Seaweed is back

[Eugene_A]

It has, to my knowledge never landed in quantity on Cabarete beach. But I have only been here since 2003. Punta Cana seems to have a persistent problem.

How bad is the problem right now in Punta Cana?

There's a webcam at Grand Palladium Resort in Punta Cana showing the beach, you can see it here https://www.palladiumhotelgroup.com/en/webcams (Click Punta Cana then PLAYA PALLADIUM TRAVEL CLUB)

I always check it before booking something in Punta Cana.

 

[DR Solar]

Actually talking to people in other counties about collecting and turning into products.

Ya can bitch about your problems, or you can solve them.

 

[windeguy]

Actually talking to people in other counties about collecting and turning into products.

Ya can bitch about your problems, or you can solve them.

There is nothing I can nor will do to solve seaweed problems on any beach anywhere in the world.

I just want to know how bad it is in Punta Cana at the moment.

Not every problem has a solution. And many don't have solutions that I care about at all. But I will still bitch about them if I want to.

 

[chico bill]

Actually talking to people in other counties about collecting and turning into products.

Ya can bitch about your problems, or you can solve them.

Tourists don't solve problems they come for a beach like is advertised by DR tourism.
So yeah they have every right to bitch when it smells like rotting organisms and the waves are impossible to swim in.
But I am sure that positive get er done attitude will work for someone if there is a peso to be made.

 

[melphis]

It has, to my knowledge never landed in quantity on Cabarete beach. But I have only been here since 2003. Punta Cana seems to have a persistent problem.

How bad is the problem right now in Punta Cana?

I can't say for Bavaro or PC but in Uvero Alto area I have never seen it this bad. Up till 5 years ago I had never seen or heard of Sergasium seaweed. Last week when we left the, Excellence El Carmen had 2 loaders and about 20 men trying to clean it up. The seaweed was winning. In front of our place we had 1 guy in a backhoe and he was doing a great job. But a much smaller beach.

Breathless was doing a great job but most hotels just couldn't keep up. They certainly have my sympathy as we are finally getting tourists back and now this. I just hope they can keep there reviews honest as this is an act of nature and not the Dr's fault.

 

[USA DOC]

clearly its caused by global warming.....do you think it will get better or worse?

 

[windeguy]

I am guessing it will get worse over time. The problem seems to have shown up first in 2011.

Sargassum: The seaweed deluge hitting Caribbean shores

Sargassum, a type of seaweed, is creating problems as it washes up across the Caribbean.

www.bbc.com

Dominican Republic can eliminate sargassum and have an advantage over other competitors

<p>The Dominican Republic can apply solutions to reduce the impact of sargassum in the tourism sector, which would create an advantage over other Caribbean countries in attracting tourists after the opening with the COVID-19 pandemic. The available solutions allow the harvested sargassum to be...

dominicantoday.com

That stinks! Excessive seaweed litters Florida beaches

Seaweed on the beach is nothing new, but this is a lot.

www.clickorlando.com

Cancun seaweed update and conditions 2021 season

The monitoring data shows that 11 beaches in Cancun are green, that is to say, they have very little seaweed. One is yellow, one is orange, with abundant sargassum, and none is in excess, in red.

www.mexicanist.com

A Caribbean/South Atlantic problem, it is. Not much if any on the north coast of the DR, so the DR could advertise that.

 

[Eugene_A]

A Caribbean/South Atlantic problem, it is. Not much if any on the north coast of the DR, so the DR could advertise that.

Advertise what, two very small all-inclusive resorts in Las Terrenas? Another two in Samana? How many AIs in Puerto Plata/Sosua/Cabarete area, with how many rooms in total?

I agree that the seaweed problem will only get worse and worse over time. So maybe in a few years it will become that bad that tourists stop coming to Punta Cana at all. But actually it will be good for DR, if tourism dies, the Government finally may notice that many other things in this country needs their attention.

 

[windeguy]

Advertise what, two very small all-inclusive resorts in Las Terrenas? Another two in Samana? How many AIs in Puerto Plata/Sosua/Cabarete area, with how many rooms in total?

I agree that the seaweed problem will only get worse and worse over time. So maybe in a few years it will become that bad that tourists stop coming to Punta Cana at all. But actually it will be good for DR, if tourism dies, the Government finally may notice that many other things in this country needs their attention.

Certainly tourists could fill what is available in Playa Dorada, Sosua and Cabarete, no? Yes I realize that number of rooms is a drop in the bucket to what is in Punta Cana and is point I make all the time about why the north coast is not even on Santo Domingo's radar except with regards to the negative press one local town beginning with S sometimes generates.

As for the death of tourism being a good thing, I suspect you might be the only person with that opinion.

 

[Eugene_A]

As for the death of tourism being a good thing, I suspect you might be the only person with that opinion.

As long as the Government have clean beaches and the flow of tourists, they take it for granted and they don't want to develop the country, they just want to count tourist's money and spend them. Imagine if someday there will be more seaweed than sand on all Punta Cana beaches, so tourism will die, nobody will come to Punta Cana if it's not possible to swim in the ocean and if the beach smells like rotten eggs. For sure that will be a catastrophe for Punta Cana and all investments there, but it also might be a kick in the ass for DR Government to finally start doing something for the whole country, clean it up, start to enforce rules and laws, etc.

Look at islands like Dominica, they almost don't have any beaches but they still have a lot of eco-tourism, birdwatchers tours, etc... So I believe that if beach tourism dies in a few years because of seaweeds, it will be a sign for DR Government to finally start cleaning up everything and start making it a normal country, safe and pleasant to travel, where people may visit many interesting places without high risk of being robbed or die in a car accident and without seeing mountains of garbage everywhere.

 

[chico bill]

As long as the Government have clean beaches and the flow of tourists, they take it for granted and they don't want to develop the country, they just need to count tourist's money and spend them. Imagine if someday there will be more seaweed than sand on all Punta Cana beaches, so tourism will die, nobody will come to Punta Cana if it's not possible to swim in the ocean and if the beach smells like rotten eggs. For sure that will be a catastrophe for Punta Cana and all investments there, but it also might be a kick in the ass for DR Government to finally start doing something for the whole country, clean it up, start to enforce rules and laws, etc.

Look at islands like Dominica, they almost don't have any beaches but they still have a lot of eco-tourism, birdwatchers tours, etc... So I believe that if beach tourism dies in a few years because of seaweeds, it will be a sign for DR Government to finally clean up everything and start making it a normal country, safe and pleasant to travel, where people may visit many interesting places without high risk of being robbed or die in a car accident and without seeing mountains of garbage everywhere.

Cleaning the rivers would be a great start.
But that day you describe about seaweed on Punta Cana beaches is here.
I would not recommend friends go there now.

 

[Eugene_A]

But that day you describe about seaweed on Punta Cana beaches is here.
I would not recommend friends go there now.

It's still like some months it's good and some months seaweeds are there, I believe this year is not the worst one, it was much worse in May 2018, as I remember. But yes, it's progressing, sooner or later there will be maybe one month a year without seaweeds. So once Expedia, Trip Advisor, etc will be full of photos of seaweed covered beaches and negative reviews, that's it, tourism will die for Punta Cana.

 

[windeguy]

As long as the Government have clean beaches and the flow of tourists, they take it for granted and they don't want to develop the country, they just want to count tourist's money and spend them. Imagine if someday there will be more seaweed than sand on all Punta Cana beaches, so tourism will die, nobody will come to Punta Cana if it's not possible to swim in the ocean and if the beach smells like rotten eggs. For sure that will be a catastrophe for Punta Cana and all investments there, but it also might be a kick in the ass for DR Government to finally start doing something for the whole country, clean it up, start to enforce rules and laws, etc.

Look at islands like Dominica, they almost don't have any beaches but they still have a lot of eco-tourism, birdwatchers tours, etc... So I believe that if beach tourism dies in a few years because of seaweeds, it will be a sign for DR Government to finally start cleaning up everything and start making it a normal country, safe and pleasant to travel, where people may visit many interesting places without high risk of being robbed or die in a car accident and without seeing mountains of garbage everywhere.

I moved here before Punta Cana was a thing. If what you propose were true, why wasn't the DR already the paradise you prescribe its potential to be when poorer?

Less revenue would cause that change?

 

[Gadfly]

I was told today by a Dominican that puerto plata was the #1 tourist destination here before punta cana. Then things changed.
However, puerto plata (Cofresí) does have an AI called lifestyle holiday vacation club that is very big & very popular. And there’s AI’s in playa dorado, Sosua/cabarete.

 

[Eugene_A]

I moved here before Punta Cana was a thing. If what you propose were true, why wasn't the DR already the paradise you prescribe its potential to be when poorer?

Less revenue would cause that change?

My point is: look at Caribbean islands like Antigua, Barbados, Dominica... even if they lose their beaches due to seaweed invasion, they are still nice countries to travel around... For example, during my stay in Antigua I spent maybe a couple of hours on the beach, but I spent a few days driving on a rental car all around the island, visiting everything. Never saw any garbage around, everything was really clean, as it should be.

If DR will lose their beaches because of the seaweed invasion, there's nothing else to see there. The whole country is a big garbage dump. Who wants to drive to so-called national parks or any eco–tourism places in DR, if you have a risk that some neanderthals will throw big rocks to your windshield on the highway, because if you crash, they can steal your wallet and your shoes? Who wants to see mountains of garbage here and there on both sides on any highway? Who want to see tons of floating garbage in the rivers?

So if seaweed will ruin DR beaches, that's it. There's nothing else for tourists here. I think that Government has to think about it before it's too late. The whole country can be cleaned, everything can be repaired, rules and laws enforced, it there will be any political will to do that. Unfortunately, in DR they need another Trujillo for that.

 

[windeguy]

Eugene_A , I really don't get your point at all. If Punta Cana vanished in a puff of seaweed smoke, the rest of the DR would just carry on as it is without major changes.

 

[william webster]

Before Christmas - I stayed at the Marriot in PC

They had a big tractor that pulled a rake that passed every morning just after dawn
Beach was clean as a whistle

 

[NicBzio]

I stayed five nights at Wyndham, Bayahibe and two nights on Saona Island in March and hardly any seaweed either place.

 

[AlterEgo]

I was told today by a Dominican that puerto plata was the #1 tourist destination here before punta cana. Then things changed.
However, puerto plata (Cofresí) does have an AI called lifestyle holiday vacation club that is very big & very popular. And there’s AI’s in playa dorado, Sosua/cabarete.

Back in my early days in DR, there was only Santo Domingo. We took a drive to Puerto Plata in 1978 and couldn’t find a hotel anywhere. Sosua beach was absolutely empty, we were the only people on it as far as the eye could see. A few years later, building began. Jack Tar was either the first or one of the first, a close friend was doing the casinos for all the new POP hotels (rugs to roulette tables). The 80s were their heyday.
In 2000, some of my son’s buddies from Italy were coming to Punta Cana, so we met them there and spent a week. Hotel was owned by Italians, no one spoke Spanish or English except some employees. It was isolated and boring, whole area rather desolate. Lots of forests and trees. I thought PC would never ever be popular 🤣

 

[chico bill]

B

My point is: look at Caribbean islands like Antigua, Barbados, Dominica... even if they lose their beaches due to seaweed invasion, they are still nice countries to travel around... For example, during my stay in Antigua I spent maybe a couple of hours on the beach, but I spent a few days driving on a rental car all around the island, visiting everything. Never saw any garbage around, everything was really clean, as it should be.

If DR will lose their beaches because of the seaweed invasion, there's nothing else to see there. The whole country is a big garbage dump. Who wants to drive to so-called national parks or any eco–tourism places in DR, if you have a risk that some neanderthals will throw big rocks to your windshield on the highway, because if you crash, they can steal your wallet and your shoes? Who wants to see mountains of garbage here and there on both sides on any highway? Who want to see tons of floating garbage in the rivers?

So if seaweed will ruin DR beaches, that's it. There's nothing else for tourists here. I think that Government has to think about it before it's too late. The whole country can be cleaned, everything can be repaired, rules and laws enforced, it there will be any political will to do that. Unfortunately, in DR they need another Trujillo for that.

Barbados - I spent a month there one week. I have never been as bored except for 4 days I wasted on Cyprus.
You can see all of Barbados in one day