Prices then are the best. Choice – in the first case, of course, more. In the former case, it is also worth paying more or choosing hotels that offer free cancellation X days before arrival. Sometimes this option comes in handy.

Another option is to look for a hotel on foreign portals. It is not a revelation that often foreign offers are cheaper and better. This was also the case for us. With the help of an intermediary, we found a much cheaper deal on a nice hotel at a German travel agency (there just happened to be a super promotion on one of the hotels). On site we had a resident from Germany, who was always at our disposal, she spoke English without any problem, so we did not have the slightest problem to arrange something (by the way, it is always faster just through the reception anyway ;) ).

Also, this path is also recommended to you.

It is also possible to rent private accommodation or even a cottage. Recently, I’ve been seeing a proliferation of these opportunities. Mainly thanks to services like Airbnb. In the Dominican Republic there was (and probably still is) a boom in building large villa estates which also contributes to this. The choice, as always, is yours :)

Travel agency or on your own?

Which is more profitable? Tour at a travel agency and have peace of mind or “combine” on your own?

First of all, it’s not combination, but sheer pleasure and independence :) Second – let’s count … Let’s choose the option of flying out of Geneva for zł,700. For the flight to Geneva I reckon 600 zł, although you can find (even on Mad Wednesday) cheaper bargains. This price, however, I consider “safe”. Thus, for the entire flight, we have zł 2,300. A lot, if you ask me, but it’s worth chatting for better promotions than the one in Geneva. If we took into account the departure from London (promotion for 800 zł) the whole flight would cost us slightly more than 1,000 zł, however, this is an optimistic version ;-)

Hotel. On Airbnb, in Punta Cana at Bavaro Beach (recommended best place!) with wifi, equipped kitchen and the whole house at your own disposal (4 guests) we will pay a total of zł 4,000 (Remember the discount of zł 100, which you will receive after registration from this link:)). When divided into two people, it is already 2,000 zł (after all, we are going on a honeymoon ;-)). Another option – a hotel with all-inclusive. On the fly,złan option for zł,500 with full all-inclusive per person. It can be done cheaper, of course.

That is, the total for one person comes out to 2,300 + 2,500 = zł 4,800. I count more expensive tickets and a more expensive stay (after all, food is included). However, if I would count the mega promotion and the cheaper accommodation (not including food), the total cost per person drops to zł,000!

And what does it look like in a travel agency? At the moment I don’t see any last minute offers, are they selling so well? The cheapest offers for 14 days start at zł 5,700.

Also, in the worst-case scenario, we pocketed zł 900. However, if we waited for an interesting promotion (London) + spent more time searching for a cheap and cool hotel/lodge, we could pocket up to 50% of the value of the trip at the travel agency and a paradise vacation in a real paradise in the Caribbean! Which, of course, we wish you!

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