investors waiting for green light for 14 tourist projects in pedernales

Aug 6, 2006
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There are no scheduled air routes to Pedernales or Barahona. The nearest commercial airport seems to be SDQ. Pedernales is a good six hours from SDQ by bus.
The scenery past Barahona is great, but is is just a 2 lane road and not among the best.
I am hoping to visit there in a month or two.
 

Matilda

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Sep 13, 2006
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At first glace that looks like an area with serious long term development opportunity.

Has anyone on the board physically been their and know the area? How is the beach quality in the Bay? Does it get good sun? Are the surrounding areas mountainous? Is the complete bay currently undeveloped?

Just curious.

The south west is, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of the country. The mountains on one side the ocean the other. The drive from Barahona to Pedernales is said to be the best drive in the Caribbean. The beaches are rocky near Barahona, but Bahia de las Aguilas near Pedernales is one of the best beaches in the world.

matilda
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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The south west is, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of the country. The mountains on one side the ocean the other. The drive from Barahona to Pedernales is said to be the best drive in the Caribbean. The beaches are rocky near Barahona, but Bahia de las Aguilas near Pedernales is one of the best beaches in the world.

matilda
But it's DRY and HOT down there. I don't mean a little arid and warm. Dry as in D-R-Y and HOT as in melt-your-hide-off-your-bones.

There is a reason why that area hasn't developed much: the hostile weather.

We will not go to the SW after April or before November.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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Has anyone on the board physically been their and know the area? How is the beach quality in the Bay? Does it get good sun? Are the surrounding areas mountainous? Is the complete bay currently undeveloped?

miesposo has been to pedernales/barahona several times. he says it is very beautiful but many roads are barely passable and people are very poor. there are almost zero employment opportunities there and life is harsh.
there's also little development of any kind and not too many places to eat/stay.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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Isn't that a good target for tourism ?
Undeveloped, labor pool standing by, good scenery ?-

CB's weather and heat comment notwithstanding.

Ski resorts are uniseasonal.....used to be
It can be done.

I wish them luck

Following up on that
I remember being in Aspen, late season..
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band was playing that week
Temperature went to70F,,,, they closed in 2 days
This was in the early 70's,,,, Aspen had no life beyond the ski hill
Look at them now, Vail too

Everything is possible
 
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ju10prd

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The south west is, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of the country. The mountains on one side the ocean the other. The drive from Barahona to Pedernales is said to be the best drive in the Caribbean. The beaches are rocky near Barahona, but Bahia de las Aguilas near Pedernales is one of the best beaches in the world.

matilda

Agreed but perhaps with 'Warning not suitable for motorcycle tours in the summer'. But ideal for Casa Bonita and Rancho Platon and lesser establishment customers (but they are always full even in low season as was the case when I visited two weeks ago when the weather was 100 times more pleasant than Santo Domingo).

I think the variety astounds on the drive south to Pedernales. The turquoise sea extending out a hundred meters from the white pebble beaches in the main and cliffs with lush tropical mountains and valleys rising upwards from the coastline provides exceptional scenes. Even as you descend into Enriquillo you get more great vistas and then into the drier zone towards the border the landscape still captivates. But to get to the still undeveloped Bahia de Las Aquilas, it is a dirt road and the proposed infrastructure developments can only be positive along with the airport rehabilitation.

But most of all, it is still very Dominican and commercialization is still to arrive. For Dominicans this part of the world is a treasure and weekend trippers from all over the country visit.

If you are a traveler you will want to return and keep on exploring. I hope it never follows anything like the East Coast, and boutique hotels and spa resorts are favored along with small owner occupier hotels and even hostels serving a broad range of adventurous travelers seeking beach and much more. Some better quality small hotels in some places such as Pedernales (and La Descubierta) to accommodate expat travelers would probably work. Most visitors to Bahia de Las Aguilas have to make a 100km day trips from tourist standard hotels towards Barahona.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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i grilled miesposo a bit more on this. he's not been to the airport but he was on a road leading to it and says the area has a feeling of abandonment. road from SD to barahona is ok but further to pedernales is a struggle.

when i asked him about the chances of tourist development he was doubtful. he has worked in hotel/tourism business for few years and says it would be hard to keep people in the area as there is not much to do in terms of excursions.

i can see a certain model of tourism, less AI and more boutique and hermetic, with own amenities like golf course, horse riding ranch and so on but that would require massive investment and lots of infrastructure provided by the government.
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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Agreed but perhaps with 'Warning not suitable for motorcycle tours in the summer'. But ideal for Casa Bonita and Rancho Platon and lesser establishment customers (but they are always full even in low season as was the case when I visited two weeks ago when the weather was 100 times more pleasant than Santo Domingo).
Far more than just motorcycling (which is very cool, no matter the weather, when you're moving.) We also take many people in our 15-passenger van, and spend a LOT of time doing non-motorcycle things.

Casa Bonita is nice as are a couple other boutique establishments. But even Casa Bonita is a tiny establishment.

Broad tourism needs many thousands for tourism-designated areas to survive. And while the SW is "unique", as much as I wish otherwise there just isn't much to do there beyond some sightseeing and a nice drive to see the Caribbean Sea. The beaches are non-spectacular. Sorry, but rock beaches don't attract tourists; BdLA is awesome, but difficult to access. Lago Enriquillo is unique, but there isn't much there anymore since the floods have destroyed the coastline and National Parks. La Descubierta---one of our stops---has a nice oasis of sorts, but nothing else. There are the iguanas and Las Caritas, cute stops. Some grapes in Neiba. Sugar production. Windmills in Los Cocos, the lagoon close by. Pedernales is pretty much nothing, some larimar mines, unique topography...but nothing down there of real draw for the typical tourist.

My fear would be folks would go there once, see a lot of dry scrub and beastly hot weather and just not return. Even tourism needs return customers.

Yeah, it's great for the adventurous eco-tourists, no doubt, but those make up only a tiny sliver of the tourist universe.

I like the southwest. It's very different from what the "average" tourist expects from a Caribbean island: not tropical, arid and very dirt-poor people. The riding is interesting, especially getting off the main road and going to Bahia de Las Aguilas. Get off the pavement at the airport and ride 5 miles on washboard hardpacked gravel, fun stuff on a bike.

In 8 years, I have found that riders who come down for the SouthWest tour come back to the DR only 10% for a second tour, but those who do the North Coast tour first come back for the SW tour 75% of the time. That stat should speak volumes.

The airport would need significant upgrades to work, like 5000' more of runway. Cabo Rojo Airport only has 4950' of runway and no precision approaches.
 

beeza

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Nov 2, 2006
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There is a small airfield at Cabo Rojo which is in between Bahia las Aguilas and Pedernales. We went there with Frank and his crazy Norwegian friend. It is a very pretty and unspoiled part of the country.

The airfield is controlled by the air force and sometimes they answer the radio. Just make sure there are no cows on the runway before you land!

It's about an hour flight from POP to Cabo Rojo. I've heard that the drive is around nine hours!
 

beeza

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Nov 2, 2006
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The airport would need significant upgrades to work, like 5000' more of runway. Cabo Rojo Airport only has 4950' of runway and no precision approaches.

Precision approaches are for sissys! Do a really loose right hand pattern. Fly over Bahia Las Aguilas go out to sea, turn right and line up on RWY 12. The view is breathtaking.
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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Precision approaches are for sissys! Do a really loose right hand pattern. Fly over Bahia Las Aguilas go out to sea, turn right and line up on RWY 12. The view is breathtaking.
I can imagine. But as you know airlines won't fly into airports without one, even in a desert.
 
Aug 6, 2006
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There are lots of places to eat or stay in Barahona, but not generally of the sort that wealthy foreign tourists would enjoy.
Further toward Pedernales there are some decent small hotels in Los Patos. Small as in 20 rooms or fewer.
I can't comment on Las Aguilas, never having been there.

The Barahona Airport could handle commercial flights, but there are none because there are not sufficient people who wish to travel to and from Barahona.

There are a lot of unemployed people in the area, but they tend to be rather illiterate. Public education may be improving, but it is inadequate.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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The beaches are non-spectacular. Sorry, but rock beaches don't attract tourists

yep. miesposo's first words were: tourists want white sand beaches.

personally, i find pebble beaches rather interesting. i've only seen one, in brighton and it was both novelty and something unforgettable. also a proof that stone beaches can attract some tourists.
 

beeza

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Nov 2, 2006
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yep. miesposo's first words were: tourists want white sand beaches.

personally, i find pebble beaches rather interesting. i've only seen one, in brighton and it was both novelty and something unforgettable. also a proof that stone beaches can attract some tourists.

Brighton, my home town! One of the appeals of a pebbly beach was that you didn't get sand everywhere such as in your car or when you arrived home. Other than that, not really much of a beach experience. Although there are still nutters who like to go for a swim on Christmas day!

But Brighton seafront is lovely. Great for people watching.
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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yep. miesposo's first words were: tourists want white sand beaches.

personally, i find pebble beaches rather interesting. i've only seen one, in brighton and it was both novelty and something unforgettable. also a proof that stone beaches can attract some tourists.
A problem with pebble beaches in the DR is they are not compatible with glass (beer) bottles like sand is.

The numerous times we've been to Los Patos & Paraiso (which is NOT Paraiso) is broken glass is everywhere, wedged between the pebbles. I've witnessed, every visit to the beach, someone getting their foot cut by glass---thankfully not one of our guests.

On the positive side, I give great kudos & props for the city fathers who were responsible for the great improvements to Los Patos over the years.

Oh, and I DO enjoy the sound created by the wave-on-pebble action...