Hurricane Katia has been upgraded to a major hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph. At this point Katia is traveling between the Dominican Republic / Bahamas and Burmuda. So for now there is no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

That doesn’t mean that it is having no affect on the DR though. I’ve had reports of the surf being heavy enough that it is best to avoid the beach in Las Terrenas. (more…)

Last night tropical storm Katia was upgraded to a category 1 hurricane causing concern to residents to many the Northern coastal cities of the Dominican Republic. Having just cleaned up the mess caused by Hurricane Irene many are concerned about possible temporary affects to the tourism in the area.

While it does look like Katia will be continuing to gain strength over the next few days, possible even reaching the status of major hurricane by the weekend, (more…)

Category 2 Hurricane Irene

As of 8:30 pm Hurricane Irene was upgraded to a category 2 hurricane and is expected to continue to strengthen possibly becoming a major hurricane on Tuesday.

Wind within the hurricane are now being sustained at 100 mph with higher gusts. These hurricane force winds now extend as far as 45 miles outward from the center of the storm.

Hurricane Irene has again slowed its pace, it is now heading west-northwest at 10mph a decrease of 3 miles per hour over the last few hours. The National Weather Service does expect this forward momentum to pick up again over night and into Tuesday.

The latest storm advisory came with no new changes in the watches and warnings. These watches and advisories are from the noaa.gov site (National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service).

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Hurricane Irene Monday Evening

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…)

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…)

Villa Antonia Hotel

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.
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Sosua Beach Hotels

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).

Also, feel free to post a review or comment about your favorite Sosua Hotel. You can post a comment below this list, however, only comments on hotels in Sosua. Comments about hotels in any other city or country will not be allowed.

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:

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Costera Restaurant

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.

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The Shoestring Beach Scene

If the daily reports of bombings, massacres, and other catastrophes on the news have you down, and your work schedule has you stressed, maybe you need a little vacation. Your wallet is somewhat economically challenged you say? I know the feeling. That is why I’m taking the time out to write about my last vacation at a lovely little beachside town called Sosua, located on the north coast of this island I call home. The fact that it’s inexpensive, accessible, and a beautiful beach, makes Sosua one of my favorite vacation spots whether it be for a day trip, weekend, or longer.

Package Deals

If you are flying from overseas, a package deal is what my friends have found to be the best bargain. A flight alone is between $400.00-700.00us. But, a package deal including the flight and accommodations (for a two week stay) will cost from $400.00-$800.00us, depending on the season. Two weeks on the beach for the price of the plane ticket – not bad at all. Many of these packages even include a shuttle from the airport to the resort, allowing you to avoid the sometimes pesky negotiation process with a taxi driver on how to get there.

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