Dominican Republic

[slleipnir]

Anyone go there? Any info would be nice :)

I'll find out today if I'm going in March or not :o It's like 1200 cnd for flight, hotel, food, drinks and some activities. Seems pretty good to me, but that's like all my money :o I wonder if it's worth it? A lot of people tell me it is. I'm really nervous to fly...and I hear a lot about that "date rape" drug people put in your drinks. Is it really that bad? Some guy that comes into my work got slipped one, and they stole all his money! I'd be afraid for worse things. I mean, obviously I wouldn't let anyone buy me a drink (they're included in my package anyway) and I wouldn't leave it...but it kinda scares me. What if the bartender puts in it cause someone paid him? lmao....I'm not a worry wart.

I'm waiting to see if my friend can get her loan to go...if she does, then I gues I'm going!

Oh yeah, I'd be staying at the Fun Royale I think

[caseysmom]

Just be aware of your surroundings and stay with the other tourists and you should be fine. Everyone warned me about mexico and we had no problems. I think my sister went to the dominican republic, I'll ask her.

[Barbara]

Dominican Republic is a destination with lots of all-inclusive hotels. Most of the guests stay in the hotels (you'll find many Europeans as it is one of the cheapest Caribbean destinations for us). This means people there have a low chance to earn money from tourists (as the hotels are owned by foreign companies).

So , in the environment of the hotels there sure are people who try to cheat you (To my opinion tourists should accept to be cheated if it's not too bad ;)).

But I never have heard of systematic date raping or something.. Of course a young female person in a Latin country should always be careful and it would not be recommended to visit a bar alone and drink etc. as this will be misinterpreted. But this is true for most of the places where you travel alone.

Try to buy a good travel guide and read the warnings of the state department too.

[Randi]

Here's a link you should check out: http://www.debbiesdominicantravel.com

I've been to Dom Rep twice and in my opinion, there's absolutely nothing to worry about, except if you behave very stupid. Will tell you more tomorrow. :) (I'm too tired now)

[cocker_luva]

i went 2 years ago, to Punta Cana. a small town on the coast. its the best place ive ever been. its always warm, it does rain at night, but it is soo warm that after it stops it takes about an hour or two to dry up! the people are soo polite, even the natives. :) the beaches are so gorgeous like in all those perfect pictures, you can get burned easy because of the closeness to the equator. the people are black (not african or american, so i dont know what to call them :rolleyes: ) they speak some english. also spanish or french, it depends on the person. since haiti is so close, and they speak french. i hope you have a great time and ill be glad to answer any questions about that perfect paradise. :D

[sammy101]

i went a couple years ago.We stayed in Puerto Plata.We stayed for 2 weeks and enjoyed it alot.There is alot to do there also.The everything was included,food,drinks etc.But you have to pay for extra activites.
I enjoyed it alot.Its a great place to go.
HERES (http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-338111-clubhotel_riu_mambo-i;_ylt=AmM.TRGl9ZxbCr83qHS50ZMJ8b8F) where we stayed.Its a beautiful resort.another website..HERE (http://www.riubambu.com/RIU_WEB_PAGES/MENU/RESORT/MAMBO/MAMBO.htm)

[Randi]

Sara, if you're going to Dominican Republic, I don't think you'll regret it. As mentioned, it's one of the cheapest places you can go in he Carribbean and the locals are really friendly. :)

Most hotels are all-inclusive, and the ones we stayed in had every kind of food you could ask for, even the 3* one we stayed in the first time. Actually, we enjoyed that place a lot more, we got to know the staff and had so much fun! This was Camino del Sol, just outside Cabarete on the North coast.

The other resort we stayed in was Riu Merengue, a 5* resort, also outside Cabarete. In our opinion, it was far too big, but it was pure luxury and the staff was really nice too. They had several restaurants, one was a cosy a la carte and another was a huge buffet restaurant. Also, I have never ever seen a bigger selection of breakfast and fresh yummy fruit juices.

We didn't go on any of the arranged tours, but got together with our friends from Texas and Sweden and hired a cap for the day. If you speak a little spanish, you have a lot more fun! One driver took us back to visit his family. :)

All hotels have cabs waiting outside, so it's easy and cheap to get around. If you go for short trips, you just go up to the main road and stick you hand out, boys on mopeds will take you in to town for a few pesos, There are also mini vans who will squeeze as many as they can into it and charge very little. This is a lot more fun, but don't put your best clothes on. ;)

I don't recommend you hire a car, there are lots of holes in the roads and only the locals know where they are. :eek:

Neither do I recommend that you go for a day trip to Haiti, unless you're very robust, mentally and physically.

If you do go t the North coast, you must not miss a Bar called Cafe Cito in Puerto Plata! It's a great place, owned by Tim, a Canadian Ex Consul - he is really charming! He used to have an old greek lady cooking there, but I think she went to Germany and started her own business.

Take a look at this page, there are reviews from a lot of hotels and also from Cafe Cito.

http://www.debbiesdominicantravel.com/northcoast.html

If you click on the towns in this link, you can see lots of pictures from the different hotels.

http://www.vidado.com/index_ie.html