Dominican Republic this weekend...
 

for the little lady, myself and a couple of friends.
I'm staying at one of those all inclusive places on the east side of the island, near Santo Domingo, away from the floods.

Have heard it's a great party place, and that's one of my talents.....,maybe my only one.......

Anyone have any experiences, good or bad?

I like the women, although my wifes not into that.:D :(

Santo Domingo is nice. You can go see "one of" Christopher Columbus' graves. There is also a house there built by his brother, I think, that you can walk through. Just keep in mind it's a poor country and I wouldn't advise wandering off the resort on your own.


The strange thing about my trip was while I was there; I didn't see any birds at all. HMMMMMM

Thanks for the advice. I've been "off the reservation" before and know where and when not to go places.

I had a friend in the peace corps over there. she highly reccommended the mountains that are available for climbing. I wouldn't have thought about mountains in the carribean, but she said you get to see a huge diversity of the wildlife as you climb.

otherwise, the beaches are supposed to be amazing! just watch those floods. and stay off public transportation ha ha..

I'm going to a resort, and I don't plan on leaving that som***** for nothin'.

Thanks

I was planning to, I heard they're pretty good.

Three years ago I worked down there in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Barahona--the city inwhich many of the flooding deaths occured. I walked alone through the enighborhoods each day and never got anything from anybody more menacing than a smile. The people were delightful and fun.

On the other hand (there is always one of those) I have heard that lots of neighborhoods in Santo Domingo are very dangerous. The police drive through them in jeeps with .30 machineguns.

Cigars and rum, they're as good as the best anywhere. Nice bars and restaurants are within easy walking distance. Yeah, you can tour several old houses and cathedrals in the city. The history is interesting and well-told. Lots of photogenic people and things. On the main square opposite the cathedral is a museum and jewelry store that specializes in locally mined ambar. I bought some beautiful ambar jewelry with embedded insects for my kids at very reasonable prices.

Customs at the airport was a disorganized PITA. But I guess that's true anywhere.

B

I am taking precautions, as soon as I get off the plane, I only speak spanish, in the event that there are some anti-american sob's hanging out..........

Botnst, you are correct, the customs in 3rd world countries is a joke.

Thanks

I was just in the D.R. in March, was in La Romana and Sto. Domingo. Now's a great time to go, they're having serious inflation problems which means things are cheap for anybody with dollars.
My Mom worked there as a nurse for an organization called CARE way back in the 70's and has been going there almost every year since '98, so we know quite a few locals. Since my parents are both nurses, they do some humanitarian work in addition to going there to relax. There are a lot of really nice people down there, and most of them don't have any problem with Americans as long as you're careful not to fulfill the obnoxious tourist stereotype. Kinda sad things are so messy down there.

As for Sto. Domingo itself, I think one of the neatest places to visit is the historic city. Don't miss the cathedral, and Diego Calogn's (don't ask me if I spelled that right) house is interesting as well. One thing I do wish is that they would keep things cleaner, as it is, you can't really explore the historic district without running into some litter, animal droppings, and things like that to remind you of where you are. Overall, it is very nice though, and I'm glad you're willing to do something more than kill time at the resort.
Oh, and I don't claim to know all about cigars, but I've learned a few things. First is that you're still going to pay a pretty penny for the big-name cigars (red dot Cohibas, H. Upmann, Romeo and Juliet, Punch, etc.), unless you're better at finding these things than we've been, and if they're cheap there's a good chance they're fake. That being said, there are a lot of pretty good off-brand cigars to be found for a fraction of the cost. We've even bought bulk packs that were supposedly rejects of some kind from some of the shops that weren't bad at all. Of course they're not as good as one of the names mentioned above, but methinks you'll still enjoy them if you're not too picky. Oh, and it seems like everyone has their own "Cohiba" (some info here), and it's probably nothing special if it isn't a red dot. More info on counterfit cigars here. Also, many of the well-known Dominican names are produced in free-trade zones, making them illegal to sell in the D.R.. So, I would suggest that you be careful if you go brand shopping, and look out for fakes. I'd also recommend you try out some of the off-brands found at the independant shops; some aren't much good of course, but others are a great deal.
Enjoy.

I went to Punta Cana in the Domican Republic about two years ago for a work conference. It was at one of the Barcelo Hotels there. Service and food was all inclusive. For an all inclusive food place, I can say I have had worse and I have had better. But it was edible. The room that I had was great!! Very large and the minibar was all inclusive also!!!!!

Nice place, had tons of fun. One night got lost from the discoteque back to my room (had a few) took me about an hour to find my room. All the building (small building 8 rooms per building) look the same............

Iggy

Just got back and I had a great time.

We stayed at an all inclusive resort that was quite impressive.

It was called The Princess and it was located in Punta Cana.

It's amazing to me how far the US currency takes you.

Our trip cost appox 700.00 per person, including air fare, accomodations and all food/drink we could digest.

I breaks down to about 165.00 per day and I'm quite sure I got my moneys worth and then a whole lot more.

It's also cool to see how different the culture is when it comes to vehicles. There are soooo many diesels down there from ALL of the major car companies. Plus all the cars were so much smaller than ours.

Great place, but I'm glad I 'm back home. :)

Thanks for the tips....