R
Richard
Guest
Just got back form Puerto Plata from Apr 8-15 and thought you might be interested on a Canadian's take on things there. Very friendly. It is never just "hola" it is always "hola amigo". We stayed in Playa Dorada area, Playa Naco Golf & Tennis resort. Wonderful place, amenities top notch, best beach in Playa Dorada. The whole area is great though. All inclusive package was good, but you get your money's worth in rum and food not in watersports. Wished someone told me that the watersports are only available for certain times during the day. Snorkelling 1 hour, windsurfing 1 hour, banana boat 2 hours, waterskiing 1 hour, get the idea. And most start at 9am, so don't slep in. Rum runners was great, do it. Sail the cats, nice fish, slow boat, not worth $65 US, neither was the tour of Puerto Plata, go and take a cab and do it yourself. On the Rum runners we took stuff for school children. Packed a bag of baseballs, gloves shoes, hats, crayons and paper, pencils, yo-yo's, and $25 in stuff from a dollar store. They were so happy to get a pencil. Something we take for granted and they loved it. Passed them out to schools we passed on trip. Gave some to our bartenders and maids, they loved it too. Toothpaste is 6 bucks a tube, they wanted that more thna a tip, even our one we used there, so we left it. Call up a baseball team in your area, tell em you are going and what you want to do and then ask if they have some old ratty baseballs from batting practise and they will give you a bunch, also call up a used sporting goods outlet and ask tell them the same and ask if they have any old beat up kids gloves they can't sell, they'll give you some too. Just ask. Careful with your bags at the airport if you haven't heard, more so when you go home. They want to carry your bags for you and then you got to pay them. Also if you have any extra pesos left over, you can't change them back to dollars so take them to the airport and give them pesos in exchange for the money they collected in tips, usually loonies or twonies for canadians. They will give you a good rate because they can't do a damn thing with silver, they need bills. If you have any more questions or advice, email me stroobant@hotmail.com