[Chirimoya]

I sympathise. Although Punta Cana is very nice in many ways, it is certainly not what the adventurous independent traveller is after.

If you can bear the AI comforts and the lovely beach for part of the time and balance it with some independent excursions you should be able to please yourself and your travel companions.

Nearest to PC you will find Higuey. Not a particularly picturesque town but typically Dominican in many ways. If you don't manage to travel any further at least you will get an impression of what Dominican life is like. Higuey is important as a centre for Catholic pilgrims and is dominated by a concrete basilica. On the way to Higuey from Punta Cana you will go through a village called La Otra Banda - now this is really photogenic with attractive traditional wooden houses painted in bright colours.

North of Higuey: you might want to explore Miches - I hear the beaches there are wild and beautiful, and there is some budget accommodation in the area. Sabana de la Mar and Los Haitises National Park are also within reach. South of Higuey it is a shortish distance to Boca de Yuma, a fishing village, and further west there is Bayahibe which is also surrounded by resorts but the village is quite funky with a balance of a Dominican, expat and tourist scene.

For Punta Cana local information about transport, restaurants and shopping do a search, there has been extensive detail recently courtesy of our man in the area, PJT.

Further afield, depending on how much time you have, there are many other places to visit in the rest of the country. Take your pick. Again, there have been several threads on the DR1 message boards about the must-sees in the Dominican Republic, as well as the information pages in the rest of this site.

Buen viaje

Chiri