Dominican Republic - good or bad

[rfw1]

there seem to be some real cheap trips to the dominican republic at the moment.

However, Ive heard a lot of horror stories.

Can anybody confirm if these trips are worth considering ?

[bustersmum]

I would go- oh wait thats right I am going see my countdown!

I went last year too with my husband and the kids who are 13 and 10 this time and whose safety I would never compromise.

Obviously some places are no go and you have to use your discretion with this.Like the big cities at night for instance are not a good idea.

We stayed in peurto plata last year and we are going to the same area this time but staying in a different hotel.
All the hotels have guards on the gates but you can freely walk the beach.If you want any specific info pm me.I know there are others on here who are d.r fans too.

[kitkatangela]

:omg:I would go- oh wait thats right I am going see my countdown!

I went last year too with my husband and the kids who are 13 and 10 this time and whose safety I would never compromise.

Obviously some places are no go and you have to use your discretion with this.Like the big cities at night for instance are not a good idea.

We stayed in peurto plata last year and we are going to the same area this time but staying in a different hotel.
All the hotels have guards on the gates but you can freely walk the beach.If you want any specific info pm me.I know there are others on here who are d.r fans too.
well if you ask me NO NO NO DONT GO some where else i did not like it....
well never go again.. even if payed for .. x

[Ste]

Goooo!!! Went last November and had the best holiday ever - I prefer Dom Rep to Florida!!!!! It is just fantastic! Can see my trip report here (http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=121901&highlight=dominican+republic) if you need anymore convincing lol.

:spin:

[bustersmum]

Just read your tippie brought back some lovely memories we stayed at the fun royale in the same area we are planning on ocean world this trip.

[Ste]

Just read your tippie brought back some lovely memories we stayed at the fun royale in the same area we are planning on ocean world this trip.

Ohh the run royale - Was that any good?? We dropped off there on the way back from the airport and if I'm honest.. I was quite glad when it turned out it wasn't ours.:omg:

Where you staying this year ? Ocean world is fab BTW. :grin:

[Serendipity]

We have been twice and loved it both times. Very nice people and the two hotels we have stayed in were both excellent.
We were last there in March 06 and stayed at the Luperon, Peurto Plata and had a great time.
Unfortunately the internet at the hotel was down when we were there so we had to walk to the local village about 2 miles away each day. Never had a problem, never felt uncomfortable and the locals were very friendly towards us.

[Rosie30]

I've been three times and loved it. Twice to the north and once in the south, can't remember one of the hotels but the other two were the RUI Meregue (sp?) and Hamaca Beach, they were fabulous.

I think with common sense (don't go into town/villages covered in jewelry etc) you can have a great time, we never had any problems.

[bustersmum]

The fun royale was fantastic although it is a bit tired looking the service and entertainment was 5 star plus.The food was good too and non of us became ill we had a lovely time and made a couple of good friends it is right up there in the top 3 holidays we have ever had.

[bustersmum]

This year we are trying the Holiday Village purely based on the fact that our son has turned 13 and it was cheaper to go there than 2 weeks AI in greece.

[Ste]

This year we are trying the Holiday Village purely based on the fact that our son has turned 13 and it was cheaper to go there than 2 weeks AI in greece.
I can understand how it's cheaper - Some bloody bargains to DR ! Saw one in a TA window few weeks back, £464 for an adult , AI for a fortnight ! If I wasn't already on holiday them weeks I would have snatched it up !:pgig:

[bustersmum]

It really bugs me because we did quite fancy Greece but as he is 13 he is charged at adult price but still as a child at the holiday village.Then the room price is banged up because it is 3 adults plus 1 child but he cannot drink or participate in the adult activities.A case of when is an adult not an adult!The holiday village in mexico is also child price up to 14.

Anyway back the d.r we are off best get some money ordered soon and hope this time i can get my head round the whole pesos dollars issue lol.

[Ste]

Anyway back the d.r we are off best get some money ordered soon and hope this time i can get my head round the whole pesos dollars issue lol.

Sorry hijacking this thread...:blush:

Just incase I go back ( ;) ) - Which do you use ? I just used Dollars and when I wanted to buy something I just went to the hotel bank and got a small amount of Peso's.. Only spent £20 in the whole week :pgig::pgig:

[bustersmum]

I took dollars and dollars travellers chqs will remember to take smaller amounts this time of those.I spent about 150 dollars in a fortnight on odd bits for kids hair braiding and the outback safari trip for 4 of us.Obviously if I needed anything it was changed into pesos but I struggled with the whole thing luckily as you discovered too you dont need much!

[Ste]

I took a load of money with me - Brought enough back with me to go to Lanzarote in January ! lol

Ocean World was paid for with the money we got back from Going Places for changing hotels. Ohh I so wanna go back there ! :cry: RFW1 - if you do go, I'm sure you will have a fantastic time! :cool2:

[NAGS]

Been twice and would not hesitate to go back (after doing a bit of checking on the hotel).

Our first AI holiday was to Majorca, was okay and really enjoyed it at the time but in hindsight not really accomodation we would go back to, we went to TA to try and get another AI and it was cheaper to go to DR than anyplace in Europe .....

Anyway, we have stayed at Pureta Plata Village and Bahia Principe. Both were really good, with Bahia Principe being the one I would definately go back to again at the drop of a hat.

One thing to keep a wee eye out for is that some of the hotels allow weekend vistors, basically "local" folks (mainly from bigger towns and cities) to stay for a couple of days to fill up the occupancy. Absolutley no issues with this but is a different experience, compared to complex full of Europeans or North Americans (lot of Canadians holiday there also apparently).

Just my tuppenceworth.

[susieb]

i would not go back even if it was free. Puerto Plata is a village complex which you cannot really leave, there are armed guards at the end of it to stop locals getting in.

Its an awful place. You have to ask yourslef why its so cheap - because demand is low. Why is demand low? Because its rubbish. Its Blackpool by the Caribbean.

[bustersmum]

Demand is so low in fact that my flight out in peak holiday season is full!
Local people do go in but they are paying customers like you or I on those occasions.Local people live and work at the hotels too.
We took a trip out beyond peurto plata as did most of the people holidaying it took us well beyond this complex into sosua and cabarete so yes you can leave and it is safe to do so.

[susieb]

Its not the local people I objected to at all......I would have liked to see more. Thats one of the things that I found so depressing - being stuck in a resort for two weeks with people I could see in Sainsburys..... I like to get to know a place when I travel and at least get a feel for the country.

I know we are not all going to agree on every holiday destination and I am just answering a thread with my experience to give someone the benefit of it.

DR is the cheapest place you can go in the Caribbean and this is reflcetd in the quality of the holiday, IMHO. Spend a bit more and go to Antigua. Thats all I'm saying.

[Topper5]

Admittedly it was back in April 2003,but we stayed at the Riu Merengue, Puerto Plata and had a fantastic time. The hotel was definitely of at least a four star standard and the accommodation, food and staff were superb - I would recommend to anyone.
There have been problems with food hygiene standards in the past, but the government have introduced a new training/checking regime to combat this - we could not fault the food at our hotel.
I would suggest thoroughly researching the hotels and to stay in at least a 4 star - the Riu chain is a well known and respected hotel group who have very high standards.
We went on a couple of trips and also used a local taxi to visit the town and rum factory which was well worth the effort. There is a great deal of poverty outside the hotel's confines and you will be approached by locals appealing to your better nature but we did not feel threatened or hassled in any way.
If you go, I am sure that you will have a great time - we will definitely return one day.
If you have any further questions feel free to get in touch on PM.

[huneybunny17]

I didn't enjoy the Dom Rep ...I just don't think I'm suited to an AI holiday! We stayed at the fun royale there was 14 of us for a wedding ....it's just not my kind of holiday...it was too lazy and boring... there's only so many times you can do aqua aerobics, play table tennis, ride bikes without going out of the resort...and the pool got sick and was out of action for 3 or 4 days. I put on a stone in weight in 2 weeks...the food was fantastic and all drinks payed for...which was good when there was so many of us. there was nowhere to go to at night you just had to watch the hotel entertainment...which was outside so if it rained ...no entertainment!

[bustersmum]

Oooh thanks you have just reminded me I need to put an umberella on my packing list this time- the tinkerbell one from the disney store will do the job fine.

[jdybnsn]

Top 2 tips for DR ;

1) Make sure your hotel is 4* or above

2) Make sure the resort is on the Caribbean Sea (not Atlantic) side of the island.

:grin:

[Catherine]

Its also a thumbs down for me too:(.

We went last year and stayed at The Iberostar Hacienda Dominicas in Bayahibe, quite well known for being on of the best hotels on the island, in a great location. Its also No 1 on Trip Advisor too:nonono:

Dont get me wrong the beach was beautiful infact stunning, however thats about it really. The hotel was beautiful on first impressions, very palacial, oppulent. The hotel was mainly Spanish and French, the pool was dirty and turned everything white to green, the food was pretty average to below average really. Drinks ok. Everyone we knew was ill and you always get people telling you to not drink too much, use bottled water, watch the pina's;), which we did but we where really ill, not just a day but at least 5 days. Our son lost a stone, which was not great at all.

Trips are not good too around the island, many people went on the trip where they visit schools and children, a guy came back saying you could buy a bag of lollies and throw them of the back of the jeep and watch the children scrambling for them on the floor, That is not my idea of a good trip at all. We also did the Sanoa Island trip too, which was way too noisey and they kept asking for tips all the time. It was not safe to go out either.


I think we went to the Dom Rep, thinking it may be like Barbados or Nassau, but it was so far removed it was untrue.

Its not my idea of fun when you cant go out and see the local culture, get on the local buses, chat to the locals and wander around places feeling safe.

Barbados for me next year :thumbs-up

My brother has been 3 times and has the opposite opinion as me, so its just personal taste really. I feel a barbados 5 star is very different to a Dom Rep 5 star.

[susieb]

Catherine that is exactly how I felt about it. I think if you have a preconceived idea that DR will be a luxury Caribean island then you will be very disappointed.

[Catherine]

Catherine that is exactly how I felt about it. I think if you have a preconceived idea that DR will be a luxury Caribean island then you will be very disappointed.

True Susie, it was just not my bag at all. I am not a snob my any means but it just did not have the same feeling as Barbados. just love that place.