- Thread starter Robert
- Start date
The ultimate DR guide book!
There Is ONE Good One
Moon Publications' Dominican Republic handbook is awfully complete and was last published September 2001. ( www.moon.com). Of course the peso rates and some prices will make no sense but you'd have to publish weekly to do that. I have found their guides to be head ans shoulders above others, mostly due to the fact that one author tends to spend a lot of time in country to write them.
Robert said:
Moon Publications' Dominican Republic handbook is awfully complete and was last published September 2001. ( www.moon.com). Of course the peso rates and some prices will make no sense but you'd have to publish weekly to do that. I have found their guides to be head ans shoulders above others, mostly due to the fact that one author tends to spend a lot of time in country to write them.
A highly practical guide
I find "The Rough Guide" The Dominican Republic", 2nd edition,published in Nov/2002 to be highly useful. Because it's only updated every other year, you can count on many pricing data to be out of date. However, it's packed with many practical info on lodging, nightlife and restaurants. As a rule, I always call ahead to make sure an establishment still exists before patronizing. These days you never know which place has gone belly up !
For more details:
http://www.roughguides.com/store/details.html?ProductID=135
The strength of this book lies in the budget lodging options, many of which do not have an Internet presence and thus cannot be found online.
I find "The Rough Guide" The Dominican Republic", 2nd edition,published in Nov/2002 to be highly useful. Because it's only updated every other year, you can count on many pricing data to be out of date. However, it's packed with many practical info on lodging, nightlife and restaurants. As a rule, I always call ahead to make sure an establishment still exists before patronizing. These days you never know which place has gone belly up !
For more details:
http://www.roughguides.com/store/details.html?ProductID=135
The strength of this book lies in the budget lodging options, many of which do not have an Internet presence and thus cannot be found online.
I liked The Rough Guide published in 2000 by Sean Harvey. It was/is excellent. Of course none will be perfect because of changing circumstances and no one guide, because of differing tastes and interests, could satisfy everyone. At the same time discovering things on your own can be entertaining as well.
Robert said:
I like the Compaq ipaq. From the docking station you can download most anything including webpages, databases, pics, xcel etc. Within wireless areas you can surf on the go (not an easy chore because of the screen size and L to R scrolling). Manual input for other than notes is tedious at best. You can include a GPS, extra battery power and more memory to suit most needs. Just think of a miniature laptop.
Rob, give me a call (not IM, my hands hurt), and I'll give you some pointers about how to do this.
I would like a softcover guide book with note pages after each section. JanH and I have taken a copious amount of notes when in the DR, but we can't ever find them when we need them.
Like the idea of purchasing the book and then getting online upgrades!
Glow :beard:
Like the idea of purchasing the book and then getting online upgrades!
Glow :beard:
Maps!
A good map of all the resort areas is a must. It is so hard to look at a map of Punta Cana and determine how long it takes to get places. I know of so many people who go to the Riu hotels in POP and are surprised they are so far out. Walking/driving distances between key points. Where are the markets and how far is El Cortecito or Sosua from my hotel? I have hunted for the guide books and find many of them are lacking in detail for the typical leisure AI traveller. Small and paperback so it fits easily in my carry on.
A good map of all the resort areas is a must. It is so hard to look at a map of Punta Cana and determine how long it takes to get places. I know of so many people who go to the Riu hotels in POP and are surprised they are so far out. Walking/driving distances between key points. Where are the markets and how far is El Cortecito or Sosua from my hotel? I have hunted for the guide books and find many of them are lacking in detail for the typical leisure AI traveller. Small and paperback so it fits easily in my carry on.
rough guide style
Rob I dont know how well this would go but a hippies guide to the DR would be cool. Basically a guide to go from any airport to any part of the country with out going the tourist route. Riding the Publico and the small busses.
Information about the Japaneses comunity in the mountains. The history of the american freed slaves that settled on the north coast and so on.
John
Rob I dont know how well this would go but a hippies guide to the DR would be cool. Basically a guide to go from any airport to any part of the country with out going the tourist route. Riding the Publico and the small busses.
Information about the Japaneses comunity in the mountains. The history of the american freed slaves that settled on the north coast and so on.
John
I think the idea of periodical updates is fantastic, as well as having it in a soft cover and small enough to fit in a overnight bag is important. The cover should be laminated though so someone laying on the beach reading it, doesn't get it ruined by water or spilt Presidentes! The idea of having a few sections pertaining to what the interest of the person is might cut down on the amount of information you could actually put in the book - unless it is a volume the size of War and Peace! If you kept it to two general types of vacations it might be a simpler read. Each section could be visible by tabs so you can just go to the section you want without flipping through the whole book, making it less overwhelming for some?
Would it be possible to do a seperate section for AI style vacations with the usual topics as well as things they do not usually get told- never change money at the hotel, never get a taxi at the hotel etc...
Then do a section for the non-AI style vacations- a guide to the local haunts, etc.
Then a section for Eco-tourism?
Then a section listing all known hookers and sankies and how to stay away from them, their usual catch phrases etc. HA HA - just joking Robert. You would need a whole seperate book on that one.
Maybe a peso guide with listing all currencies, how to convert and suggesting to check DR1's website occasionally to determine the rate of exchange closer to their travel dates.
I think the "Living in the DR for Dummies" style would be a good choice for a second book.
Of course, it would be ideal to have different books for each section of the island, but is that feasible?
I had other thoughts, but my daughter is having her birthday party right now and I am getting distracted, I will put my old travel agent brain in action and maybe post them later.
Marlie
Would it be possible to do a seperate section for AI style vacations with the usual topics as well as things they do not usually get told- never change money at the hotel, never get a taxi at the hotel etc...
Then do a section for the non-AI style vacations- a guide to the local haunts, etc.
Then a section for Eco-tourism?
Then a section listing all known hookers and sankies and how to stay away from them, their usual catch phrases etc. HA HA - just joking Robert. You would need a whole seperate book on that one.
Maybe a peso guide with listing all currencies, how to convert and suggesting to check DR1's website occasionally to determine the rate of exchange closer to their travel dates.
I think the "Living in the DR for Dummies" style would be a good choice for a second book.
Of course, it would be ideal to have different books for each section of the island, but is that feasible?
I had other thoughts, but my daughter is having her birthday party right now and I am getting distracted, I will put my old travel agent brain in action and maybe post them later.
Marlie
Maps are a great idea if they are done properly. There should be a general map of the island with miles/kms listed from and to various points. Then there should be city maps with street names and points of interests listed (possibly using a number system and a legend). Some things like codetal or other phone companies, hospitals, pharmacies, things tourists may need during their stay as well as the local tourist traps.
Pics are nice as long as they are not the same generic ones that they see in every tour operators brochure.
Of course, if you go with the downloadable/printable format, pics are not really necessary I would think.
If you were to go with that format, would it be possible to have each location (North Coast, Punta Cana etc) as a seperate book. That would allow you to go into greater detail as you would have more room instead of trying to fit all areas into one book, and possibly be too general in the info, because of the size concern?
As for price, if this guide book is going to be unique in nature and not be repeating what has already been stated in most travel guides and brochures, I think $19.95 US is a fair price.
Also, would it be possible to have a translation section, not only for the common phrases but for ones that do pop up periodically such as- "may I have an ashtray", phrases that will help people negotiate with taxi drivers, directions to certain places, etc.
Anyway, just a few thoughts.
Marlie
Pics are nice as long as they are not the same generic ones that they see in every tour operators brochure.
Of course, if you go with the downloadable/printable format, pics are not really necessary I would think.
If you were to go with that format, would it be possible to have each location (North Coast, Punta Cana etc) as a seperate book. That would allow you to go into greater detail as you would have more room instead of trying to fit all areas into one book, and possibly be too general in the info, because of the size concern?
As for price, if this guide book is going to be unique in nature and not be repeating what has already been stated in most travel guides and brochures, I think $19.95 US is a fair price.
Also, would it be possible to have a translation section, not only for the common phrases but for ones that do pop up periodically such as- "may I have an ashtray", phrases that will help people negotiate with taxi drivers, directions to certain places, etc.
Anyway, just a few thoughts.
Marlie
What I would consider a good guide book is one that is balanced and as up to date as possible. A book that doesn't lean to much to the negatives or positives, but is mostly neutral about the businesses, locations, and stuff it lists. Also, guide books have to be well rounded with the pictures to give the traveler an idea of the place they are going to be visit. For example, many guide books when they have a few pictures of the city of Santo Domingo, they only show Avenida Duarte and some Colonial Zone strip. That only gives people a sort of negative view in my opinion because the person would take a book like rough guide, read about how unappealing and unideal the city is according to the author, then see the pics of the "modern" town along Avenida Duarte and then the "old" town possibly Calle El Conde. The tourist would get the impression that any beauty in the City only exist in the colonial zone. Now, I know the Colonial Zone has that historic type of beauty, but I find the Malecon beautiful, and Avenida Winston Churchill, heck I even find Avenida 27 de Febrero beautiful and impressive and yet, no guide ever puts a picture of those places. I wonder how many tourist with some serious money are probably put off by the unbalance view the guides give. So yeah, a well balance book is a must. Even though I say a balance view is a must, the books should bend a little to the positive side. After all, aren't these books trying to attract more tourist to help these economies??
Now that you know what I like in a guide here are my favorites:
Moon Handbook Dominican Republic - awesome coverage in culture, cuisine, history, geology, literature, etc. Plus, the writer is very fair and balance with a slight positive pinta that makes the reader want to get up and hop on a plane bound for the Best Place on Earth, the DR.
Footprint Handbook Dominican Republic - again, excellent book that motivates people to visit the place.
I am not fully satistified with Rough Guide due to a heavy interest on Vodu (which makes the reader think that every dominican practice Vodu - we all know many dominicans practice "brujeria" but not Vodu), and the book has some inaccurate statistics like claiming a 90% poverty rate (which is false) and over exaggerating on the Crime aspect of things. I must say, their layout is excellent, if only some of the most important content in the book could be more accurate.
Now that you know what I like in a guide here are my favorites:
Moon Handbook Dominican Republic - awesome coverage in culture, cuisine, history, geology, literature, etc. Plus, the writer is very fair and balance with a slight positive pinta that makes the reader want to get up and hop on a plane bound for the Best Place on Earth, the DR.
Footprint Handbook Dominican Republic - again, excellent book that motivates people to visit the place.
I am not fully satistified with Rough Guide due to a heavy interest on Vodu (which makes the reader think that every dominican practice Vodu - we all know many dominicans practice "brujeria" but not Vodu), and the book has some inaccurate statistics like claiming a 90% poverty rate (which is false) and over exaggerating on the Crime aspect of things. I must say, their layout is excellent, if only some of the most important content in the book could be more accurate.
The good times thread
There was a thread a few months ago about the day in the life of the DR that had stories of people finding little cafes and bars up in the little hole in the walls.
To start a party all that is needed is a grande Elpresidente and a few small plastic cups an upside down five gallon bucket.
To me that is part of the charm of the DR. No matter what happens there are friends to be made food to be eaten and all else fails there is beer. If the guide could have the spirit of that thread.
John
There was a thread a few months ago about the day in the life of the DR that had stories of people finding little cafes and bars up in the little hole in the walls.
To start a party all that is needed is a grande Elpresidente and a few small plastic cups an upside down five gallon bucket.
To me that is part of the charm of the DR. No matter what happens there are friends to be made food to be eaten and all else fails there is beer. If the guide could have the spirit of that thread.
John
Look at the forums and note:
- which topics are most viewed
- which are most responded to
If you can make a report to exclude users with more than 10 posts at their time of posting/clicking, this data alone will pretty much write your book for you.
- which topics are most viewed
- which are most responded to
If you can make a report to exclude users with more than 10 posts at their time of posting/clicking, this data alone will pretty much write your book for you.
Dupuch Publications publishes a book called "The Bahamas Handbook," which is a quite successful yearly book with all kinds of information, stats, and pictures for travelers and investors. Its grown to about 200 pages thick over the years. They have a web site but I don't know what it is at the moment. It might be good tool for ideas if you do go ahead.