Any recommendations for places to stay in the Dominican Republic?

[Will Collier]

I'd recommend Cabo San Lucas anytime, and thanks to nobody wanting to go to Mexico, it's very cheap these days.

Cabo far removed from the awful "action" in Mexico, I haven't seen any bad reports from a safety perspective coming out of there.

[haikuman]

http://www.businessinsider.com/mexicos-d...der-2011-4

[tlh828]

I lived there 3 years. I like it. But then I know my way around.

I wouldn't recommend their beaches however.

Cayo Levantado (sp?) is, or was, beautiful and a nice place to visit. You should be willing to slum it a little no matter where you go in the DR.

[Fritz]

My Pick, In order for relaxation and beaches and consideration for ease of access:

St John USVI, is very nice. Lush, "green", fun. Good food. Good people mix.
Flight is to St Thomas then ferry to Sr John.
Turks and Caicos is very nice though much more built up, I understand of late.
Caymans.
Sint Martin is OK. Day ferry trip to St Barths is fun.
Bahamas are nice, other than Grand,
St Lucia aint bad.

[the_poochies]

I visited the DR with a softball team of Dominican Americans. I was their token gringo. I avoided the resorts and stayed with people in villages. They were very friendly and I never felt unsafe.

Of course, we always made sure we had plenty of cold bottles of this around...

[JoeM]

If you do decide on the DR, Punta Cana resorts can be very cheap and the beaches are really nice there with pink sand. Many Europeans go there so the feel can be a bit different than a vacation spot where primarily Americans go.( topless, fat guys in speedos, bad or no manners from people that cut right in front of you) We had a great time there a few years ago but you have to be prepared for the differences.

FIrst, it is a very poor country so you probably don't want to venture out of the resort you stay at. (although people do and say they have no problems - I wouldn't do it based on the one time we did venture out). If you do venture out, people will be pestering you non stop to buy their junk in the public areas.

All inclusives are generally well run and the thing there. If you like to drink, as the Europeans do there, you would have a good time as liquor was included and was not watered down. You generally don't want to buy their wines, champagne or extras as they charge hefty prices for those. If you like to eat, they serve tons of food. Again, get used to a European just cutting right in front of you as you wait on line for a buffet breakfast or lunch.

I would check tripadvisor.com for more info.

[rgG]

Thanks again for all the input. I think I am going to look around a bit more and see what other places might be better.

[JoeM]

Aruba is nice and we really like Grand Cayman.

[Will Collier]

JoeM wrote:
If you do decide on the DR, Punta Cana resorts can be very cheap and the beaches are really nice there with pink sand. Many Europeans go there so the feel can be a bit different than a vacation spot where primarily Americans go.( topless, fat guys in speedos, bad or no manners from people that cut right in front of you) We had a great time there a few years ago but you have to be prepared for the differences.

Yeah, there is that. Some of the resort beaches we walked past looked like "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" at a low-rent German strip club...

[Winston]

I'd also take a look at Puerto Rico. We were there for spring break this year and had a really nice visit.

Cheap flights from the mainland U.S. (unlike some Caribbean destinations), your cellphone will work on its normal U.S. network, and you don't need a passport. The island is large enough to offer a lot of variety, from the only U.S. rain forest National Park to buildings constructed in the early 1500s to art galleries to kayaking in phosphorescent bays at night. The only thing which disappointed me was the Bacardi rum factory tour, because you don't actually tour the factory. San Juan had some great restaurants. There are things to visit throughout Puerto Rico, including a couple of museums I'd like to have seen that were in a city on the south side.

We did not get past the eastern end of the main island, but did get to one of the outlying islands, Culebra, for a couple of days. (Vieques is the larger and better known outlying island.) Culebra is lovely, but very quiet.

If you do decide to go to PR I can give you some good info on hotels in old San Juan.


Good luck.

- Winston