Tell me about the Dominican Republic.

In My Humble Opinion
1

My daughters and I are meeting my dad and my mother-in-law at an all-inclusive resort on Saturday afternoon. My dad stayed at this same resort last year and liked it so much that he went back again this year. I don’t have the name of the resort right here with me (I’m at work…) but the resort is in Puerta Plata.

My daughters are 8 and 5 1/2. Tell me what to avoid, as well as what not to miss. I am also planning on bringing back some nice Dominican cigars and rum some suggestions on those would also be welcome.

2

I recommend declining any offers to work in the sugarcane fields. :wink:

3

No manual labor on vacation, gotcha.

4

Well, I live in the Dominican Republic! I hope I can be of help.

Unfortunatley, I live in Santo Domingo (the capital) and it is quite a few hours away from Puerto Plata.

Don’t worry about the beaches or the people, both are very nice. I’ve been to beaches in Mexico, Puerto Rico and various of the other, smaller carribean Islands, and I find that the Dominican Beaches are better.

Our most famous Rum here is Brugal. It is very good, but I don’t like Rum so I really can’t tell you much more about it. What I can recommend is our national beer, Presidente. I know of few people (if any), that once having tried a beer say that any other beer is better. Do try this beer, it might change your life :wink:

I will get back at you with the Cigar info. I am not a Cigar smoker, but I do have a friend that is quite passionate about them.

In terms of food, give Mangu a tried (smashed plantains), you might like it. Our national plate, however, is “La Badera” which is Rice with beans and meat. It’s hard to go wrong when ordering this plate…

However, are you only going to stay in Puerto Plata, or are you going to visit other areas in the island?

Of the top of my head, near Puerto Plata there is this nice animal/cultural park called “Manati Park”, defintley go visit that, your kids will like it.

Very close from Puerto Plata is Cap Cana, the next great luxury beach resort in the carribean. It has various golf courses designed Jack Niclaus and has awsome vilas and beaches. It is still a working project, but visitors can come and take a look. It would be interesting, and it you can afford to go visit for a day, do that.

5

TheFury, thanks that’s the kind of stuff I was hoping for but even I wasn’t expecting advice from a local. Manati Park sounds like it would be great for the kids, I’ll check times and prices online if possible. La Badera sounds right up my alley. I’ll definetely give it a try.

6

It’s called Ocean World - Manati Park is on the east coast. OW is supposed to be much better, anyway. If you like that sort of thing. It also has a casino.

I wouldn’t say it was “very close” it’s about a seven or eight-hour drive via the capital.

In the Puerto Plata area there are some tourist attractions - the city itself with its crumbling wooden Victorian gingerbread houses, pretty central square with wooden bandstand, newly-refurbished seafront promenade and an old Spanish fort (San Felipe). The cable car up to Mount Isabel de Torres is highly recommended. There is a botanical garden at the top. Best to go early, before it gets too hot.

Nearby there are some spectacular waterfalls called Damajagua, near a town called Imbert. Resorts organise guided tours, but you can do it independently and pay a local guide. Not recommended if there have been heavy rains in the previous couple of weeks, though.

La Isabela is the site of the first European settlement in the Americas, which was abandoned soon after it was founded. There are some ruins and a small church. It’s to the west of the city of Puerto Plata. Punta Rucia and La Ensenada are relatively unspoiled beaches in this area, with exceptionally good seafood on sale from the locals.

Sosua, to the east of the city of Puerto Plata is another resort town with a seedy sex tourism element but it is famous, and worth visiting, for having been the place where former dictator Trujillo allowed a group of Jewish refugees to settle during WW2. There is an interesting museum and a synagogue, although the community has dwindled significantly.

A little further east is the windsurfing/surfers/kitesurf town of Cabarete. Trendy, colourful, young international scene.

There’s a whole lot more farther afield, but it really depends how much time you have and how far you want to explore. I personally like the Samana peninsula (NE corner of the island) for sheer beauty but it’s about two or three hours drive along the north coast road.

There are some really good DR travel and information sites in English on the web, DR1.com being the most authoritative. “Debbie’s Dominican Travel” has resort reviews and general information as well.

7

Cool, thanks for the info. I have a lot of stuff to look at tonight.

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It’s very near Punta Cana. And No, it’s not a 7 hour drive…

I know, believe me.

9

Cite? :wink:

The only way to get to Punta Cana from Puerto Plata (unless you fly, in which case it’s a short journey) is to drive to the capital (3/3.30 hrs) and then from Santo Domingo - Punta Cana which is another 3-4 hours. Otherwise you could drive to Samana (3 hours) take the ferry across to Sabana La Mar (which is a foot passenger ferry) and have a really nice public transport adventure from Sabana La Mar to Punta Cana, which would take at least a couple more hours. Factor in the crossing and waiting times, you’ve clocked at least seven hours by this route as well.

Please enlighten me if there is another option… :cool:

10

Sorry I can’t believe you. Martha, with whom I am acquainted almost certainly knows the Dominican Rep. better than I do, and I have been living here for the last…

::counts fingers::

… 36 years, 9 months and some odd days.
Punta Cana is about 4 hours from Santo Domingo, having done the trip very recently I know of which I speak. Puerto Plata is another 3.5 to 4 hrs from Santo Domingo (depending on which terrestrial mode of transportation you choose). That’s a frigging long drive by Dominican standards, although a short commute by American standards. :wink:

To the OP:
I wish I could add anything useful to what Martha said, but she got it all covered. Just remember to try the food, specially from local restaurants. Just don’t drink tap water, nobody here does.

Good luck, and good trip.

11

I’m looking forward to the trip and especially the food. I already knew to stick to bottled water. :wink:

Thanks everyone, for their advice. Even if there is some dispute about directions to certain destinations.

12

Oooops, sorry, I said Punta Cana, not Puerto Plata, my bad! I got confused…

I can’t really help you out then, cause’ it’s been a looong while since I’ve last been there…

Another suggestion: check out some Dominican Music. If you can, try to find music from Juan Luis Guerra, without a doubt the finest Dominican mucisian, hands down.

I still need to give you info on Cigars, however I know that the Cohiba Cigars, originaly made in Cuba, are also made here, and are of very good quality.

Stay tuned for more cigar info, and pardon my lack of attention.

:slight_smile:

13

If he can’t find any Juan Luis Guerra while being there, amazon carries his records. In Spain he sells so well that stores let you preorder.

14

I stayed at a resort in Puerto Plata last year. My sister was living in Santiago so we stayed with her for a while and then went to the resort. Is it a Riu resort you are staying at? We were at Riu Bachata and it was very nice. The pool was nice and clean but spots filled up quickly, but we preferred the beach anyway. The beaches on that side are not like the white sands open spaces, they have palm trees and rocks and stuff. I liked it though, the water was still very warm and clear and we went snorkeling and saw lots of fish just swimming around by ourselves. You can rent equipment or go on guided tours if you want.

The food was decent, but not super-great. There was tons of variety though so we could always find something to eat. We avoided the tap water and any uncooked food, but I still did have a minor bout of illness, but it quickly passed. We enjoyed local restaurants more, but it was easy for us to find them because my sister was with us. We mostly went out in Santiago so I can’t recommend a place in Puerto Plata.

Be aware that any souveniers and or supplies you buy at the resort will be outrageously overpriced. I think it was like $15 for a bottle of sunscreen. We had a good time at local markets buying trinkets very cheaply. We saw many of the exact same items being sold roadside or at local markets that were sold at the resort for 10 times the price (but they will swear it is one of a kind, hand carved! :slight_smile: ) There is booze everywhere, all the time.

I would go back again, it was fun. The resort entertainment was a little cheesy but still fun. They had lots of activities for kids, they got them up on stage and stuff in the evenings. If anyone is shocked by topless women, be prepared to avert your eyes (it seemed to be mostly middle age europeans that did this.) There were very few Americans while we were there, which was kind of fun. We didn’t hear much english at all, except from the employees.

15

You might want to send a PM to Bricker as the Dominican Republic is his birthplace, IIRC.

16

Isn’t Mighty Girl also from the D.R.?

17

Mad Maxx, tell us what you ended up doing and what you thought of the place. Buen viaje.

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**Bricker **is married to a Dominican lady and seems to visit frequently. I am Dominican and live in the Dominican Rep. **Martha **and RedFury are expats living in the Dominican Rep. And I don’t know anything about TheFury.

Mad Maxx, let us know how it went when you are back.