Donde Esta Irene?

As of 5 pm Hurricane Irene is just north of the Dominican Republic and continuing in a West by NorthWest direction on its way to the Bahamas where it looks like she is going to head right down the middle of the islands. The center of the storm is currently about 65 miles north/ northwest of Punta Cana which seemed to be spared the worst of the hurricane as it traveled north of the city.

Hurricane Irene continues to have maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and is moving at about 13 mph.

With Irene on what seems to be on a direct path to the Bahamas the Government of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for the central Bahamas and a hurricane watch for the Northwestern Bahama.

Hurricane Irene isn’t finished with the DR though. Wind and rain are continuing to pick up in the central portions of the country where I am located. At this point I have no word on how hard the northern coast is being hit, but the hurricane is expected to pass along the northern coast with the possibility of sever damage to the coastal cities along it’s path. (more…)

American Airlines has announce it will wave change fees for passengers affected by Hurricane Irene. This allows passengers to rebook their flights to specific location from specific dates.

Flights from these locations can be rebooked.
La Romana/Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic (LRM)
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP)
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (POP)
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)
San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU)
Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ)
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (STX)
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (STT)
Tortola, Beef Island, British Virgin Islands (EIS)

These are the applicable dates. (more…)

The national hurricane center announced in its 7am update that Irene is moving away from Puerto Rico. Over night tropical storm Irene increased in strength and was upgraded from storm to Hurricane. Maximum sustained winds were clocked at near 80 mph making it a category 1 hurricane as per Hurricane Irene Intermediate advisory # 7B at 9 am this morning.

Hurricane Irene is moving away from the North coast of Puerto Rico and is expected to reach the Northern Coast of the Dominican Republic later this afternoon to the evening. Hurrican fource winds are expected to extend out from the eye of the hurricane for 15 miles and tropical storm force winds extending about 150 miles from the eye mostly to the northwest and northeast of the center. As of 9 am Hurricane Irene is 75 miles ENE of Punta Cana moving at 14 miles per hour.

Haiti now has a hurricane watch for the north coast from Le Mole St. Nicholas east to the DR boarder. (more…)

Customers traveling through Tuesday, August 23 to/from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic may rebook flights through August 27 –

NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –

Due to inclement weather forecasted to impact the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico areas, JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU) will waive change/cancel fees and fare differences for Customers traveling through Tuesday, August 23, 2011 to/from the following cities:

• Puerto Rico
  • San Juan (SJU)
  • Ponce (PSE)
  • Aguadilla (BQN)
• Dominican Republic
  • Santo Domingo (SDQ)
  • Santiago (STI)
  • Puerto Plata (POP)
  • Punta Cana (PUJ)

Customers may rebook their flights for travel through Saturday, August 27, 2011 by calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) prior to the departure time of their originally scheduled flight. Customers with cancelled flights may also opt for a refund to the original form of payment by calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583). Original travel must have been booked on or before Sunday, August 21, 2011. (more…)

During one of our beach vacations we stumbled upon a rather interesting sight. I bet you didn’t know there is a Wal-Mart in the DR! Well, it’s true (sort of), and we have pictures for proof. Now don’t expect the usual array of household items, electronic, automotive, garden and other items we’ve all come to know and expect while shopping at this retail giant. And the prices here were not exactly what I would call “mark down”. The DR Wal-Mart is a little more … well let’s say “Local”.

Ok, it’s probably not an official retail store but we did find it rather entertaining. And if you squint your eyes well enough so you block out the rest of the surroundings and only see the sign, you can almost get that nostalgic feeling with this little taste of back home (well, almost).

Well, this was probably the deal of a lifetime. The Lifestyle Resort in Puerto Plato was running a promotional deal for stays between October to December of this year to their very plush All Inclusive Hotel. For $10 USD per person per night you would get their VIP package which included the room, all meals including al a cart meal at 5 different restaurants, 24 hour a day food ad one of the different locations in the resort and of course all drinks are included. At the VIP bar that means all of the imported alcohol also. All tips were even included, although if someone gave very good service it was nice if you can tip a little extra.

There was one catch though; you had to be from the United States, Europe, or Canada. The thing is they only wanted people from other countries to use the deal so they could promote their Resort as well as promote their time shares. While getting the tour of the resort (as well as the timeshare sales pitch) was optional, you had to refuse it several times during your stay. Not a big problem, the people asking were always nice, never a hard push.

While this deal closed, I have received several notices from cheapcaribbean.com that they are continuing to offer other great deal on their All Inclusive VIP package. They have extended the deal several times a t a little higher price of $20 USD per person per night. The “taxes” also went up so it turns into a total of $28 USD per person per night. Still this is an awesome deal. If you stay at a regular hotel and pay for your own food you will likely pay about $5-$7 for breakfast and lunch and $12 – $20 for comparable dinners. This deal includes all food, drinks, tips, and the room for the same price, making this bay far one of the cheapest ways to visit the Dominican Republic.
(more…)

The Playa Dorada is one of the two more famous resort beaches in Puerto Plata, the second one being Costa Dorada. In case you are checking a map you will likely find the name of the city to be San Felipe de Puerto Plata although the locals just call it Puerto Plata.

Playa Dorada is surrounded by the many resort hotels, many of them offer special “All Inclusive” rates for staying there. It’s said that there are 100,000 hotel beds in the city. Which gives you a little bit of an idea of how packed the beached can be in the main tourist season. It’s best to try and hit these beaches in the off-season.

Another great reason to think about going to Playa Dorada or Costa Dorada in a off season it the rates. Often “All Inclusive” hotels drop their rates from about $120 USD per person per night to as little as $30 USD per person per night. A that rate it is cheaper to go to an all inclusive then it is to get a normal hotel room and buy your own food. “All Inclusive” are exactly what the name implies. All food and drink is included with the price of the room making it a great deal. (more…)