Fun Fun Fun (Dominican Republic in general)

Member Name: MrsE

Product:	Dominican Republic in general
Date:	05/11/09 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Resort was nice, weather great, people friendly

Disadvantages: None

I have been to Dominican Republic twice now and both times have stayed in the North of the Island at a place called Puerto Plata. The first time we went we travelled with First Choice and decided that as our holiday was a success the first time we would go with them again a few years later.

We visited Puerto Plata in May 2009 and we stayed in a resort called Gran Ventana. The Hotel was lovely with great accommodation, good food and the staff were wonderful. Not only was the resort wonderful so were the Dominican people. This Carribean island is a third world country and it is made all the more real when you leave your resort and travel outside on a trip. The majority of the people are poor and there are many people living in shacks.

We did a number of wonderful trips whilst over there and one of them included a Jeep Safari which shows you some of the island and the way in which the people live. As there was a group of us we decided to use a smaller open backed jeep which held 8 of us I think. The guide will take you to some plantation fields and you get to try the local coffee (brewed in somebodys house). When you are driving through the streets and dirt track it is commonplace for the children to run after the jeeps and shout for sweets. We were prepared the second time and went and brought sweets as well as pens and pencils. It is heartbreaking to see in one respect but makes you feel verygrateful for what you have.

One of the other trips we did was a visit to Paradise Island. For anybody going to DR I would highly reccomend this but if you have young children be warned that this is a VERY long day trip. It takes roughly 2-3 hours from Puerto Plata on a coach and then you jump in a speedboat and it is another 20 minutes before you reach the sandbank in the middle of the sea. Paradise Island is a protected island and if you want to see the fish then this is the place to go. You can either paddle or snorkel. Even if you choose to stay on the sand you can still see the hundreds of fish in the crystal clear sea. It was an experience that I was glad I was a part of and I would highly reccommend.

Last but not least was the absolute highlight of our holiday and so much fun. We arranged with a guide on the beach to do Quad Biking. This was no ordinary Quad Biking. Again as we were in a group, we were lucky that it was just us in the group. We were put in groups of two on the Quad bikes and we had two guides with us each on a quad bike of their own. You start off by getting picked up at your hotel and driven to collect the bikes. You then have to drive along the main road (the wrong way I might add) with the main guide out front and slowly you are guided up some dirt tracks where you eventually come out into a clearing inbetween sugar cane fields. It was wide enough to have fit maybe 3 or 4 cars next to each other and we couldn't see the end of this track, it just seemed to go on for miles. As you can imagine the whole group suddenly took on a very competitive edge. We paid the guides an extra $10 to let us "got to town" and go to town we did. We all went slightly crazy at this point. What I forget to add is that this dirt track is also hiding puddles that are filled with muddy water and there is absolutley no way of getting round it. I was a passenger with the hubby driving (as were most of the girls) and we spent the next hour screaming, giggling and hanging on for dear life. We used glasses or goggles for our eyes, and bandanas for our mouths. This is not for the feint hearted and if you love the messy fast and fun filled idea of quad biking then this is the thing to do. The only downside is that occassionaly (or quite frequently in our case) when you hit puddles too fast the engine cuts out meaning the guide has to come and re-start your engine. This was no problem though as when one of your mates is stalled and there is a 2 foot muddy puddle right next to them...it is the perfect opportunity. Everything we wore that day had to be thrown away because the mud will cover you from head to foot and you don't stand a chance of it coming out of your clothes. One of the best group activites I have ever done on any holiday. So much fun and so messy, but soooooo worth it. The pictures are some of my favourites. One tip though, buy a waterproof camera (the ones that are a few pounds) and use that on the day. You cannot carry anything on this trip because it will get ruined. There is also the added advantage of seeing other people on the same track as this can be done on either Quad Bikes or Buggys (we did this also and it is a lot messier but not as fast).

There are many other events and excursions to do in Dom Rep but we filled out time between those above and sunning ourselves (inbetween stuffing our faces at the All Inclusive). The holiday was very reasonable and we paid £800 for two weeks at a lovely hotel with everything included. We probably spent another £400 on trips for two of us.

When we went in May the weather can be a little rainy at times but the heat and humidity is unreal. The rain tends to come in short sharp showers and are usually overnight. The ones that appear late afternoon can sometimes last ten minutes or so but rain is not normally a problem at that time of year. The heat is extreme and temperatures can be anything from low 80s to the high 90's. The humidity is very extreme and it takes a bit of getting used to.

I think this is a fantastic island where the people are wonderful and I look forward to going back at some stage.

Summary: Great destination for all ages