Part of the upcoming action and suspense movie “The Truth” was filmed in Santo Domingo last Monday. Some of the actors and actresses you might have seen in town were Eva Longoria, Forest Whitaker, Andy Garcia, Kim Coates, Deborah Kara Unger, Bostick Devon, Steven Bauer and Kevin Durand. (more…)

Image complements of AA

AMR American Airlines and American Eagle

AMR is the parent company for both American Airlines (AA) and American Eagle so problems affecting one of the airlines will be affecting both. AMR has stated that it has $4.1 Billion dollars in cash to pay to keep services going for the two airlines so at this time it would appear your tickets for American Airlines of American Eagle to and from the Dominican Republic will remain valid. That includes if you have frequent flyer miles under the AAdvantage program of American Airlines and OneWorld Alliance.

In the press release issued by American Airlines today it was stated that they and American Eagle “EXPECT TO CONTINUE” normal services, and flight schedules as well as make reservations, exchanges and offer refunds under its normal rules.

Thomas W. Horton, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of AMR and American Airlines, said, (more…)

If your plans for the DR are an extended staycation or you plan on moving here permanently something you should likely consider is getting a credit card that offers frequent flyer miles. Round trip tickets range from $650 to $850 from the Dominican Republic to California so the frequent flyer miles tend to add up quickly.

There are quite a few things to check out first to make sure that the card you are planning to use is really going to save you money.

Annual Fee: Most cards charge an annual fee of $65 to $85. Some will waive the annual fee for the first year if you make an eligible purchase within the allotted time.

Where and when the miles can be redeemed: This is a pretty big one if you are planning to stay in the DR. Choosing a card that the miles can’t be redeemed for flight to or from the DR wouldn’t be of much use.

Max number of miles: Some cards have caps on the number of miles that can be earned each year. While it is normally pretty high (100, 000 to 150,000 miles) that is something to consider if you plan on making many purchases or you are normally booking for larger groups (like you whole family). (more…)

Two of the most popular scooters in the Dominican Republic are the Yamaha Jog and the Yamaha Axis. The Jog comes as a 50cc and the Axis as either a 90cc or a 100cc. While there may be other engines available for the axis, I haven’t seen them.

If you read my previous article on Yamaha bikes you will find a recommendation to go with one of the larger wheeled commuter style bikes. I still recommend this to be a good idea if you are in one of the more crowded cities or plan on doing any traveling between towns. The reason I have been researching the scooters more is for my wife.

Advantages of a scooter

The scooter does have some advantages, the main ones are that they are lower to the ground and so a little easier to control and they are lighter. These two advantages make these ideal vehicles for women just wanting a quicker easier way to get around town. And thus starts my search into the world of scooters.

I strongly prefer to go with one of the larger bike manufacturers. I have found while trying out bikes that the far cheaper scooters that you will find new here are all from china. As I’ve tested bikes from China I found that (more…)

If your planning a trip to the Caribbean you are likely hoping to get a good exchange rate on your money. The exchange rate from US Dollars to Dominican Pesos has varied between 35 pesos to the dollar to about 37 pesos to the dollar.

Right now (11/16/2011) you can exchange your dollars for pesos at 38.9 pesos for the US dollar. If you are currently living in the DR or if you are planning a longer vacation that extra couple pesos can add up, so this is a pretty good time to get some money converted.

If you’re not too sure on how you want to bring money over from the US to the DR you might want to check out our page on Getting Money In the DR for a few tips on how much money to bring in cash, travelers checks etc.

Something to consider if you plan on buying a bike in the DR is to pick up a security system while you are still in the states. You are going to be parking your motorcycle or scooter on the streets frequently and it is pretty easy to steal these smaller bikes.

When parking my bike I always lock the front wheel (move the handle bars to the left and lock so that the bike can only go in circles if pushed), but that is only a deterrent. Two guys can easily grab the front handle bars and walk your bike down the street disappearing in a few seconds. For additional security if I am not in a area with a lot of people around I will run a bike lock through the back tire and over the seat to keep people from lifting the front tire and walking off.

Motorcycle Alarms

A motorcycle alarm adds additional security. (more…)

Playa Grande Beach

Playa Grande beach is on the northern coast of the Island of Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic. While this is a good beach for relaxing on and a fair beach for swimming (at least in the summer), it’s best known as a surfing beach in the winter.

The Surf

I’m not much of a surfer so I was talking with one of the Foreigners that live in the area. He explained why this was one of his favorite beaches in the area for surfing. First the people, you get a nice mix of Dominicans and Foreigners on the beach, most are relaxed and the competition for the waves is pretty lax.

During the winter waves can reach 10-12 feet. Usually the best time to go is between December and March but the surf season can start as early as November. While I was there (Nov 8th) the surf was reaching 6-10 feet (counting from the front of the wave). The water can get a little rough; my surfing guide told me that this was rather unusual for this beach. I’m not up in this area much so I’ll have to stick with the pictures I took that day, the water was rough enough that there was a red flag on the beach indication that it would not be a good day for swimming or surfing.

Playa Grande Beach

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