Re: Every day is a great day in the paradise of Boca Chica
I guess that's proof not to believe everything you read. Take it from me. I've been to the DR 5-10 days every month for over 5 years now, and more than 50 trips to Boca Chica. I have traveled throughout the Caribbean and much of the world, almost all for pleasure, so I have a pretty good frame of reference.
To say "at weekends the town is invaded by citizens of Santo Domingo ... don't visit at the weekend" is ridiculous. Any day is a good time to visit. Yes, the beach is crowded on Sundays and that certainly is no reason to not visit unless you don't want to be near Dominicans. Days in Boca Chica are quiet compared to the Nassau Bahamas or Cancun. After all, this is basically a small town and the main strip is just a few blocks long.
"Tourist development as been intensive". Yeah, all good. There hasn't been a new major hotel built in 10 years. There are still only 3, one at each end and one in the middle. The major developments have been putting in paved roads, good electricity and water service, uniformed police presence, routine trash collection, daily beach and street cleaning, new taxis, lighted streets, and all the things that make for a more pleasant experience. This is positive. Bravo for the tourism authority on this one.
Hawkers, disreputables, and prostitutes? Get real. There are very limited numbers of beach vendors, licensed, and with properly displayed identification cards, just like or better than most Caribbean beaches that have high tourism. And they are far less aggressive than most other countries. The rest is propaganda bull.
There are far more "disreputables" here at home and at other Caribbean destinations such as Jamaica, Bahamas, Cancun, etc. Granted, is it not a deserted beach by any means except before 9am when it really is deserted. But one can easily find room to throw a frisbee around any day of the week, any time of the day. There is LOTS of open space. I've never had trouble water skiing end-to-end on any day, getting immediate drink and meal service, or finding a roomy spot to kick back.
Prostitutes? There are some, pretty much limited to a few of the late night bars. The Dominican media and tourism authorities love to label young unescorted Dominican women in a tourist town a prostitute. I've seen the media taking photos and shooting video of local girls dancing in short skirts, in a disco, with news titles proclaiming them as prostitutes, when in reality, they work at the bar and are paid to dance, or, they are just girls dancing for fun. Imagine that.
The interaction with the locals is part of the charm of Boca Chica.
The water is beautiful. One can wade out 100 yards from shore into glass calm waters and still be waist deep and with nothing but soft clean sand underfoot.
One can find just about everything in Boca Chica, making it one of the most complete of the ungated beach towns in the country. There are hotels and dining for every budget, a great beach, great night life, good proximity to the airport and capital, yet still small enough to build relationships.
I bring home lots of pictures of Boca Chica Beach, and people always just say "Wow, that looks like a real nice place. Where is it?" When I say the Dominican Republic, they are surprised and want to know more. I wish I could keep a secret.
Boca Chica just opened their first internationally recognized fast-food joint a couple months ago. They now have a Burger King, built into the gas station about 6 blocks away from the beach along the main highway. I tried it. It was clean and modern and the food was as expected. In fact, it was a better facility than most of the Burger Kings here in the USA! I treated a group of friends who had never eaten at a Burger King. I personally don't frequent fast-food joints even at home and they laughed when I warned them all they'd get fat like so many tourists.
Unless you are looking for a secluded, sterile, gated, all-inclusive resort with no interaction with the locals, Boca Chica is fun fun fun. Ride a horse, go snorkeling, ride a banana boat, take an excursion to a nearby island, take out a sailboat, paddle-boat, kayak, windsurfer, go scuba diving, walk out to the reef, go fishing, do some drinking, dance Merengue, see a show, eat all kinds of local and international foods, rent a jet ski, do some water skiing, gamble in the casino, travel an hour and see everything that Santo Domingo has to offer including great shopping and a myriad of cultural and historical sites, visit a disco, sip espresso while people watching at a sidewalk cafe, dine on fresh seafood in a romantic candlelit setting on a deck over the water, meet people and make friends, rent a motorcycle and hit the dirt trails, go swimming, soak in the sun, drink from a pineapple or coconut, buy a new swimsuit, get your shoes shined by an enthusiastic child and buy him a coke, take a tour of the countryside, drink the local beer, rent a bicycle, play some golf, bargain for a good price on a T-shirt, smoke a local cigar, get a massage on the beach or get your hair braided, buy some of the local music to take home, buy some fresh mangos at the local fruit market or right on the beach get a whole plate of various local fresh fruits cut up right in front of you made ready to eat, remember how little you paid for this trip, forget how soon you are leaving. Boca Chica is one great place.
Is Boca Chica for everybody? No. Some people don't want this kind of vacation. For them, the Dominican Republic has other towns with very different personalities, some more secluded, some more segregated from the locals, some with whiter sand, some with rougher water, some with more vegetation, more elegance, whatever.
Jim Hinsch JimHinsch@CSI.COM
