Saludos! I just returned from 8 more days of fun and sun. This is my 30 something'th visit to the DR within the past 15 years. As always I returned with great memories, some good photos, great music, and no malaria (so far).
I stayed for a few days at the (new?) Hotel Tropical Dream, formerly Hotel Barcelo Naiboa. I had stayed there before and noted that nothing had changed.
I like the Guayacanes area because you can spend time on typical beaches where the locals go. The hotel is located on Playa Caribe which has lots of local action. There are many waves which make it good for boogey boarding.
The next beach outside of the hotel heading east is Playa Guayacanes, then Play Vicini, then Playa Juan Dolio. Playa Vicini was the nicest and there is also a nice inexpensive hotel Playa Esmeralda at the end of it.
You can take public transportation with the vans for 10 to 20 pesos, or with taxis. I was a bit disappointed that the taxis were asking for very large amounts of money so I would recommend asking around before paying.
I traveled to San Pedro de Macoris to see how they celebrate carneval. It turned out to be more of a street fair kind of celebration with very few costumes. The best carnevals are in La Vega,Santiago, Bonao, Monte Cristi,and Santo Domingo. There was lots of food & music. I did not get to see the famous cocolos. I was told that they performed early in the day at the central park.
I stayed at the Howard Johnson Hotel Macorix. It offered great service and a great view of the carneval being located right on the malecon. I was able to cool off in their pool during the very hot afternoon.
The next day I went to Hotel Reina Cumayasa located about 15 minutes before La Romana. The hotel was gorgeous as was it's location-right where the Rio Cumayasa meets the Carribean Sea. It was verrrry relaxing and was the perfect way to end my vacation.
I have posted Resort Reviews for the Howard Johnsons and Reina Cumayasa as well as added some new images to my Media Gallery site under Paul Gerace Photos. http://dr1.com/media/cgi-bin/media.cgi?direct=Gerace
I stayed for a few days at the (new?) Hotel Tropical Dream, formerly Hotel Barcelo Naiboa. I had stayed there before and noted that nothing had changed.
I like the Guayacanes area because you can spend time on typical beaches where the locals go. The hotel is located on Playa Caribe which has lots of local action. There are many waves which make it good for boogey boarding.
The next beach outside of the hotel heading east is Playa Guayacanes, then Play Vicini, then Playa Juan Dolio. Playa Vicini was the nicest and there is also a nice inexpensive hotel Playa Esmeralda at the end of it.
You can take public transportation with the vans for 10 to 20 pesos, or with taxis. I was a bit disappointed that the taxis were asking for very large amounts of money so I would recommend asking around before paying.
I traveled to San Pedro de Macoris to see how they celebrate carneval. It turned out to be more of a street fair kind of celebration with very few costumes. The best carnevals are in La Vega,Santiago, Bonao, Monte Cristi,and Santo Domingo. There was lots of food & music. I did not get to see the famous cocolos. I was told that they performed early in the day at the central park.
I stayed at the Howard Johnson Hotel Macorix. It offered great service and a great view of the carneval being located right on the malecon. I was able to cool off in their pool during the very hot afternoon.
The next day I went to Hotel Reina Cumayasa located about 15 minutes before La Romana. The hotel was gorgeous as was it's location-right where the Rio Cumayasa meets the Carribean Sea. It was verrrry relaxing and was the perfect way to end my vacation.
I have posted Resort Reviews for the Howard Johnsons and Reina Cumayasa as well as added some new images to my Media Gallery site under Paul Gerace Photos. http://dr1.com/media/cgi-bin/media.cgi?direct=Gerace
