Our CHEAPEST All Inclusive Yet | First Impressions, Cost, & Dining at the Occidental Punta Cana

[@Explorcation]

Thanks so much for watching part 2 of our Occidental Punta Cana series! When you are deciding on a relaxing beach vacation, what is most important to you? Delicious food, high quality drinks, a gorgeous beach, the beach bar experience or something else? We know everyone's priorities are different, so let us know in the comments!

[@Rebecca-jr8zy]

What's the different between occidental punta cana and the occidental caribe ??

[@Explorcation]

@@Rebecca-jr8zy thanks for watching, unfortunately we've not been to Occidental Caribe so we wouldn't be able to compare them.

[@BobCarlson]

I’m in St Pete tonight to enjoy events from your last years videos. Now there’s even more to catch up on. Keep them coming and I’ll keep following along.

[@Explorcation]

Thanks for watching Bob, we hope you are doing well. Have a wonderful time in St Pete tonight!

[@DavidandSarah]

wow the sunshine, blue water and warm vibes of this video makes me miss summer!

[@Explorcation]

We hope you guys are surviving the cold wherever you are at the moment! It's supposed to get down in the upper 30's here in the Tampa/St Pete area, which is about as cold as you'll ever see it get here!

[@LucasWorldTravel]

I can't believe you guys got that rate for such a large room and for so much food and drinks as well. Such a good deal! We still haven't tried an all inclusive yet, but you guys are convincing us!

[@Explorcation]

Honestly we could barely believe it either. We will say the all inclusive resorts can get a bit boring after 4 or 5 days or so, but for a short trip where you're just looking to relax, it really is a great option!

[@rhondalyn100]

What a great review of the Occidental Punta Cana! I appreciate your willingness to talk about the good and the not so good as well as your pricing/cost. This looks like a lovely resort to put on the "Gotta Getaway" list...as always, thanks so much, guys! 🙂

[@Explorcation]

We're glad you enjoyed the review, Rhonda! We always try to see the good in everything, but when doing a review like this we feel it's necessary to point out the negatives as well. And while this place had a few of them, it's still a bargain for the price we paid!

[@jimcwik7529]

Merry Christmas! I hope you are spending the holidays somewhere warm!

[@Explorcation]

Thanks Jim. I (Skylar) am nice an warm down here in Florida (although I just recently returned from Iowa), while Jamie is currently riding out a blizzard up in Kansas! She'll be joining me here in Florida on Saturday, so long as her flight is able to go out. We hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas as well, Jim!

[@ramunegaizutis1286]

Great video guys! We definitely would stay here. Great food and a nice room are very important to us but that beach....wow!

[@Explorcation]

Thanks, Ramune! The food was a bit hit or miss but some of it was really good. We loved the room, but without a doubt the highlight was the beach (and the beach bar). It was amazing!

[@pauliwalnutz]

Thanks for the review. We are heading there end of January.

[@Explorcation]

That's great to hear! We hope you found the review helpful and that you have an amazing time at the resort!

[@billyc3757]

We stayed at an all inclusive on the Caribbean side of Mexico years ago. Although it had 5 restaurants on the property they were all horrible so you did ok considering. Our beach was awesome though and the snorkeling was divine! Being from Louisiana and my wife from NY our expectations are set pretty high for our food. We've found that most of the time, leaving the US, the quality typically drops. Not always but quite a few times we've been disappointed. Thanks again for another great video!

[@Explorcation]

We're sorry to hear that your dining experience at your Mexican resort was such a poor experience. Hopefully the great snorkeling and beach made up for it! Our experience with food in the Caribbean has been a bit hit or miss overall. We absolutely love the food in Puerto Rico. As far as the Dominican goes, it's not always the best, but for the price you pay, it's hard to complain.

[@fastbuckeddie]

I live in St pete downtown and love watching your videos!

[@Explorcation]

That's great to hear, Edward. If you ever see us out and about downtown, be sure to stop and say hi!

[@6361kris]

Very nice video. The Occidental looks beautiful. Did you have difficulty finding shade on the beach? I see no umbrellas or palapas.

[@Explorcation]

When we visited the resort did not seem to be close to capacity, plus we had access to the Royal section of the beach, so we never had trouble finding a shaded spot. But if you do not book Royal and visit during a busy time of year, you'd probably have to get out to the beach early to get a spot in the shade.

[@6361kris]

@@Explorcation thank you! We've been looking at the Impressive Premium as well. We've been there before & liked it. Any thoughts?

[@Explorcation]

@@6361kris unfortunately we've not been to that resort or heard anything about it :(

[@6361kris]

@Explorcation Thank you for your reply. 🙂

[@rebeccalyons1327]

I’m from St Pete. Any tips for best price on air to DR?

[@patriciajuszak5784]

I checked out the website and wow what great prices! Especially if you sign up on their website. Definitely will consider this place. I saw a couple of tours offered as well that I would definitely book.

[@Explorcation]

The prices really are ridiculously inexpensive, especially if you can book a Royal room for less than the standard room! There are a lot of cool looking tours around Punta Cana for sure. We have yet to experience any of them, but eventually we hope to!

[@patriciajuszak5784]

@@Explorcation I've done the tour to Saona Island, definitely would do that again! I also thought the tour where you walk underwater with the breathing helmet on looked really fun too!

[@Explorcation]

@@patriciajuszak5784 we would love to tour Saona someday 🙌

[@kevinvieira85]

You should try barcelo bavaro palace. The resort is beside lopesan. Best beach with no boats blocking the view.

[@Explorcation]

Thanks for the recommendation, we've not been there yet!

[@TideKnotTravellers]

Wow! That was a long wait at the Oriental restaurant, can totally understand why you kept the beef dish even though it wasn’t what you’d planned to have. The steak cooking was all over the shop too at each restaurant 😅 I had no idea fax machines in a resort room were ever a thing!

[@Explorcation]

Yeah... maybe if we would have used that fax machine to place our order at the restaurant we would have gotten served faster 😂

[@TideKnotTravellers]

@@Explorcation 😂 yep maybe that’s the secret!

[@Explorcation]

@@TideKnotTravellers 😆🤣

[@TheAverageTourist]

I love the real review and that you showed the good and the bad. My husband is sitting here saying "nope, only well done for me if we go there" because he hates his steak bloody 🤣but normally eats it medium well - when he's cooking it himself lol. We aren't big fish fans, but I do like some seafood, so there are some options I would have definitely gone for. Great info on booking and the room level. Seems like it's worth it for the upgrade. The Royal Experience bar also seems like it's worth it for the upgrade. Thanks for the overview and comparison to the other resorts you stayed at.

[@Explorcation]

Yeah, one of those steaks was even a bit rare for Skylar's liking (which is pretty hard to do) 😂 The food was not the strong point of this resort, but it sure was beautiful and we would definitely return (Royal status only).

[@TravelInteresante]

Seeing such an amazing hotel and such great food options you two had, I have realized once more I need an all inclusive vacation very soon. Sorry that your A La Carta experience wasn't so good, of course hurricane season might be the reason as you mentioned. Your suite seems so nice and the prices are not bad at all!

[@Explorcation]

Yeah, there were definitely some negatives at this resort, but at the price we paid, you have to expect that. Plus we want to give them the benefit of the doubt considering they just had a hurricane. Even with the not so consistent food and service, we were more than happy with what we got for the price!

[@ScullyPop]

I guess all that hiking keeps you in good shape. You're both buffed out to the max.

[@Explorcation]

Unfortunately we've been doing more eating than hiking lately, but we do our best to try to bea active and eat healthy (when not filming)!

[@Moniklnd]

I’m going there in June for 2 week , I enjoyed watching your videos it’s really helpful and good guide! Thanks for that 😊 can I ask how is the sunset there ? Like on the hotel beach is nice or any recommendations other places near by? Thanks in advance

[@Explorcation]

The beach faces to the northeast, so sunset (in the west) will not be too impressive. If you are able to make it up for sunrise though, that should be much prettier. Most times of the year you should be able to see the sunrise from the beach... but not sunset.

[@Moniklnd]

@@Explorcation thanks 😊

[@ailyngarnica1852]

How did it go? I'm sending my parents there next month and I'm terrified because of course I'm doing my research after all is booked 😅

[@angelcuevas8008]

@@ailyngarnica1852How did it go for them? I’m planning to go next month and Like you I’m doing my research late!

[@AquariusTraveller]

After a few visit a to different resorts, it's nice to get a comparison on all of them in regards to food, service, room and even upgrades. I will have to look into these all inclusive resorts but I'm not sure we have too many around here.... maybe some of the islands. It's a shame about your steak comparisons.... I tend not to get it much when I travel for that exact reason. But would have expected the quality to be a bit better. Although you seem to have a nice variety of other foods to try and enjoy. I can't believe you waited over an hour for your food at that one restaurant... that's bad and I would have come close to walking out

[@Explorcation]

Yeah, we probably would have walked out at the Asian restaurant if we weren't filming, but we figured it would at least make for a somewhat entertaining segment of the video 😂 Almost all of the reasonably priced all-inclusive that I'm aware of are in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, although I'm sure there are others in countries that are located much further from us! We'll be curious to hear if you can find any closer to you!

[@AquariusTraveller]

@@Explorcation I'm sure I'll find some ... may be try looking at Fiji 💖💖

[@Explorcation]

@@AquariusTraveller ooooh Fiji would sure be nice 😁

[@AquariusTraveller]

@@Explorcation I have been looking... found some on the islands off Australia but more looking at Fiji, Vanuatu, cook islands, Tahiti or Raja Ampat ... around there anyway...lol

[@Explorcation]

@@AquariusTraveller any of those destinations sound great to us LOL

[@creitosfl]

Hi guys, thank you for making great content. Could you please tell me, how long before trip to punta cana you reserved private transfer? I’m going to Lopesan on Aug 14th and wondering should I already reserve private airport transfer? Also which airport private transfer you used?

[@Explorcation]

Thank you so watching! When we booked this resort, they were running a special where the airport transfer came included with the booking. So we didn't have to book it. We had booked a private transfer a few years prior when we visited Punta Cana though. We don't recall the name of the company, but we booked it a couple weeks before we arrived and everything went smoothly.

[@tawnykc83]

Awesome video, guys! I know I've said this before but I will continue to say it...I really appreciate that you guys talk about prices! When it comes to travel, that is super important. For an all-inclusive resort, that price is phenomenal to me! (Sorry for all the exclamation points but they're warranted, lol!) When you say "all-inclusive," does that include all food and drinks too or is that a separate price? I'm sorry that some of your dining experiences weren't so great :( But it sounds like the trip was still worth it. I usually like to designate at least a week for my vacations but did you find five days (or was it nights?) to be sufficient? Other than eat, sleep, and go to the beach/pool, there's not really much else to do on the resort, right? I think I could stand to have a relaxing vacation since a lot of times I need a vacation after my vacation because I try to fit so much sightseeing and adventure into each of my trips that I end up exhausting myself, lol. It might be nice to lay on the beach or by the pool and just relax :) Thanks for showing me around this resort!

[@Explorcation]

Thank you so much for this valuable feedback! We definitely live on a budget, and we're pretty sure the majority of our viewers do as well, so we think including the price is incredibly important in helping people decide if the place we are showing is somewhere they'd want to visit. To answer your questions, the "All-Inclusive" term at this resort (and the other two Dominican resorts we've been too) does include your drinks and food. Sometimes, certain items are an upcharge (such as lobster dinner, upscale liquors, etc...), but we have always been perfectly happy with what is available in the all-inclusive rate. Regarding timing, the resorts are generally more expensive on the weekends, which is why we often do a 4-5 day stay during the week. On the weekends some of the resorts open up to the locals, which drives up the prices and can also result in the resort being more of a party scene. Plus, 4 or 5 days is usually enough for us, because like you said, there isn't a whole lot to do other than eat, drink, pool, beach, repeat. If you are just looking for a reasonably priced, super relaxing vacation, we'd highly recommend this place (Royal level only).

[@tawnykc83]

@@Explorcation Thank you for always answering my questions! I actually ended up looking into it and you're right... the royal level can be affordable depending on what time of year you go. I wonder why that is 🤔 Of course I'm looking at going during hurricane season because apparently I never learn my lesson 😂 Did you guys venture outside of the resort? I see that they offer off-site excursions and wondered if they were worth it? Also, how did you handle tipping? Did you need to use local currency (I know some countries accept the US dollar)? I haven't traveled outside of the US since 2021 and, regardless of vaccination status, I needed to present a negative COVID test before returning to the US. I know it sounds dumb, but I could not for the life of me find a clear answer for whether or not I needed to be vaccinated to enter DR (I don't think I do) or if I need to get a COVID test before entering the US. All I could see was that non-citizens of the US need to be fully vaccinated before entering the country. Did you guys need to take a COVID test and, if so, does the resort provide that? I was so certain that I was going back to the Tampa Bay area next year but now I'm dying to visit this resort!!! Good job for converting me, guys, lol!

[@Explorcation]

@@tawnykc83 that is awesome you have looking into this resort 🙌 we also don't really understand why sometimes the Royal level is cheaper, as the perks are worth waay more! During our DR resort visits we haven't done any excursions, mainly because most of the time we are filming for the channel and we simply don't have the extra time to venture off of the resort. So unfortunately we don't have any excursion experiences to share. As far as tipping, in our DR experiences, it was easier to get change/smaller bills for US dollars at the resorts. At one resort we has obtained local currency, but found that the front desk rarely had change in local currency. They did tend to have change for US dollars. As far as COVID testing, I am wondering if you can't find information because it is no longer required. When we traveled to the DR in October there were no requirements to enter DR or to return to the US for US residents. For anyone considering a specific all inclusive resort, we always recommend joining a FB group for that resort. They are sooo helpful as people who have visited recently share their experiences and can answer questions for what things are like at the resort now. We hope this is helpful and please let us know if you decide to book!! (or come back or Florida!!)

[@tawnykc83]

@@Explorcation Again thank you soooo much for answering all my questions! You guys seriously are the best!!! I did end up finding out that they actually prefer that you tip in US dollars rather than DR pesos which is nice. I ended up opening a Charles Schwab account before I went to Mexico last year because Schwab reimburses you for any ATM fees which is AWESOME! I brought some pesos with me but I did end up having to go to the ATM twice while I was there. I can confirm that they really do reimburse the fees!!! I didn't even think about joining a Facebook group for that resort 🤦🏼‍♀️ Thank you for the suggestion! I just have one more question, if you don't mind...I heard that taxis are a rip off. How did you get to and from the airport in DR? Could Uber pick you up there? I know in Mexico (in Puerto Vallarta), they can't (or couldn't when I went). I had to cross the pedestrian bridge to the other side and grab an Uber from there. I'm so torn about where I'm going this year! My heart says "Why choose? DR AND St. Pete" 😆😆😆 My heart is reckless! Hey, I'm turning 40 this year so why not??? I just need to save a little more money, then go to the Tampa Bay area, burn myself out trying to go to 20 places in one week then take a relaxing vacation at an all-inclusive resort. That sounds like the perfect plan 🤣

[@Explorcation]

@@tawnykc83 thanks for sharing what you learned about preferring US dollars....and for the tip about Charles Schwab! It is nice to not have to worry about ridiculous ATM fees knowing they will be reimbursed. We do typically try to find/join FB groups for resort or cruises that we book - they are so helpful in answering questions and to get a realistic understanding of what to expect. People who have been there recently are typically very open to sharing their experience to help others plan. As far as transportation, once we booked a transfer with a private company and once we booked the transfer through the resort. We have not actually used Taxis or Uber in DR. When you are booking, you may want to check if the resort is offering any sort of free transportation. St. Pete AND DR sounds like a great way to celebrate 40!!!! That sounds like a perfect plan.

[@moniqueazupardo8453]

Was there a strict dress code for the a La carte restaurants and when you went, was it difficult getting reservations for them? Easily full?

[@Explorcation]

We found it to be pretty easy to get reservations during our visit, although certain restaurants were only open on certain nights. That being said, we also visited right after a hurricane, and there weren't too many people on the resort during our visit. So our experience may not be typical. You can find dress code information on the hotel website: www.occidentalpuntacanaresort.com/restaurants_bars.asp

[@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549]

You guys, I think the restaurants made a mis-steak ;)

[@Explorcation]

LOL yes I think that's a safe assumption.

[@BransonFamVlog]

Looks like a relaxing place! I know that we ask this a lot, but is this resort family friendly? Is it geared more toward couples? Did you guys feel safe while staying on the resort grounds?

[@Explorcation]

There were quite a few kids and they definitely seemed to be having a good time. While it's not as kid-friendly as the last resort we stayed at (which had a waterpark, ice-cream shop, and a fast food restaurant), we still though most kids would enjoy it there. We always felt 100% safe while staying on the resort grounds.

[@ScullyPop]

I'd like to do a promo for your channel in the upcoming year. I will do this for channels that I love. No charge my gift. It would be like a real thirty second commercial that gets placed at the end of my show.

[@Explorcation]

That would be a true honor, Scully!

[@BeingBedingfield]

At that price, we won’t mind a bit of bad service either 😅 your room was so big and love the jacuzzi tub on the balcony 🤩 lol…a fax machine in the room 😅 That beach definitely makes the entire trip worth it 🥰🥰🥰

[@Explorcation]

We were really hoping for a cool night or even a rainstorm so we could enjoy that jacuzzi tub on the balcony, but it never came. We did get a lot of use out of the fax machine though 😂 Just kidding.

[@hardaged1290]

❤

[@Explorcation]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@jorgeduran7168]

God is everywhere but sleeps in dominican republic my country. DR has it all.

[@Explorcation]

It really does have so much to offer! Thanks for watching, Jorge.

[@MayankSharma-wl7wx]

Can vegeterians survivee??

[@Explorcation]

Absolutely!

[@mariusiscorpio421]

So strange that A La Carte restaurants are, lets say, bad in Dominican Republic resorts….. They should be much more better than just simply Buffey dining…. I was in Barcelo Bavaro Beach resort in September 2022 ( The same Barcelo group hotel ) and was not impressed with A La Carte restaurants at all …. Now, in the end of April, coming to this resort, but don’t care about food too much…. Just love this group of hotel…. In Europe they much more better, but they don’t have that amazing views as in Dominican Republic, Mexico or Aruba

[@Explorcation]

Yeah, we agree that the food at Dominican resorts is not always as high of quality as in other countries, but like you said, it doesn't really matter when the views (and prices) are so hard to beat. Thanks for watching!

[@nopeno6514]

Sorry but I'll pass. I can get all of this by just driving a few miles. Plus get assured will not be poised by gas, bad food, kidnapped or even murdered while on vacation. 😎

[@Explorcation]

None of the things you mentioned are at all common in Punta Cana... except for the bad food, which is subjective.

[@nopeno6514]

@@Explorcation ah, ha.. Bad food 🤔 Nope, not for me, thanks.

[@dileilygonzalez390]

What are you smoking?