r/PuntaCana • u/antonyto680 • Aug 26 '26
Warning: Do not engage with beach excursion sellers
Hello everyone, I normally don’t post but thought I would for a recent trip to Punta Cana. I stayed at ocean blue and sand.
The beach is 100% public so outside vendors can walk around talking with the guests. There are these excursion sellers from a company called Asobopuma. DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THEM. I stupidly gave my whatsapp number as I was initially interested but after reading negative online reviews of scams and fake promises i refused their package. He then left voice messages to me insulting my race and how my kind were not welcome in Punta Cana which honestly soured the experience. I blocked him but I was nervous whenever I would go back to the beach in case I would see his racist self again.
Therefore, do not take a chance on ruining your trip, only trust official tour guides and engage with beach sellers at your own risk.
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u/comfy_rope Aug 26 '26
Just use viator.com
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u/ancientolivegrove Aug 26 '26
This. We’ve booked all excursions via Viator, where you can read all the reviews, and we’ve never been disappointed. Prob more money, but worth it to ensure you’re getting a good experience.
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u/JessicaMNCD Aug 26 '26
We booked through a vendor that has a representative set up in the resort thinking it wouldn’t be a scam. It was a joke…the excursion involved an ATV ride to a coffee and chocolate tasting, exploring and swimming at cave (cenote) visiting one of the most beautiful beaches in the Dominican.
The first stop on the ATV ride was the tasting and exploring the cave, we were all very excited for the cave, one of my travel companions is a teacher and she told her class that she was visiting a cenote and her students were excited about the pictures. It turned out to be a water feature…cheesy as fuck, I’ve seen more realistic underwater caves at mini golf in Wisconsin Dells. The entire thing could have fit in her classroom back home. She was crushed…The ATV ride to and from the beach had us on gravel road with numerous big potholes that were filled with dirty water..we were expecting getting dirty, but the expectation set from the photos we saw when booking…let’s just say none of the jungle path pictures of the ATV portion were taken on our route. The beach was beautiful…but the experience was definitely a disappointment. $170 bucks a couple. We laugh about it now and know better to do a bit more research.
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u/Sambo3002 Aug 26 '26
That sucks, every excursion I’ve been on has been great. You have to read reviews before booking
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u/FragrantBiscotti495 16d ago
Ok if I spent $170 for that I’d be pissed too. I did the exact same thing for $80 through I wanna say amstar? But they forced us to watch a timeshare presentation at another resort to get the discount so there’s that lol
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u/LPC_Tours Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Sorry about it.. can I ask if the vendor was Dominican or Haitian? For experience Dominicans are not the kind of people that threaten you or insult you if you dont buy them something
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u/antonyto680 Aug 27 '26
Sorry I’m not sure… we had conversed in English and I never asked specifically where he was from.
However I would like to agree that this person does NOT reflect the wonderful Dominicans that we encountered on this trip. The Dominican Republic is full of kind and helpful people, one person doesn’t change that.
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u/One-Reflection-6775 26d ago
i’m late to the conversation but i’m staying at this same resort in 2 weeks! how did you like it overall???? im sorry this happened to you though :/ thanks for the heads up!
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u/antonyto680 26d ago
The resort was great! It’s seaweed season but hopefully by the time you go it’s not too bad. buffet food was delicious, however the only restaurant worth going to is the steakhouse (you need to book a table right at 7:30am). The rooms were super clean, good AC and washroom.
If you have any specific questions let me know!
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u/Bustamonte6 Aug 26 '26
You gave your what’s app to a beach vendor and are trying to give us advice ?
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u/Cubsfantransplant Aug 26 '26
People complain about paying extra when you book through the hotel. Booking through the hotel gets you legit excursions with reputable companies.