Dominican Republic

[HAWG4LIFE]

My husband and I are trying to find an island in the Caribbean and we stumbled across the Dominican Republic. Has anyone been there? I had looked at St. Barts and it is way expensive. We want "the" Caribbean vacation. Thanks for the info!

[SA Hog Fan]

The DR is great.  I was in Punta Cana about 9 months ago.  It is absolutely beautiful.  Beaches are great.  Best golf in the carribean.  It is not like Cancun or some of the carribean islands in that no one outside of the concierge at the hotel will speak much english.  If you know a little spanish it is a definate plus.  Almost no one is from the US.  Food was only average at best.  I have known several other people who have gone to different resorts and said the same thing.  Outside of the resort was a little sketchy as the country is extremely poor, but always felt very safe in our resort.  Bottom line, if you are looking for a place to go and relax on the beach in the comfort of a mega resort, I can not think of a place I would rather be.  If you are looking for somewhere you can go on a lot of excursions or the culinary fare is of upmost importance, I would look elsewhere.

[Mo_Better_Hogs]

Puerto Rico? Had a friend that went there several years ago and said it's kinda under the radar. Not what you think of as far as Caribbean Island resorts, but lots of cool stuff. Plus, I think there are some old Spanish fortress/ruins here and there. And nice hotels and beaches. I would imagine there would be plenty of English speakers there.

[Tejano Jawg]

Do you know about Cozumel...the island off the Yucatan coast (across from Playa del Carmen and Cancun). Cozumel has some nice, smaller hotels...nothing like the Las Vegas-sized hotels of Cancun. Cozumel is more laid-back, but people are very nice...it's a small island so tourism is THE thing. It's easy to get around, either by taxi or rent-a-car.

I've been there 3 times. Last August my wife and kids went there. The place we had stayed before (The Presidente) was closed for renovation...remember the hurricanes a couple yrs ago? Very nice hotel, right on the beach...the water there is beautiful. I would highly recommend this hotel...it may be the nicest on the island. Diving is great there too.

Mexico might not be as exotic as another country (D.R.) but it's a great place to eat, drink, chill out and see some great water.

[Hoggam's Razor]

My wife and I have been to DR twice and both of us love it.  The people there are incredible.  Some of the areas are "third world" bad, but that does seem to add to the allure of the place.  We have been all over the island and each area has it's goods and bads.

We rented in a villa on Cofresi Beach in Puerta Plata last year for less than a good hotel room in the states.  The villa was two stories, had 6 or 7 bedrooms w/ full baths and several living areas, a full size private pool AND personal staff!!!  The beach was a minute or 2 walk from the back gate.  Several good places to eat on the beach and the beach was fantastic.

If you want privacy and comfort at bargain prices this is the place to be.