Dominican republic

[MarioandLuigi]

Has anyone been to the Dominican Replublic? Have been looking at going Easter 2013 (once I have saved enough!) but was hoping someone could tell me if its as nice as it looks.

We are thinking of going to Punta Cana.

Never been my myself Mario but my mums has twice and she loved it. I'll find out where she stayed x

It didn't sit well with me - a lot of poverty mixed in with gated hotels. But it is beautiful.

Oh no Panzee, I thought the DR was quite wealthy. That would put me off going.

By going though Mario you would be contributing to their economy

It's a tricky one isn't it? Although the hotel I went to was probably owned by some American millionaire the people who worked there were local. And of course the food etc is bought locally. And lots of the trips we went on were locally run, so the money gets through somehow.

Agree with Panzee really.

Re Punta Cana, it tends to be slightly cheaper than other resorts (or it used to be) and whilst it was nice, I'd go further South/South West ie away from the Atlantic coast.

I just wish their tourism model would mean the wealth that tourism brings, goes beyond the pocket of the all inclusive hotel owners and airlines. Yes tourism in Dom Rep offers jobs, but they are very low paid and tourist tend to stay in the all inclusive resorts, very little money is spent in the local shops, restaurants etc. So not sure how much you'd be contributing to the peoples economy, unless you go beyond the walls of the resorts and spend your money locally.

I've been to DR twice and it is great!

Wouldn't go to Punta Cana tho, it's in the middle of nowhere and what I call "honeymoon spot".

You don't need to stay in an All-Inclusive, I didn't and spent all my time obviously in the local areas, the Dominicans are very friendly and I never had a problem, travelled the local busses too.(I was on my own there).

I was on the north coast, outside Puerta Plata (airport) in Sosua and Cabarete, both places great (lively) beaches, with shops, bars, music etc (but laid-back Caribbean style! ).

Why don't you google hotel Tropix in Sosua, the kind of local place that is great to stay in!

Enjoy it!