Recently I made my yearly sojourn back to the United States, to visit the family and work, and flew out of the Santiago International Airport (STI). While packing, since I was flying with only carry-on luggage, I dutifully checked the latest list of items that are prohibited to carry-on the plane. Everything checked out. Nothing that I wanted to carry was on the list, so I printed out my handy dandy boarding pass and was ready to go.

Security Block
I got to the airport early the next morning, walked down to the baggage x-ray machine, and stuck my bags on the conveyor belt, where the nice gentlemen started them on their journey through the machine with a smile. We passed the time it took for them to examine my bags with some small talk and then I was on my way.

Walking past the long line of passengers waiting to check-in bags and get their boarding passes, I continued toward the gate, giving myself a mental pat on the back for having the forethought to carry-on my luggage and print my own get-out-of-the-line-free pass. At the gate I handed the boarding pass to Rafael the security guard, he took it, and looked at it like it was some sort of foreign object he had never contemplated before. Which, I guess he hadn’t since he directed me to go and get a real one from the American Airlines (AA) desk.

I looked at the expanded line and quickly decided I’d rather not. Just as I started trying to think of what other options there were to consider, an AA attendant passed nearby, and I flagged her down. I explained my situation and smiled smugly (I’m sorry to admit) as she attended me back to the security guard and reprimanded him for not reading the memo that was sent out last month about printed boarding passes. He let me through, and I continued without incident through immigration and on to security.

Everything was fine at security until they opened up my bags and took away my curling iron, flat iron, and my deceased grandmother’s crochet hooks of tremendous sentimental value. I stood my ground, and insisted that they weren’t on the list. (more…)

The Traveling Market
All across the Dominican Republic there are Haitian Markets that travel from place to place, selling items that are donated to the Haitian Government as foreign aid. These wares consist of excess clothing, shoes, toiletries, and other articles that are sold in massive bundles to individuals.

When to Go
The Haitian Open Market, or the Pulga (Flea Market) as it is known in Spanish, in Santiago is a great place to go and shop for retro clothing and other items. I love it for the clothes myself, since I always find something unique as I dig through the piles of colorful fabric that line the streets every Thursday.

The market starts at about 7:00am. If you are going to get nicer items or clothing, early is the best time to go, since no one has picked through everything yet. Dominican shop owners get there early too in order to buy “American brand clothing” in their little boutiques. So, if you wait too long there isn’t much left to choose from.

If you don’t care about the clothes or are just looking for random items, then going around 11am is good because they start to lower prices to sell off as much as they can before they have to pack back up and go to the next town. You’ll hear, “Diez pesos, todo a diez! (Ten pesos, everything for ten pesos!). I always go about then for household items because they are much less expensive.
(more…)

If you are looking to go to the Dominican Republic for the beaches, which I am guessing you are, they are after all the Dominican Republic’s biggest attraction. One of the places you are likely to see on the map is Sosua. It is right next to one of the biggest airports in the country, the Puerta Plata airport.

Within about fifteen minutes after leaving the airport you can find yourself swimming in the warm tropical waters of Sasua.  With the benefits of being so close to the airport comes hefty price tag. Eating or sleeping in Sosua is where they’ll get you. If you just came from the States you see a steak for 15 bucks or a hotel room for 100 bucks, you probably think nothing of it. Sure it might be a tiny bit higher that what you would pay for in the states, but not that much.

Yep, You’re Getting Ripped

That’s just what they want  you to think. These prices are normal. But. There not. They know they can get it out of you so they do. The average Dominican doesn’t pay 100 bucks for rent a month. He pays about 15 dollars for a weeks food. He’s not going to pay those prices for things.
(more…)

Sosua is a small town on the North Shore of the Dominican Republic about 25 miles from the city of Puerto Plata and only a few miles from the Puerto Plata International airport. Being that it is much closer to the Puerto Plata Airport than the city of Puerto Plata is, it is the logical choice when choosing a hotel near where you are flying in. My family has chosen this as our favorite beach so far in our travels in the DR.

It is only a few minutes walk from most of the hotels to the beach. The walk is a perfect opportunity to fill a small ice chest with a few things before heading to the beach. While there are many stores right at the beach, as well as restaurants and just about everything else, we have found that the prices for bottles of beer, water and other items are about double once you touch the sand so you might as well carry in your first round or two.

This beach has plenty of shade trees lining the beach giving you places to get out of the hotter noonday sun, while still being right near the water. Unlike Boca Chica beach if you want to use the lounge chairs on the beach you have to pay for them as well as buying drinks from the guy that will be serving you. Now this isn’t necessarily a real bad thing, but it is a good idea to negotiate before you sit down. Typically, if they are not too filled up you can negotiate just buying one drink per lounge chair and not also paying for the chair, but work that out ahead of time.

Presidente (one of the top beers) is about $80 pesos (a little over $2.00 USD) for the small and about $120 (about $3.00 USD) for the large. They give you small plastic cups to drink from so you can share. If you don’t plan on either chugging the beer or sharing it, I would advise the small. Who wants to drink warm beer (ok other than you Germans in the crowd).

Prices are always negotiable, especially if they have many rooms open. Don’t be shy about asking for a lower rate. Here is a list of Hotels in Sosua:

(more…)

As the number of flights my family has made back and forth to the Dominican Republic increases we’ve started to develop preferences in airlines. At first our flights were mostly with American Airlines due to the greater number of checked in bags that they allow.

This was pretty important during our moving process. Now that our trips are more to visit family and friends our criteria has changed and so has our preference in airlines.

Our recent experiences with Jet Blue has made it a clear favorite with my family, making the news that Jet Blue is added another Dominican city, Punta Cana, to its list (Santo Domingo, Santiago, and Puerto Plata) welcome news.

While prices vary by trip, Jet Blue seems to always be at least as good as American Airlines. But even if they were slightly higher we would now choose a flight with Jet Blue when going from California to the Dominican Republic. There are several reasons why: (more…)

Burgers, oh yeaaaaah. When you think of a classic American meal very things if any beat a big juicy burger with a hefty serving of fries. You might be happy to know that it is not all yucca and plantains in the Dominican Republic. You can find the classic meal we all know and love too. You just need to know where to look.

We have found such a place. It is called La Costera (Translates: The Coastal). It is located in downtown Sosua, about a half mile from the beach.

First looking at La Costera, didn’t look like much. Nothing fancy, but it looked like a nice clean little sit down place. It was outdoors with a roof over it, which was great to get the nice cool evening breeze.

To be quite honest what really attracted us was the menu. It was posted on a small billboard type arrangement, including all the prices. They had hamburgers, fries, steak and other stuff us foreigners are used to.

And it was a pretty decent price 120 pesos (about $3.50) for a burger and 200 pesos (about $5.50) for the steak. So we decided to go with it, as we sat down we were reassured by a Dutch fellow sitting next to us that this is the best place to eat in Sosua.

Now I can’t verify that statement because I have not been to half the restaurants in Sosua, but I can say it was one of the best burgers I had in my entire life.

(more…)

Santiago de los Trienta Caballeros (Saint James of the Knights) is located in the northern region of the Dominican Republic and has several places that are definitely worth visiting. As a resident of this fair city, I’m always open for places to go, and the Santiago Monument is one I would recommend for anyone who finds themselves here looking for something to do.

A Local Hot Spot
Situated on the corner of Avenida Francia and Las Carreras, the monument is a popular place. After any event of Dominican note, (like when Martha Heredia won the Latin American Idol, Amelia Vega won Miss Universe, or whenever the local Aguilas baseball team wins), the monument is where everyone heads to celebrate. The whole downtown area is impassable during these occasions, and it is probably wise to avoid the whole general area if you don’t want to get caught up in the chaos.

History
Designed by the architect Henry Gazón Bona and built by the dictator Rafael Liónidas Trujillo in the 1940’s, it was originally named “The Monument of Peace from Trujillo” in his own ego inflated honor. Standing 70mt (229ft) tall, it was crowned by a statue of Trujillo mounted on a horse, and the 365 stairs that lead to the top were set to represent the fact that Trujillo cared for his people every day of the year. That would seem to be a somewhat ominous message considering how he cared for them… (more…)

Located about mid way down the main Cabarete farrow way, Casanova is one of my favorite places to eat whenever I’m there. I actually think about the place even when I’m not in town, which is why I’m writing about it, biding my time until I can talk friends into a nice weekend or day trip.

The Look
The Middle Eastern Bohemian décor is lovely. The crème colored couches and assorted tables scattered below palm trees create a wonderful atmosphere for sitting and chilling with friends as kite boarders add splashes of color to the oceanic background scenery. And at night it is particularly striking. They hang lamps out as you sit under the stars, listen to music as it waifs over from outdoor speakers, and chat.

The Food
The Casanova the pizza is always a favorite with many in our dining group. There are several types that they offer, including a tropical ham and pineapple, vegetable, pepperoni, and meat lovers. Each one has thin crust and a fair amount of whatever toppings that are ordered with it. (more…)