While it is good to finally see a little relief from the drought that has been plaguing the Dominican Republic, the same rain also means flooding in some areas due to the poor drainage in many communities and even in some of the larger cites. the storm that is coming in today is putting several areas on alert San Pedro de Macorís, La Romana, La Altagracia, El Seibo, Hato Mayor and Duarte (especially the Bajo Yuna area).

If you are driving today it would be a good idea to slow down and be on the watch for water on the roads especially in any of the lower areas near creaks and rivers. The National Meteorological Office (Onamet) which forecasts that the system will bring moderate rainfall, which could be heavy at times, accompanied by thunderstorms and isolated wind gusts, starting in the eastern and northeastern regions.

In the Santiago area it has been raining off and on all day which is good news (more…)

When you’re sitting in the Caribbean sipping your Rum and Coke or Pina Colada you really don’t expect to be thinking about how a snow storm is going to affect your vacation. That is until you remember your return flight or flight taking to the Dominican Republic takes you through New York. As of noon today (Friday the 8th of Feb) over 3000 flights were canceled around the New York and Boston areas (over 1000 in New York Alone) with more than 60 airports already affected. And at this point the storm has just begun. This affects all flights going to New York from Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, La Romana, Santiago, and Puerto Plata.

The main snowfall from winter storm Nemo is expected to come in the late afternoon to early evening and things are expected to taper off by noon Saturday.
JFK Friday Morning

My wife and I were sitting in the airport in New York this morning hoping our flight was going to make it out before the winter storm Nemo hit. As we watched the snow starting to fall many of our fellow passengers were starting to get anxious. By 7am in the morning airport employees were starting to mention the possibilities of delays and cancellations of flight within the next new hours.
Something else you don’t often see at the airports in the Dominican Republic (more…)

UK to Dominican Republic Travel Tips

The Dominican Republic is one of the most important Caribbean islands and one of the preferred holiday destinations for many UK holidaymakers. According to the Dominican authorities, more than 200,000 British tourists visit this Caribbean nation each year, and it is not difficult to understand why.

Although relatively small in size, this island offers a variety of attractions that go beyond its beaches and nightlife. The Dominican Republic is home to no less than 14 national parks and to numerous historical towns and villages that will delight the visitor with their rich heritage. The island’s capital, Santo Domingo, is a designated UNESCO site thanks to its well preserved examples of colonial architecture. There are 26 golf courses located in some of the island’s most stunning locations, and as a result, the Dominican Republic is a premier destination for golf enthusiasts from all over the world.

And of course, there is the beach life. The coastal towns of Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, and La Romana are home to miles of beaches of breathtaking beauty, which are often the backdrop for weddings, honeymoons, and other special occasions. The popular resorts of the coast also make for a great base from which it is possible to explore other destinations, like the coffee growing mountains of the interior and other less well-known fishing villages on the island’s eastern coast.

However, being 9 hours away from the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic still remains a long haul destination, and as such, booking a holiday to this Caribbean island can be an expense that turns out heavy on the pocket. If you are planning the holiday of a lifetime in the Dominican Republic and want to know how to go about finding the best deals to the island, this article will tell you everything there is to know about it.

Tips for finding the best deals from the UK to the Dominican Republic

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No doubt while on a Dominican beach you are going to want some snacks and cold drinks. At many of the beaches like Boca Chica, Sosua, and others there are vendors on the beach happy to serve you while you lay there. That can get a bit expensive though. The price of a beer or food is usually 50% to 100% higher than you will pay if you walk up the street a block and buy it at a colmado. So what do you do when you go to the beach in the States? Bring a cooler of course!

Now, that can be a bit tougher when you are on a vacation and everything you bring has to be able to pack into a suitcase, but not impossible! (more…)

(8/24/12) After a relatively peaceful night in the DR Tropical Storm Isaac’s storm force winds have reached the coast of the Dominican Republic. Wind speeds are considerably lower than predicted with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph instead of the expected 75+ mph hurricane force winds.

Tropical Storm Force Winds Reach the Coast

As seen from the illustration the 50mph winds (area in orange) are up against the southern coast of the Dominican Republic as of 8am Friday morning with the general path of the storm moving in a westernly direction. Later today the path of the storm is expected to return to it’s west by northwest direction taking it over a portion of Haiti.

It was expected that Tropical Storm Isaac would have gathered considerably more strength by this time. At this point the hurricane warnings and watches have been dropped for the Dominican Republic leaving only tropical storm warnings, although there is still a hurricane watch for Haiti.

Preparation for Isaac

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Due to the hurricane predictions for Tropical Storm Isaac, JetBlue is allowing for a fee waver for passengers that want to make flight changes to and from Punta Cana, Santiago, Santo Domingo, Puerto Plato, and La Romana.

Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to have hurricane force winds by the time it reaches the Dominican Republic later today causing delays to flights to Dominican international Airports.

For more information on JetBlues ticket fee waver you can go to (more…)

Due to the path of Tropical Storm Isaac, American Airlines has already made updates to their Caribbean Travel Policy (see link below) allowing ticket holders to change their flights to and from La Romana, Dominican Republic (LRM), Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ), Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI) and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ) as well as other destinations in the Caribbean.

As per the AA website if your travel date is between August 22-26, 2012 and was issued no later than Aug 22, 2012 you can change your travel date to between Aug 22-26 and the ticket reissue charge will be waved for one ticket change. You can call their 800 number to make the change at 1-800-433-7300.

Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to reach Punta Cana Thursday and may have reached hurricane force winds by this time. Punta Cana is at this time at a tropical storm watch with the rest of the northern part of the Dominican Republic while the southern part of the Dominican Republic is at a hurricane warning. The storm is still too far out to know where the center of the storm is going to pass.

There is a greater likelihood of Isaac producing hurricane force winds for La Romana, Boca Chica, Santo Domingo and other cities on the .southern coast of the DR.

We will be continuing to post updates (more…)

(8/21/12) Tropical Storm Issac is moving up through the leeward islands on a direct course to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The storm is expected to pass by Puerto Rico Thursday and start affecting the Dominican Republic Thursday evening to early Friday.

As of the 2pm AST report on wed, aug 22 the center of tropical storm Issaac is about to pass over the leeward islands with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

Isaac Reaches the Dominican Republic

We’ve started a new post with the updated information on Tropical Storm Isaac once it reached the Dominican Republic. Check Isaac hits the Dominican Republic for the latest information.

Isaac Hurricane watch as of 8/22/12

Isaac is expected to reach hurricane strength as it is passing by Puerto Rico Thursday. There is a Hurricane watch for Puerto Rico, Vieques, culebra and the US and British Virgin Islands.

There is also a hurricane watch for the entire southern coast of the Dominican Republic from Isal Saona west to Haiti including La Romana, Boca Chica and Santo Domingo.

Isaac Tropical Storm Watch

The entire north Coast of the Dominican Republic is under a Tropical Storm Watch (more…)

The smallest of the Dominican internet providers Tricom, has concluded a deal with China based Huawei to upgrade their services to the new 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution). LTE is a trademark of ETSI

This announcement follows the announcement on June 6th that Telecom is planning to invest more than $125 million USD in upgrades tho ther fiber optic coverage with about $40 million USD to be invested in the next year. This would move the network up to a bandwith capacity of 1GH (Gigahertz).

So far the major emphisis is in the usual larger markets of the National District, Santo Domingo East and West, San Pedro de Macoris and La Romana. Future services upgrades are planned for Santiago, La Vega, Bonao and the San Francisco area.

The upgrades are part of the new product push called “Internet Max” that takes advantage of internet speed up to 100MB using an infrastructure of hybrid fiber optic network (HFC)

Here is a look at the Current Tricom plans as per www.tricom.net. (more…)

Wind Telecom is one of the newer providers of telecommunication services in the Dominican Republic. Wind provides some of the fastest high speed internet in the DR at some of the lowest prices. Wind telecom started in Santo Domingo and is at this time limited to only a few of the largest cities, although they are expanding rapidly to cover more area. I have several friends that are fortunate enough to have Wind in their area. Wind provides much faster high speed internet than Claro at a considerably lower price.

Wind 4G coverage is currently available in Santiago, Moca, La Romana, San Cristo, San Francisco de Macoris and in several barrios in Santo Domingo Hato Nuevo, Bayona, Cuidad Agraria, and Los Alcarrizos. Wind is working on moving into La Vega. (more…)