Vacation Ideas

Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic is known for it’s world class golf.  It boasts 28 golf courses designed by all the top course designers. This destination has options for every level and every budget.  Many of the hotels will offer golf deals and at certain times of the year you can get free green fees.  Many hotels offer golf courses but Punta Cana only has 3 oceanfront golf courses.

Punta Espada golf course is a jack Nicklaus designed course in Cap Cana and is the only course in Punta Cana with a PGA senior tour stop. The Corales course is also ocean front and is designed by Tom Fazzio.  This course is famous for it’s last 3 holes “Devils Elbow” and is located at the Punta Cana resort.  La Cana golf club is in Tortuga and is a PB Dye course with 27 challenging holes.  These are the three top courses in the area that are open to the public and not directly affiliated with a hotel.  This location has many more golf courses on or adjacent to the hotels.

Adjacent to the Iberostar Grand Hotel Bavaro, the newly opened Iberostar Bavaro Golf Club course was also designed by P.B. Dye and presents a different type of inland challenge including its’ 105 sand traps to tempt you at every hole. Other courses to check out in the area is the the Faldo Legacy Course, which was rated the best new course of 2008 by Travel + Leisure magazine; the Cocotal Golf & Country club’s 27 hole course with reasonable rates on 9, 18, or 27 holes of championship caliber golf adjacent to the Paradisus Palma Real.  Whatever your skill level Punta Cana is sure to have a golf course that will meet and exceed your expectations!

If you’ve ever dreamed of traveling to Punta Cana, you’ve probably heard of Bavaro Beach. Bavaro is one of the most pristine beaches in Punta Cana, which is located on the east coast of Dominican Republic and is home to some of the best beaches in the world. Bavaro Beach is 15-kilometers long and is home to some of the best all-inclusive resort/hotels in the area. Some of the most popular resorts would be Iberostar Grand Hotel Bavaro, Iberostar Bavaro All Suite Resort and the brand new 5 Star Riu Palace Bavaro.

Along with its calm waters and powder white sand, Bavaro is located only about 30 minutes from the Punta Cana airport, so making your way to your resort is quick and easy. Most resorts offer full beach access and several even have other resorts along Bavaro that you can use the facilities of, should you want to take a lovely stroll down the beach and get thirsty! Most resorts also offer a variety of water sports such as wind-surfing, snorkeling, kayaks, and catamarans. If you’re feeling adventurous, there is a great shipwreck off shore that you can kayak out to and snorkel around! There are also so public restaurants and bars accessible from Bavaro, if you want to try a little of the local flavor.

So, now’s the time to act if you’ve been dreaming of warm Caribbean beaches lined with tall beautiful palm trees. Let the calm waves and turquoise-colored waters of Bavaro Beach take you away. This is the true Caribbean paradise you’ve been searching for, and one of the top 10 Finest Beaches in the world, yet only a short flight from many U.S. cities. Hurry up before everyone finds out!

When starting to plan for an all inclusive vacation, the first thing to consider is where you want to go.  That simply means, it’s your vacation, it’s your time and it’s your money so where do YOU want to go?  Many people call me without really thinking about this question.

As we both know there are a ton of different hotel options and many overall destination options, so how do you narrow down your search?  Well, first of all think about the location and not the specific hotel.  Would you rather go to Mexico or the Caribbean?  Let’s say for the sake of argument that you want to go to the Caribbean.  There are many islands in the Caribbean but not all islands are geared toward all inclusive stays.  So, do you want an all inclusive resort that provides all of your meals and drinks?  If so, don’t waste your time with small islands like St. Thomas or even the Bahamas because there are few all inclusive resorts in those areas.  You should focus more on places like Punta Cana or Jamaica which have a ton of all inclusive hotel options.  Also, more options typically means the better the price.

Next you need to start thinking about what you want out of this vacation.  What is most important to YOU, the beach?  The pool?  The room?  Everyone is different and although many resorts offer similar services, some resorts are geared more towards families with kids while others may be focused more on families with teenagers and so forth.  How can you tell if the hotel is geared more towards younger kids or teenagers?  Well, that’s exactly why you call us.

From this point, be sure to know what dates or at least what date range will work best for your family.  Once you know the dates and destination, you are ready to call an expert to get help in picking out the best resort to meet your needs and expectations.  Flexibility is good but too much flexibility will just muddy the water, so have some destination ideas, know what you want out of your vacation and give us a call to help you find the perfect resort.

Have you ever thought about how fun it would be for you and some of your closest friends or family to get together and take a trip to an All Inclusive Resort? Well, I have and I can tell you this, it’s easier than you think and traveling as a group can be such a great vacation for everyone involved!

Here at Dream Vacations we offer All Inclusive resorts to many various locations in Mexico and the Caribbean with areas such as Cancun, Riviera Maya, Punta Cana and Jamaica. For group travel, we have discounts that start with as little as $20 off per person and go up to an entire free vacation for one person in the group for every 21 adults that travel. No matter the resort or location you chose to go with, we will offer the best overall service and price for your group. Don’t think you have enough people to travel to qualify for a group? Think again!

Our most common type of group vacation starts off with as little as 5 rooms and 10 adults traveling. We call these our “Social Groups.” In years past, groups would of had to have had at least 10 rooms as minimum with only one person paying for the group. So really the only people who could save money in the past with this many people traveling were groups such as company travel or weddings that the bride and groom paid for all guests (doesn’t happen often). Now with our new Social Groups that have 5 rooms or more, we can help families or couples book their vacation from any departure city for various lengths of stay at the same contracted resort with an extra discount. Example; Joe and Sally fly from Chicago and want to stay for 7 nights while John and Sue fly from St. Louis and only want to stay for 4 nights but each couple wants to pay separately. NO PROBLEM! We simply request a promo code to use when booking each reservation that will save anywhere from $20 to $40 off per person at the time of booking.

With traditional groups, if you are  going to have 10 rooms or more with at least 21 to 26 adults traveling, you can qualify for one person totally free. If the group is traveling on an “Charter Flight Package” it only takes the 21st person to get a full air and hotel free traveler (only pay for taxes). If you package is for just a resort stay without airfare or if the airfare is on any commercial airline such as American, Delta or United, the 26th passenger gets a full free hotel stay and will only need to pay for the airfare. For traditional groups packages, in order to receive most discounts one person is considered the group leader and would be responsible for gathering all payments as well as names of travelers would be partaking in the fun!

Planning a group vacation is easier than you think. Get together with friends or family, have some dinner and drinks to talk about where you might want to go and even take your time looking online at some of our most popular locations mentioned in this blog to have an idea of works best for you. Then simply give any one of our expert travel specialist a call to get started!

Summer vacation is just around the corner and the deals are heating up!  If you’re dreaming of sunny skies, sparkling waters and luxurious beaches now is the time to turn that Dream into a reality.  Call us today to add airfare to your city and take advantage of these great specials!

Prices valid for 7 nights June 22-29, 2013 and based upon adult double occupancy. Prices include transfers to/from the destination airport, all meals and beverages, nonmotorized watersports and taxes. Prices valid as of 2/5/2013 and do not include airfare.

Christmas deals can go fast!  Book early to save big on your Dream all inclusive vacation! Call us today to add airfare from your city and lock in your trip with just a deposit. Get the best prices and specials by booking now!

Prices valid for 7 nights Dec 22-29, 2013 and based upon adult double occupancy. Prices include transfers to/from the destination airport, all meals and beverages, nonmotorized watersports and taxes. Prices valid as of 2/6/2013 and do not include airfare.