Travel to Punta Cana and get situated at your resort<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Flying into Punta Cana was a relatively painless experience in my opinion. It was very easy to navigate the airport and getting through customs was quite easy. The only difficult part was finding my shuttle driver once I got out of the airport since the taxi\/shuttle area is incredibly busy. Once I found my driver, I settled in for a 45-minute ride to my accommodations and arrived a little after it was dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Punta Cana has numerous different resort options from cheaper stays to luxury resorts. For my stay in Punta Cana, I ended up selecting the Bahia Principe Grand Punta Cana<\/a> based on the number of positive reviews as well as the cheaper price point for an all-inclusive resort. This hotel is one of multiple resorts in the Bahia Principe family that all occupy the same grounds in Punta Cana. The Bahia Principe Grand is one of the more budget friendly properties in the lineup. There are also more luxurious and adult only properties in this location. You get access to each of the properties through an RFID bracelet that you will get when checking into the resort. You can view the rest of the Bahia Principe resorts for comparison here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n One of the amazing expeditions that you can do while you are in Punta Cana is take a scuba diving or snorkeling trip to Catalina Island. If you are scuba diving, you will do an incredible wall dive as well as a second dive along a vibrant coral reef. If you snorkel, you get dropped off at a shallower area of the reef that still lets you see the reef and the teeming marine life on the reef. On the wall dive, I saw the biggest crab I have ever seen, lots of amazing corals, multiple spiny lobsters, and a bunch of other beautiful fish species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After your diving or snorkeling tour is complete, the boat will bring you to Catalina Island where you will enjoy a delicious lunch full of local foods and have the opportunity to relax on the beach. I booked the diving tour through the dive center at Bahia Principe, but you can also book the snorkeling tour through TripAdvisor here<\/a>. Do note that this tour will take all day. You will spend around 3 hours total on a bus from Punta Cana to the boat dock and back, and another few hours on the expedition itself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n One of the really fun tours I took while in Punta Cana was a small group snorkeling cruise<\/a>. The cruise is capped at a maximum of 27 guests, so you are not crammed onto a boat like some of the other party boat tours in the area. On the day that I went, the weather was overcast and rainy, so the snorkeling was not all that great, but the cruise was still so much fun. This tour has a 4.9-star rating out of nearly 700 reviews on Tripadvisor, and for good reason. The guides are an absolute blast, they play super fun music, and the bartender makes the best margaritas you will probably find in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you are done snorkeling, you get to jump off the top of the catamaran into the water or slide down the slide on the back of the boat. When everyone is tired of swimming, the boat crew gives you a delicious snack of chips and handmade guacamole before moving the boat to a shallow cove. In this shallow cove, you get to hang out in the water listening to music, paddleboarding, or throwing a football around with the other guests on your cruise. You will also be in the cove with a bunch of the other party boats, so it is just a super fun vibe and a great way to spend some time hanging out in the warm ocean waters. You can book this amazing tour through TripAdvisor here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/journeyswithjohn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_1974-2.jpg\")
Go scuba diving or snorkeling on a day trip to Catalina Island<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Take a small group snorkeling cruise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n