My son and I recently took a trip along with his friend and his father to punta cana specifically to charter a boat for a fishing trip. After reviewing numerous charter options I chose Mike from Mike's Marina to service us for three days of fishing for white and blue marlin. Mike assured me that he would take care of transportation to and from airport/hotel and to the charter boat.

From the moment we arrived off the plane Mike and his driver Richard were there awaiting our arrival. Without hesitation we loaded our bags and were off on a safe ride to our resort. Not once were we dissapointed with the transportation, his drivers were always on time from the beginning to the end of our trip in Punta Cana.

We charted one of Mike's 42 foot boats for three days with the same captain and first mate throughout. Like all of Mike's workers they were very friendly and accomodating, speaking English to us and making sure that we were comfortable. Within three beautiful days on Mike's boat we caught Blue Marlin, White Marlin, and Mahi Mahi.

All four of us were totally satisfied with Mike's service. We are now planning another trip to Punta Cana to again fish with Mike's Marina in a Blue Marlin Fishing Tournement in August. I would recommend Mike's Marina to anyone looking to go fishing in Punta Cana. Whether you are looking to take just a days trip out on one of the boats or planning your trip around fishing, Mike's Marina is your best bet. Not only did he provide us with an outstanding and successful fishing experience but he was even there to show us around beautiful Punta Cana after hours.

Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know what a great time we had on our full day charter on Mike's boat "Intrepido".

I fish quite extensively from New Jersey (USA) to Maine. Recently I had a charter in Hawaii. Our 5/20/07 trip with Mike's guys was by far the most enjoyable day on the water I've ever had! The fishing was great, the crew was great, we even had a bonus watching several whales off and on! The four of us caught 15 nice Dorado, a Wahoo, and had a Blue Marlin check out our spread but he wouldn't eat.

We plan on visiting the Dominican again in 2009, and I can't wait to book a day with Mike!

I just wanted to write and let you know that we had an awesome experience on our half day charter last week. Both me and Dwayne caught a Mahi Mahi and it was just an excellent day. I want to thank you for all the quick responses to my emails and we will see you again the next time we are in Punta Cana (hopefully next year!). You have a wonderful crew as well, they really know what they are doing! I have attached a few pictures from our trip in case you want to include any of our catch on your website!

Thanks again for the wonderful day!

I am sending you this thanking you for everything setting up my best fishing trip since I caught my 185 pound tarpon four years ago. Your crew was awesome and professional and put me in the chair to land six Dorado out of eight with one huge bull. The only reason we didn't land them all is we didn't have enough hands. We had 3 on at the same time twice and my wife, as your boys would say, was introduced to their friend RALPH...She wasn't much help.

I have already had one guy contact you from Chicago and I will give your name to anyone who asks. I look forward to my next visit and you will definetly get a call.

Thanks Again and Good Luck

I had another great day fishing with Mike's Marina Deep Sea Fishing off Punta Cana this year. Last year we caught a big sailfin, this year its was even better. We set out in the afternoon with a fairly heavy swell and headed out way offshore. 5 dolphins joined the boat and swam with us for quite a long time before we hit a shoal of mahi mahi (dolphin fish). The lines were going off in all directions and the crew worked damned hard to help get the fish in and re-bait the rods. We caught 20 fish on our boat!!

Fantastic. I would highly recommend this company, very professional and they find the fish too!! Can't wait to go with them again.

Another GREAT year using Mikes Marina. Prebooked everything on the internet using Paypal so everything was very easy to do. Mike personally responded to all my e-mails. My little 5 year old went in a little 20 foot boat - just to do some simple fishing with his Dad. Last year he caught some this year he got something too big for our line we brought took everything so my son has his big fish story!!!! Mike provides all the fishing equipement but my little fisherman wanted to bring his own!

The rest of the gang went on the big 42 foot boat. I am very use to deep sea fishing and know sea sickness can hit anyone so a childrens gravel before you go takes the edge off. One of our guys hit a Maui Maui and everyone was very excited. Everyone enjoyed the views from the boat - they also drove right past the sunken ship. We did a half day tour and everyone got back to the resort to have a late lunch and tell all the fish stories! Thanks to the crews (they are the best!!!!) and a special thanks to Mike! your amazing!

You can see pictures in my photo album - the fishing pictures are in my Majestic Colonial album and last years photos in Ocean Sands photo album!
http://community.webshots.com/user/holiday2fun
Any questions feel free to e-mail me! holiday2@rogers.com

Also went on the Bavaro Runners Safari Adventure. Very good, but be warned it does take most of the day. If you go, good idea to bring something for the children, because you stop at a school. One lady on our tour was prepared and gave each child a little gift bag. They sang a song as a thank you. Very nice.

We went on one tour, the Bavaro Runners Safari Adventure. it was excellent! a long day, but the tour was fun, the guide had an excellent sense of humour, and the beverages were awesome

My husband and I loved the tour! Our guide Mimi and bus driver little Johnny were both awesome! Mimi was very knowledgeable and taught us lots about the Dominican Republic. Although the entire day was amazing, I mostly liked visiting the school and being able to give the kids some presents! Thank you for a great day!

I have to say, our tour guide was the Best. He was very energetic with such a good sense of humor. Maria's house was very interesting and the coffee we bought is delicious. Thank you!!!!!

We had an incredible time.Learned lots about DR thanks to our amazing guide Amos.This is a great trip for kids (Josh was 10). We had a great day, with a terrific truckload of people. Thank you Amos

The trip was so worth it! The travel guide (Mimi) was hilarious and made the excursion a blast while we learned about the people of D.R.! We recommend going if you are staying at Punta Cana.

This was the best day of the vacation, I'm so glad that we decided to take it. I recomend this to anyone wanting to take an exrusion. We also had a blast because of our tour guide thank you Ames.

We had a FABULOUS time on our full day tour. Mimi was wonderful and we are so glad we requested him!! ( I'm so happy I read others reviews here!) He made our trip so enjoyable. Our two sons were the only kids on the tour and Mimi and Billy made sure they experienced everything they possibly could! My younger son (age 5) even jumped in Mimi's arms to touch the boa constrictor that the "snake man" had along the route! (My husband, myself and my 8 year old wouldn't get near it, but my younger son felt so safe with Mimi!) We brought along coloring books, books, crayons, notepads and clothes for the Dominican children we saw along the way! It was so rewarding for us and all of the other passengers loved seeing the children express such happiness! Thanks Mimi for equitably passing things out to the children! It was a true learning experience for my family to take such a wonderful tour and view your beautiful countryside. Keep up the good work, BavaroRunners!

We went on the Bavaro Runners Excursion and had a blast! Ruddy and Raphael were excellent guides! We visited a sugar plantation, a cocoa plantation, a middle class family's home, a cave, a ranch complete with horse back riding at the beach and a delicious lunch, as well as shopping, we also stopped at a village on the way back to the resort where we handed out items to the local school children. A local band played music and danced for us. It was wonderful!

We did the Bavaro Runners trip. It was similar to a trip we did in Cuba – sugar cane plantations, a fruit farm, lunch at the beach with horseback riding and other activities, driving through the local small towns, etc. It was interesting and worth the US$80 / person, if only to get off the resort for a day. My friend had a sore back the next day from the bumpy roads, though.

We also did the Outback Safari. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and we all had a great time. We visited a typical house where they showed us how they make coconut oil and sold some. Then to another family's small business where they showed cocoa and coffee. The whole time our guide was giving us info about the country, economy, etc. We stopped at a school and they appreciated the school supplies I brought for them. Next a stop at a cigar/rum stand where they said we paid what the locals pay. Cigars were cheap! Ended at a beach good for booggie boarding. What a fun day!

Outback safari is well worth the money, it was a great tour and our guide Franklin was great. Bring money along to buy things along the way.

EVERYTHING WAS AWSOME the outback safari is the best.. PLEASE DONT TAKE ANY OTHER TOUR GUID OTHER THAN THE OUTBACK SAFARI. there colours are orange and black. They are awesome, I am not big on history to much, but it was incredible to learn about the country from "jose" This tour outfit treated us very well and we had so much fun and CHEAPY CHEAPY ! Debbies d/r has the logo on there page.

The full day Outback Safari was THE best tour of it's kind we have ever been on! The guide was amazing and the countryside was incredibly beautiful. The company that runs the tour helps to support six families in the countryside and some of the rural schools. They are very passionate about their country and we learning so much about the Dominican and Haiti. Had we known of the opportunity to give, we would have taken school supplies to donate to the schools they support.

The Outback Safari was fabulous. Our guide remembered everyones names and was very knowlegeable about the area. Not to mention he showed all how to "Boogie Board" in Cabarate.

I did the Outback Safari and we had a crazy Steve Irwin-esque guide named Jesse, it was a pretty fun day overall. They take you to a plantation and a school. After stopping for something to eat, they take you out to Cabarete beach for some boogie boarding.

Over all this tour was great, our guide was very knowledgeable and was able to tell us a great deal about Punta Cana and the culture. We had talked to the tour Rep. at EdenH about this half day tour before we booked; she told us all about the different stops we would be going on. Well, we specifically asked would it be stopping at a beach, she stated NO. None of our group brought along a bathing suite then to our surprise on our ride to our first stop we were told we would all be going to a beach for boogie boarding! We were not too happy about this; of course it was not the fault of the guide or driver so we did make a big deal of it then. I did go back to the resort and I tried to talk to the tour Rep. but she stated she never told us that…from now on I guess I just bring a suite no matter what.

We did the Outback Jungle Safari tour. It was great. It gave us an opportunity to see what the Dominican is really like off the resort. The guide, Eddie, was very friendly and explained everything very well. Christian was our driver, and a great one at that!! (Say hi to them for me also.)

We also did the Outback Jungle Safari ! It was a great day and they take you to numerous places that expose you to the Dominican Culture. We were also able to give a large donation of school supplies which I was informed would be allocated appropriately (they look out for the community!). Excellent job again Outback Safari...we will continue to support your business each time we visit the DR. P.S. if you want to buy coconut oil, do it on the excursion it's the cheapest there!

We took the Outback Jungle Safari the last time and would recommend it to everyone. You get to see the landscapes, visit a Dominican home, see and taste some of the fruits grown there. Try some coffee and coco. See a different beach and swim there. Great Fun. Please bring some school supplies for the School that you stop at on the way back. The teachers can distribute them as needed. Any type of teaching aid would be appreciated as well. Stickers and pencils .

After 4 previous trips, this was the first time we did the Outback Safari. It was awesome and well worth the $85. Very organized, lots of fun and we learned so much about the Dominican culture. If you plan to do this tour remember to bring school supplies to donate to the school you visit. Wear sunscreen as you are in an open bus in direct sun. Our guide, Omar, was terrific and kept the Cuba Libres flowing all day long.

Outback Safari... What a GREAT trip.....The truck is VERY bumpy/bouncy especially at the back.I wanted to be able to look behind me at all the scenery.Or driver was Caesar and guide was Monchy who was totally hilarious!!! Ask him any question and he has the answer.We learned a lot about DR. The coffee and coco plantation was ok... little children waiting outside when you come out.. i gave them all a lollipop each. Lunch was REALLY good.Driving up into the hills and seeing the countryside was wonderful and you pass by a lot of tiny villages etc. The boogy boarding was the best.. the beach was beautiful and the waves were humongous!! The guides get in the water to stop you from getting dragged out to see... LOL!!!! I managed to hit one wave and swear i was going to end up on the beach in the bushes.. i went so fast!!! Screaming and laughing all the way! If your not a very strong swimmer you might want to sit it out.You can still enjoy the water without the boards. Another extremely tiring day but I would also do it again!!

Outback Safari, worth every cent of the US $79. We had gone on the tour when we were in Punta Cana a couple of years ago & loved it; this one sounded a little different and decided to go again. A great time. There is a little river ride, very peaceful, you can have your picture taken with a small alligator. The day ends on a secluded beach, Cabarete. The beach is beautiful, but unfortunately covered in litter. The company gives a lot back to the community by supporting churches, schools and families. At the end of the day they have tshirts, hats and bags available for purchase to help pay for those efforts. We cannot recommend this trip enough. Both times our guides were fabulous, and obviously loved their country.

We went on several tours but the Outback Jungle Safari was by far the best! Go on this tour!! Everyone had such fun; you won't be dissappointed. There is lots of rum, lots of good info on the DR, and lots of laughing!George is the best!

Took the " Outback Jungle Safari " tour with "Monchy" as our guide - he was graet - very funny and knowledgeable. If you book with them, ask for Monchy, he won't let you down! We saw a typical Dominican Republic house, a school (where we were able to drop off gifts/school supplies-bring balloons!!), we learned about cocoa, sugarcane, coffee, etc. Was very interesting. On the way there, we saw where they dry out the coffee beans, with the men standing on the beans spreading them out - kind of funny to think they're standing on your coffee!
Went boogie boarding on a secluded beach where the Carribean meets the Atlantic - the colours of the water were spectacular.

We did the full day Outback Jungle Safari Had a great guide Luis. Very knowledgable and quite humourous. Well worth the money. Also did the sunset cruise for 2 hours or so. Included snorkelling and rum. Ended up being a lot of fun.

tour- guide Johnathan- we seen the actual dominican - even had mamajuana on the bus ride.. swam in a fresh water pool deep in the caves,seen and held trantuala, snake, parrots and monkeys,how cigars are made, schoolhouse (private with 15 children), church, making of chocolate and different coffee beans, delicious lunch at a special place in the mountains, soo much on this tour

We took the Outback Jungle Safari and were so happy we did. Besides breaking up the monotony of being stuck on a resort for 7 days. If gave us a chance to see how the Dominican people really live and work. While sad in a way, it also made me realize that material things in this life really are not a necessity to maintain my life, just a convenient factor that helps me cope. The people we met along the way were simple, yet beautiful. They worked hard for what they had and were proud of it. The kids we met just melted our hearts. How anyone could walk off that truck and not be a better person would make me question their character. Our driver was Louie and our tour guide was Alex. Alex was very knowledgeable and was VERY informative. He had a passion for his people, and was not afraid to list the good with the bad. He didn't paint his people with a broad brush as he explained the differences between the many different sociality gaps. Visiting a typical home, we seen how a typical family lives and how they work to support their family. We learned that unlike North Americans, the elders were treated with dignity and respect – Perhaps modern society has a lot to learn from people we consider “poor”. We stopped at a rum shack and watched how cigars are rolled. Here they sold cigars and rum... good stuff! We proceeded to see how sugarcane was grown and had a sample. We learned all about Mama Juana – A potion made of of roots, herbs, berries, rum, honey and wine that is suppose to be a natural aphrodisiac! I couldn't get pass the smell to find out :-) But the most striking stop was at a school. The kids just melt your heart. We brought along several hundred pencils, glue sticks and gave them to the teacher to distribute as he seen fit. The kids sang us a song and they were just so cute. We were taught how the kids are schooled and what is expected of them. The beer, rum, water and soda flowed all day and the truck full of international travelers all became Dominicans for a day. If you have the chance to do this excursion, forget the $80 per person fee and just do it. You'll thank me later.

Worth the money. Truck picks you up from the resort around 8:30 am and takes you to a remote part of the Dominican where you are able to see how they really live. There are a few stops during the trip where you are able to buy gifts such as rum and cigar. Lunch on the trip was ok, although I'm still not sure if it was chicken that I ate. After lunch, they take you to a beach with moderate size waves where you are able to boggy board. MUCH FUN. During the whole trip, our tour guide "Danny Boy" as he likes to be called, was pouring drinks for us from the back of the truck. Very funny guy with lots of knowledge. This trip was definitely worth it.

We enjoyed this. The guide was informative and there was plenty to see. You do not get thrown around in the jeep as much as we expected.

We also took a day to go on the Outback Jeep Safari. We seen a lot of the local countryside, one stop was going through a typical Dominican home and we stopped at a school. We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant, got to hold a (small) crocodile and then we took a wooden boat down a river. We also went to a private beach and tried boogie boarding, that was so much fun and this beach was beautiful. I would highly recommend this day trip; it shows the real beauty of the DR.

The Outback Safari - what can we say - Rudy and Scooby were just incredible. We did this tour on Tuesday - the only day it rained all week. Rudy could not have been a better guide. He made the pouring rain so much fun. It cleared up in the afternoon for the boogy boarding in Cabarete. Scooby knows where every bump in the road is (and made sure he hit them all) and sure knows how to 'doctor up' a pepsi. This tour was very educational as well and fun. Next year we will be sure to bring lots of school supplies and candy for the children - they have so little. If Rudy is your guide, be sure to ask about the carwash!!

We took the ³Outback Safari² day trip and loved it. We had a great tour guide, Eddie, who knew everything about the island of Hispanola and taught us a lot. We visited a typical home, a grade school, and cocoa and coffee plantations. You end the trip boogie boarding huge waves on a beautiful beach before heading home. It was very educational and nothing we would have seen had we just laid on the beach all week.

We went on the Outback Jungle Safari. Was a fun filled day with lots of information, fun and drinking. Would recommend it to anyone, well worth the $80USD as it included all your drinks, lunch buffet and boogie boarding at a scheduled beach. Felt like I could be on Baywatch for 5 minutes it was so fun!

We also did the outback safari (67 US $ per person since we were a group of 10+), which in our opinion was the best trip we have done so far 10+traveling south. We did a tour of the back country (were you stop a little village house to experience how they live), stopped at a local river. I wouldn’t recommend walking in the water, as there are many parasites in the water which can lead to sickness since us as Canadians are not immune to this. We saw some tourists with small children strolling in the river, which is really not recommended by our Canadian health authorities. We then headed for lunch were they served Mexican food which again was delicious. After we took a few pictures with small crocodiles and then boarded a small wooden boat for a 20 minute ride along a small river. Afterwards we headed back in the jeep towards Cabaret beach, where we had fun doing ‘’boogey boarding’’ in the big waves for about 1 30minutes. This had to be the highlight of our trip. We then headed back to our hotel for supper. Our day was great thanks to Rudy our tour guide and Hosa our very experienced driver (you have to be an excellent driver if you drive in DR…it’s unbelievable the way people drive). We did bring school supplies which we left with Nicholas at the hotel guest service desk. (Schools were closed since this was holy week in DR and we weren’t able to distribute at the local school on our safari trip)

We took the 1/2 day Outback Jungle Safari and it was all english speaking participants, with an awesome tour guide, Omar, and it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip - I recomment it to everyone.

We went on the Outback Safari and it was fantastic. Definitely worth the money and so much fun. If you get "Easy" as your guide you will have a blast. The boogie boarding is so fun and it was wonderful to see a bit of the countryside, meet some local people and learn about the Dominican way of life and history of the country. It was also a nice diversion to get away from the resort.

Outback safari was US$74 each, lunch and all-day drinks included. Our tour guide was ‘Ruddy’ he was excellent and the banter between him and another guide called ‘Jesse’ was very amusing. The tour gave you a great insight into the D.R and was fun at the same time. Buy some pencils and erasers or similar (pick some pencils up from Ikea even) before you go as these will be donated to the school that you visit. Do not give sweets or money to any local children that you encounter as this encourages begging and the like, which no parent wants. Wear swimwear under your clothes.

We went on the Outback Safari it’s the #1 trip taken through apple and well worth it. You get to see the country side, meet the people, see families, see a house they live in, go shopping like they do, go swimming on a different beach boogie boarding and learn lots of great things I LOVED IT!

Next was the Outback Safari… our rep Angel was fantastic, fluent English (but he pretended not to be at times, and came out with naughty double innuendos) the Dominican house was well equipped, and thanks to the help from the Outback safari, the people there had happy lives. The small village was poor, but the people were happy. Angel had us singing tequila, and then later, the locals came running after us shouting “tequila” at Angel! He must have taught them! As they were screaming “Angel” at him!

I gave a load of school supplies to Angel, as the school was closed for summer, he said he’d deliver them… we were asked not to throw stuff out to the locals, but when we stopped at a river, a child came up to me to ask for money, I was reassured that we were allowed to give these children sweets, as it was not school time… so I came out with a bag of sweets and party favour toys (little plastic puzzles) and the children went mad for them! It was truly a heart warming moment! Although, I would advise anyone reading this during term time, not to bring such gifts for the children, as their education is extremely important, and the gifts are incentive for them to skip school… if you want to help, then please do bring pencils and school supplies for their school, and indeed for Mustard Seed (the house where the children’s home is based)

Almost our entire group went on the Outback Safari ($80 US each) and absolutely loved it. Well worth the money.

If you want to know more about the real Puerto Plata as their slogan says, than give this a try. You’ll also have a hell of a lot of fun doing so. Jesse & Scoobie are such great characters & so knowledgeable & really made this trip a memorable one for us. Boogie boarding was a blast!!!!