Dominican Republic What to Expect

The Amber museum is worth a visit. Anywhere else in the town, prepare to be hassled. The town has some interesting parts, but is a little jaded. A trip on the cable car to Mount Isable de Torres is worthile if you have kids, but the walks around the gardens on the top of the mountain are not as good as I had expected. Prepare to be hassled here too, everyone will want to be your guide - you don't need one.

In the capital, dudes will try to shine your shoes for a few bucks.. I didn't want them to as I was wearing sneakers, but they are persistent little kids.. Once I figured I'd be nice and gave one of the kids a buck just for the hell of it.. Well that kid did not stop following me for many blocks, and then some friends joined in assuming I was rich and going to give everyone cash.. Uhm, don't do it.. Unless you are rich and want to be followed by alot of little dudes.... Find other ways to help the community is such is your desire.. It gets dangerous when the older guys notice. Luckily I speak spanish and can speak slang so I spooked them off.....

Hola, Punta Cana is located outside of Santo Domingo. Me Gusta! Fun Fun Fun! If you find yourself doing what I did and go twice in one year, you know you love a place. I went in March then Sept. Banana boating is a must, but they will turn real fast and toss you off at the end, shh i didnt tell you that! Take a Safari tour on the Outback Safari tours, located at the front desk at most resorts there will be an apple vacations guide there you will be able to book all the tours you may want to go on. On The Outback Safari your first stop is a georgous beach with torquiose blue clear water with big waves. Make sure you grab a boogie board.There is a straw market set up right on the sand.Take advantage of the locals art, it will amaze you! Then you go through a sugar cane field and yes the guide cuts the cane right from the field and lets everyonebody try some, very good, yet has a wood texture for hard to eat, just suck it! As you drive you pass a garage yard, and the smell is terrible i had to hold my nose! Further down the beaten path you will tour an elementry school, and meet the little kids with their cute little uniforms on. They love visitors. Travel up the rigid mountain and smell the sweet flora lingering in the air. Watch out for their countrys national spider, its bigger then a tarantula! Oh yea and the best part about it is while your traveling and sitting in the back of an open truck bouncing around getting your tan on, the guide cracks open coke and sprite and pours rum in it, and there is no drinking age in this country, so drink that dominican rum it has a very dreamy like effect, amazing! Once you are in the middle of the jungle you get out and get to try cocoa straight from the plant, mind you this doesnt taste like hersheys chocolate, it is bitter and gross you would never guess something so tasty could come from such a foul plant. There was fresh coffee beans and they brewed up the strongest coffee you will ever taste, starbucks couldnt make coffee this powerful! Before the tour is over you have lunch at a pavalion in the middle of the jungle, there are dancers dressed in white frilly dresses trimed in blue and red, and a domincan lunch, with rice and chicken and fresh picked fruit! Saona Island is the second tour we went on! This is a MUST DO! You hop on a catamaran and the fun begins from the minute you step on that boat. Rum is passed out, and Merengue music plays, the natives running the boat will grab your hands and make you dance with them. This is all video taped. At the front of the boat there is a next the size of half a tennis court, lay down on it and sunbath and let the water soak you from underneath everytime you hit a wake. It takes about an hour to get to Saona island, but is very exciting with lots of activity! Once you get close to Saona Island a speed boat pulls up and you hope onto that. You zoom over to the island with seashells, and white sand beaches, and crystal clear water. The island is a national park, so it is uninhibited, it is untouched my hotels and condo's and kept very intact. Nature is not allowed to be removed! There are hammocks and picnic tables and shelters. Luch is another carribean treat, the same as The Outback Safari! Lay in the sun and enjoy the amazing view. Once a few hours pass, you hop back on the speed boat and jet over to the sand bar, a place in the middle of the ocean where the water is only about 2-3 feet deep! You jump out of the boat and if you've never seen clear ocean water this is the place to see it! There are starfish everywhere, huge ones that is. Make sure you pick them up, but don't let them up out of the water for too long, or you'll be bringing home a souviner. Saona island should be the first thing on your list!!!

Dominican Republic is a lovely country. The people are very welcoming and friendly. The Dominican's who work within the Tourism Industry work very hard for their Peso- so a tip or two is very much appreciated. I would also recommend that if you are fussy or travelling with young children, to stay in at least a 4* Hotel. Food and Hygiene seem to be one of Dominican Republic's weaknesses as some people do complain of food poisoning and in some cases extreme. So maybe research your property and read a few reviews. Most Hotel offer Watersports and in Sosua there is a Waterpark. Horse riding, trekking, scuba diving, jeep tours and day trips are also on offer. If your not afraid of heights -take a helicopter flight! During the weekends and national holidays, you may find yourself waiting for ages to be seated for your meals and the queue to be a tad long. These times are when you will find alot of Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican holidaymakers at resort/hotels.

the Dominican Republic has some wonderful beaches, and they tend to be really salty. The local food if amazing (depending on what you've eaten!) and the alcohol is much cheaper than in the US and the legal age for purchasing alcohol is (if i remember correctly) 8 (not 18 or 21), so you can just give a kid some money and he'll run off to go buy you what you want, if your seriously that lazy...

Ein Travel Tip für verliebte. Sonne Strand und Meer wie aus dem "Märchenbuch".
Weisser Strand - Türkis Meer.

Die sogenannte Bounty Insel muss besucht werden.
Squad fahren für den Fun ein muss.

Last euch von den Reiseleiterinnen nicht einschüchtern, betreffend wie gefährlich alles ist wenn man nicht über "sie" bucht.. *lach* Ein bischen Action im Urlaub tut doch immer gut *g*

The Embassy Suites is very nice...and they had a free shuttle to a nice quiet beach

Since this country is so close to the equator, the sun's rays are much stronger. I highly recommend sunblock at all times especially if you are fair skinned. I also recommend bringing aloe vera gel as it can be difficult to find

Love it. Not the best idea to wander around on your own but a great place to see.

Una pobreza increible... la tumba de Colon (creer o reventar) es un monumento impactante.

Ein Travel Tip für verliebte. Sonne Strand und Meer wie aus dem "Märchenbuch".
Weisser Strand - Türkis Meer.

Die sogenannte Bounty Insel muss besucht werden.
Squad fahren für den Fun ein muss.

Last euch von den Reiseleiterinnen nicht einschüchtern, betreffend wie gefährlich alles ist wenn man nicht über "sie" bucht.. *lach* Ein bischen Action im Urlaub tut doch immer gut *g*

The Embassy Suites is very nice...and they had a free shuttle to a nice quiet beach

Since this country is so close to the equator, the sun's rays are much stronger. I highly recommend sunblock at all times especially if you are fair skinned. I also recommend bringing aloe vera gel as it can be difficult to find

Love it. Not the best idea to wander around on your own but a great place to see.

Una pobreza increible... la tumba de Colon (creer o reventar) es un monumento impactante.

hot, wet sometimes and beautyful

Make sure to pack a lot of bug spray with a high Deet content if you will be traveling outside of the city. The mosquitoes are small but thirsty!

My family and I just returned from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We spent a week at the Bavaro Princess. I would defiently recommend bringing stomach medicine of all kinds. We had Montazumas revenge and it was awful!!! It must have something to do with the change in diet and the water. On a good note we went ziplining with Canopy Adventures and LOVED it! The scenery is absolutely beautiful and the ziplines are long and fast! We went to Sonoa Island which wasn't as good as I heard it was. All we did once on the island was relax and swim in the ocean. The beach was covered in seaweed and the ground was rocky. I wouldn't recommend this excursion. One thing I would highly suggest would be the swimming with the nurse sharks and stingrays! This is a once in a lifetime thing and it was so great! I had so much fun and it wasn't scary at all. Just remember it is legal for women to be on the beach topless and when shopping you must haggle. Other bits of advice: take motion sickness pills because travel to and from your hotel most roads aren't paved, you can use U.S. money, you don't have to exchange it for the local currency, get the all-inclusive package at your hotel it more than pays for itself and this will save you tons of money. Book any excursions through your hotel, they may be able to get you a discount and it is safer this way. The locals are nice but persistant. The most common language spoken is Spanish, but some do know English and French. At the Bavaro Princess there was a casino named The Tower. It is much like a smaller version of Vegas. It was fun and they take U.S. currency. All in all I would recommend going to Dominican at least once. It is very beautiful and i had a great time!

Riding on a motocycle is a cheap option to paying for a taxi ride throughout the city. After sundown, all prices of taxi and motorcycle taxi rides go up in price. Most people speed, swerve and regularly drink alcohol and drive (some drink alcohol WHILE they drive) please use caution when riding on any motorcycle at anytime of the day; most insurance companies will warn against motorcycle (motoconcho) rides and if anything were to happen they may be very reluctant to pay out. Helmets are recommended as well as only one passenger per motorcycle -- these motorcycles are very risky to ride on, please be aware of the dangers! If you want to be a little more cautious, use a taxi at all times when going into the city.