THE TOP SIX: Tours. The Dominican Republic offers a wide selection of activities and tours for visitors, and this is the reason why more than 2.7 million visitors visit the island each year. Some of the tours are water sports, such as sailing, fishing, diving, kite surfing, jet skis and even paddle surfing. Other tours are geared towards eco friendly activities such as trekking, dirt buggies, mountain climbing, cave exploration and zip lining. Most of these tours are found in the North coast of the island, in the regions of Puerto Plata and Cabrera, that includes Sosua and Cabarete.

Our top ten list starts at number 1, Fishing in Puerto Plata. Fishing is done in every coastal town of the Dominican Republic, east, south or North. Some say that the best fishing areas are around Puerto Plata, because of the Atlantic Ocean.

The variety of fishing game in the area also influences its good ratings: Dorado (Mahi Mahi), Yellow Fin Tuna, Red Snapper, Yellow Tail Snapper, Grouper, Tarpon, Bone Fish, and Permit are available all year round. December until April is the main season for Dorado and Wahoo. November to January is the prime time for Sailfish. Blue Marlin and Sailfish are available from October until February. Boats depart from Playa Dorada, Sosua and the Ocean World Marina in Cofresi. Julie II is a famous fishing boat we recommend, docked in Sosua beach.

Number 2 in our top ten is zip lining, which draws people from both local and international cities. There`s 2 major zip lines in the area, one is Yasika Adventures and the other one is the Monkey Jungle in Sosua. Yasika is located in the tourist highway that connects Sosua and Santiago, and is highly recommended. The Monkey Jungle now offers one week lodging in a very exotic setting of lush natural surroundings, and lots of monkeys.

Our number 3 requires a PADI certification, because diving in Sosua is a serious business. There`s a large variety of walls, rocks and caves to explore, such as the Three Rocks, which are three giant coral heads that span for 45 meters (150 ft.), hosting an incredible mix of tropical fish and plant life. Paradise Reef offers beginners a chance to explore the inner ocean at a maximum depth of 12 m/ 40 ft. along a colorful reef wall. The Canyon (max. depth 18 m/ 60 ft.) is a reef wall that has split, forming an underwater avenue ideal for a relaxed, colorful cruise. The wall begins at 4 m/12 ft and is full of spectacular sponge life. A lot of other spots such as La Puntilla, Airport Wall, Pyramids and the airport wall are also of great interest to new divers and certified ones. Northern Coast Diving is one of the top providers of diving in the Sosua area.

Number 4 in the list requires a life vest and a good camera with telephoto lens, so you can catch close ups of the whales in Samana. These large cetaceans visit the island each year in March, to breed and give birth to their offspring in warmer waters. Many travel agencies offer all-inclusive trips for those who want a close look at the big humpback ( Megaptera novaengliae ), and to their delight the whales play, sing and jump allowing tourists to snap pictures and film videos. Three of the tour operators that offer whale watching tours in Samana are Whale Samana and Colonial Tours.

Our number 5 goes to Ocean World, the marine park in Cofresi that has become a sensation since its opening in March 2004. Centrally located in the Caribbean on the North Shore of the Dominican Republic, just three miles west of Puerto Plata, Ocean World Adventure Park Marina & Casino is an extraordinary entertainment complex dedicated to offering visitors a once in a lifetime experience that cannot be duplicated anywhere in the world. Guests of Ocean World Adventure Park have the opportunity to touch, pet and feed dolphins, sea lions, sharks, stingrays, exotic tropical birds, meet tigers, walk through a tropical rain forest and much more.

The top 6 tour in the North coast brings the visitor to an adventurous land of back roads, farms, river crossings and much more. It`s called the Outback Safari. Oversized trucks fitted with seats and protective metal frames carry visitors to see native Dominicans in the country side, cooking, farming, and sharing daily life. The outback safari offers a Visit a typical Dominican home, meet the family that lives there & enjoy a drink of freshly made coffee with them. Beverages, food and cultural guidance is provided throughout the tours, a very enriching experience.

Other tours in the North Coast worth visiting are the Damajagua falls, caves of El Choco, the kite surfing and board surfing beach in Cabarete, and ever present golf courses in Playa Grande and Playa Dorada. Horseback riding in the beach is a must to some, so don`t miss it. Villa rental clients in Sosua or Cabarete can call Golden Treasures Concierge Services and get more information and booking services.

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When planning a trip to a Caribbean destination, close to 90% of travelers take some time to research into the available offers from tour operators, travel guides, friend referrals, and other online sources that provide information through travel review sites, forums and specialized sites. In a competitive industry such as travel and  tourism , it is expected that some destinations become affected adversely by the success of others, thus creating a market for PR attacks and negative campaigns if the competing destination has no creativity to compete in a fair way.

The Dominican Republic  has been the victim of such PR attacks since more than 2 decades ago when it began to compete in the international market for all inclusive tourists that began in the city of Puerto Plata and later expanded dramatically to the Bavaro-Punta Cana areas. It is common to read online and printed reviews about inflated crime figures, poor roads, warnings about leaving the hotel zones and other misleading data that luckily some tourists double check before considering and yet after all this bad publicity  the   Dominican   Republic  still gets around 2 million visitors each year and statistics show growth, though modest due to the misleading bad PR. New York is a top world destination, and has a exceedingly high crime rate... compare that to all tourists areas of the DR combined and you`ll have all New Yorkers coming to live here.

About 50% of the bad PR goes towards the island, something that clearly shows that the false  advertising  comes from other competing islands, including Mexico according to published news citing DR government officials.  The rest of the misleading reviews are directly aimed at the first tourist destination of the island, the North coast. Although Puerto Plata suffered when Punta Cana and Bavaro started to lobby government officials to get the bigger and eventually the whole  advertising  and infrastructure budget from the government, still the city retains its much higher value with a superior natural beauty and appeal – There`s no better ecofriendly and varied  tourism  offer than Puerto Plata, including Sosua, Cofresi, Cabarete and Costambar.  Nearby Cabrera is also considered part of the extended package, with amazing places to visit.

The diversity of environments and natural and cultural attractions makes  the   Dominican   Republic  one of the top in the Caribbean.

It`s no wonder that most of the all-inclusive  tourism  belongs to the East of the island, which has row after row of beach resorts packed next to each other. For a weekend of beach and sun it sounds fantastic.  Then there`s a more complete type of  tourism  that involves cultural, ecofriendly travel that takes the visitor to a wide range of tours including towns and beaches not set inside the seclusion of a resort.  Puerto Plata has all that, including the largest self catering vacation rental market in the island. Another interesting factor that misleads visitors is the claim by tour operators and some beach resorts that venturing outside resorts boundaries is too dangerous, which they do because of some interesting reasons, being the main two that they want tourists to spend their dollars in the resort stores and restaurants, and the operators want to minimize losses on travel insurance if used.

Compared to other destinations (e.g. Jamaica and Mexico) the island of  Dominican   Republic  is far less dangerous, and most crime cases can be traced back to irresponsible lifestyles related to drugs and sex for pay. Small towns such as Sosua in the North coast have seen quick change after the new major took over office, although to some it`s been too quick too hard ( some bars and restaurants complained ). In the world of  advertising , perception is everything.  2012 presidential elections will be a good arena to present plans and demand change, since the current administration has failed to make  tourism  grow  in   the   Dominican   Republic  as everyone expected in a long 8 year government.

As a vacation rental agency, we`re doing a research among our clients and found that none has reported high levels of violence as  advertised . We will be soon publishing the full report with some interviews to local law enforcement officials, and the result will astound many. When we compared the data with other destinations it`s incredible that they want to splatter their bad numbers on our face instead of being honest to the public.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: A RICH CARIBBEAN DIVERSITY TO BE DISCOVERED

1 .- BIODIVERSITY: The  Dominican Republic ranks first in biodiversity in the Antilles, as well as taking third in the world in biodiversity of the island, in proportion to its territory. It has the largest geomorphological diversity-reliefs represented by three mountain ranges, five saws, three regions kársicas or limestone, four coastal plains, four valleys, more than fifteen mountain valleys and tectonic depressions.

2.-VARIED LIFE:There exists as many areas of life, determined by altitude, as their attention spans from 45 feet below sea level on Lake Enriquillo and Cabritos Island to 3,087 meters above sea level in the Pico Duarte.

3.-DUARTE PEAK is the highest of the Antilles, Pico Duarte, with 3.087 meters. And the deepest tectonic depression of the Antilles, the Hoya Enriquillo, 45 meters below sea level.

4 .- The ENRIQUILLO LAKE is the largest hypersaline lake in the Antilles,  with 240 to 260 square kilometers and still growing. We have the western pine-conifer-largest ground limestone of calcareous origin, in the land of Bahoruco. This species grows in acid soils, this being an ecological rarity in the world.

5 .- EXCLUSIVE SPECIES:Perhaps we also have the highest endemism in the Antilles, approximately 39% or more. We have the highest plateau of the West Indies, New Valley, located 2,200 meters above sea level.

6 .- ENVIRONMENTS: It is the only area of the West Indies where there is vegetation and Andean alpine type, the New Valley. It is the largest waterfall in free fall height of the Caribbean, Salto de Aguas Blancas Constance, with two waterfalls of 83 meters. Can also be the highest altitude is around 1,800 meters.

7 .- CAVES: We have the largest number of caves in the West Indies. We have the largest number of cave pictographs in one room, more than 1,700, in the cavern of José María del Parque Nacional del Este. The country has the largest number of rock art in the West Indies.

8 .- VALLEYS: There are mountain valleys located at higher elevations of the West Indies, Bao Valley, about 1,800 meters above sea level. Here we have recorded the lowest temperatures of the West Indies, 8 degrees Celsius in the area of Pico Duarte and the valley's intromontano Bao.

9 .- ICE: is the only place in the West Indies where there was ice: New Valley and the mountain valleys of Bao and rucksack, all located in the Cordillera Central.

10 .- HAITISES: We have the kársica-limestone region of Los Haitises, most impressive of the West Indies, covering an area of 1.600 square kilometers Haitises-formations-conical mountains, hills, valleys, sinking micro-caves, rivers underground and a rainforest. Much of this is a National Park.

11 .- HUMPBACK WHALES: There is more visits of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, in the Caribbean Sea for reproduction, between the months of January through March, the banks of the Plata and Navidad ,and at the Samana Bay. They come every year an average of three thousand -3.000 - constituting a invaluable spectacle for ecotourism. This generates more than 20,000 eco-tourists and scientists who come each year to Samana, turning it into a major ecotourism destination.

12. THE FIRST ONES: The Dominican Republic has a record of firsts, since it was the place where the first Spanish settlement, church, city, university and many other important institutions were created. Christopher Columbus found the New World in La Isabela, Puerto Plata in October 12, 1492. Still, the Colonial city in Santo Domingo has most homes, churches and important buildings as they were more than 500 years ago including Columbus house and its furnishings and beds.

13. BEACHES: Endless kilometers of beaches, golden sand in the North and white sand in the East. Spanning a large part of the island shores, there`s beaches virtually in every coastal town of this blesses Caribbean island. Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Cabarete, Sosua, Boca Chica, Juan Dolio, Guayacanes, La Romana, Bavaro, Arena Gorda, Samana, Cabrera, Rio San Juan, Barahona, to mention just a few.

There`s so much more about the island, it might take forever to put it all in writing, much less in graphics ( our long term goal ). 

Partially excerpted from:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Republica-Dominicana-Continente-En-Miniatura/213289318705661

http://www.goldenkeymanagement.com/dominican-republic.htm

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American Airlines announced that it will increase to 25 its daily flights from the United States to the Dominican Republic’s major international airports.

From Miami to Punta Cana International Airport, situated on the country’s easternmost region, American Airlines will increase to three its daily flights between both airports.  It will also add a second flight from New York to this important eastern region airport. American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines, will add a third flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Between the La Romana and San Juan, Puerto Rico airports, the carrier will increase flights from two per week to two per day. In the country’s middle section, specifically at the Santiago International Airport, there will be two daily flights to and from Miami and one to San Juan.  The airline also announced that aircraft maker Boeing delivered the first Boeing Sky Interior model 737-800, so passengers will take advantage of all the new features of flying with AA.

From Las Americas International Airport, situated outside Santo Domingo, the capital city, American Eagle will offer four daily flights to San Juan and one to Haiti. All together, American Airlines will offer three thousand seats daily to passengers traveling between the United States and the Dominican Republic. The airline also offers flights from Puerto Rico and New York to Puerto Plata`s Gregorio Luperon International Airport ( POP ), which serves the areas of Puerto Plata, Sosua, Cabarete, Cabrera, Costambar and Cofresi.

POP AIRPORT CONTACT INFORMATION:
The web for the POP airport is http://puerto-plata-airport.com
Telephone Numbers: 809-291-0000 ext. 221 and 809-586-0175
The airport`s VIP lounge is 809-586-0107 ext. 247 and 302

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The Dominican Republic `s protected areas receive an average of 800,000 visitors each year that come to enjoy the beauty and natural scenery including beaches and mountains.  This is fueling a segment of the  Dominican  economy as never before, and prompting investments in the North and East coasts such as the  newest  ecologically friendly Monkey Park in Sosua, Puerto Plata and the two marine themed park in Cofresi ( Ocean World ) and Bavaro ( Manatí Park ).

Built within El Choco national park, the Monkey Jungle offers zip lining adventures within a monkey sanctuary surrounded by mountains and lush green areas. The owner built this park attraction in order to finance a clinic for poor children in the area.  The first zip lining tour and the most successful in the area is Yasika Adventures, closer to Cabarete than Sosua.

Monkey Jungle is the first of its kind in the island.

One of the oldest eco tours in the Dominican Republic  takes some endurance to complete, and it is the highest mountain in the island, The famous Pico Duarte. Pico Duarte is the highest peak in all the Caribbean islands. It lies in the Cordillera Central range, the greatest of the  Dominican   Republic's  mountain chains. It stands at 3, 140 meters high and named after the biggest hero and forefather of the country, Juan Pablo Duarte. A trip to El Pico is an adventure most  Dominicans  love to take, partially on foot and on donkeys. There is a well-maintained system of trails leading up to the summit, with trailheads at several locations The easiest access is from the town of La Ciénega, near Jarabacoa. The trail is 23.1 km (14.4 miles) to the summit, with a total elevation change of 1,977 meters, and a shelter 5 km away from the summit.

Other names in the ecofriendly business of the North coast are Rancho Montana and Outback Safari, which offer tours to mountainous areas of the  Dominican   Republic  crossing rivers and usually ending in a farm like compound with farm animals, horses and traditional cooking. Some of the tourists that rent Sosua villas book ecotrips in advance, showing the interest for being closer to nature when vacationing the Caribbean island of  Dominican   Republic . Real estate boomed in the North coast towns because of all the natural attractions of the area.

Areas such as La Boca in Cabarete offer river jungle tours where visitors get to see  Dominican  birds in their natural habitat, ending the tour in a small “zoo” that holds local fauna such as the  Dominican  Hawk, local vultures, Crocodiles, iguanas, pythons and other more common local birds. Iguana Mama is one of the largest eco tours operators in Cabarete, with a very well organized structure and a wide range of options including biking, hiking, rafting, kite boarding, kayaking and a lot of other extreme tours.

An already known and well documented eco tour takes place in Samana, at the North eastern part of the  Dominican   Republic , whale watching. This is perhaps the most rewarding experience, one that inspires respect for nature as the viewer is mesmerized by the sheer size of those wonderfully large, friendly mammals. Eco tourism seems to be growing in the  Dominican   Republic  because of the laws protecting the environment, something that most people hope will remain enforced for much longer into the future generations.  Many foreigners and locals have turned their fincas (farms) into eco sanctuaries such as Tubagua from Tim Hall, and Rancho Luisa in Veragua.

Some of the activities at Rancho Luisa include horseback riding tours,  dominican  traditional cooking and a taste of jungle living.

For horse riding lovers there`s a variety of choices including the classic Sea Horse Ranch, which is mainly for professional riders of very fine horses, and the more adventure type ones as Rancho Luisa and El Paraiso Del Caballo ( this one located in El Choco ).  Several other horseback riding tours are available through various agencies in Sosua, Cabarete and Puerto Plata, and can be done in the beach. One of the best ecofriendly tours that most of the time is associated with beach resorts is snorkeling and diving. Sosua holds the top place in the North coast due to its large number of diving spots, and recently there was a government plan in place that introduced man made reefs into some areas that are now full of colorful tropical fish. Having shifted its economy in the past 30 years from the previous model of sugar cane production and free zone into a tourism destination and telecommunication –based outsourcing, the  Dominican Republic now finds its true self using the best of its land.

The humpback whales visit the island in March for over 6 months.

The data is contained in the book "Protected areas of the  Dominican   Republic , pure nature", by José Manuel Mateo Feliz and Adolfo López Belando, work done with support from the Vicini Group and the Institute of Geography and History of the Organization American States (OAS). The authors note that eco-tourism is mainly developed in protected areas, providing a space to promote full contact with nature.  Land conservation offers opportunities for recreation and observation of landscapes, birds, recreation and environmental education. Within the six categories of protected area management are the natural and cultural monuments, of which the country has 28 with an area of ​​634.94 square kilometers, according to the study of Matthew and Lee. A natural and cultural monument is an area that contains one or more natural features and / or cultural groups of outstanding or unique value for its inherent rarity, representative or aesthetic qualities or cultural significance.

Diving in places like Sosua can be an exhilarating experience with diving sites in wrecks, reefs and caves.

In his research, Matthew and Lee detailed 19 natural monuments. This is the Cabo Francés Viejo, Salto El Limón, Dunes in Bani, Mahogany, Catalina Island, Cabarete and Goleta, Loma Isabel de Torres, Pico Diego de Ocampo, Cumayasa River and  Wonderland  Caves, and water hole hopping Damajagua. Also he detailed the characteristics of the monuments Loma La Altagracia, Cape Samana, San Juan River Rain Forest, Caves of Anthropological Reserve Bourbon or El Pomier, Cerro de San Francisco, Los caching, Miguel Domingo Fuerte, Los Tres Ojos.

The cordillera Central is a mountain chain that crosses the island diagonally, and it is where Pico Duarte ( El Pico ) is located. Green areas and sevral national parks nearby make it a unique eco tour.

The monument of Cabo Frances, located in the province of Maria Trinidad Sanchez (Cabrera), is a small promontory jutting into the northern coast of the island with a linear line of 5 miles between coasts, reefs and beaches. From the top of the cliff it has a broad vision of great scenic beauty of the coastal marine area.  From the coastline, humpback whale watching is possible in the months of January to March. At the Salto El Limon in Samana the most remarkable element is a cascade or waterfall of 40 meters. It houses a large population of the endemic flora that also provides refuge for unique bird species native of the island. Water production is a vital element in this protected area, including Arroyo Chico, which is the one that feeds the waterfall, which is the emblem of the monument.

The sand Dunes located in the province Peravia (Bani ) includes spectacular dunes, only seen in the island of  Dominican   Republic  in the Caribbean.  It also contains a number of wetlands on the coast of the bay of Las Calderas. The tour of the dunes is impressive and is facing a large-scale beach lapped by the Caribbean Sea. A lot of Flamingos are part of the local fauna. The visit to the protected area can yield interesting vies of the  dry forest that grows behind the beach and dunes, with all their associated fauna. The coastal lagoons are large areas of mangroves also of great importance for the conservation of biodiversity, for researchers and visitors who come to the protected area.

A beautiful small piece of land, The Catalina is a small island six miles long with 500 meters sea strip. It is located in the province of La Romana. It has large sand dunes and is a nesting of several species of sea turtles.  The coastal zone includes coral reefs that form a cliff 60 meters deep. Also you can dive into the wreck of the pirate ship that is attributed to the legendary English Captain Kidd. The monument of the Cave of Wonders, in the province of San Pedro de Macoris, includes a cave with rock art, considered one of the most important in the Caribbean. This cave has important archaeological value that draws interest because of the presence of about 300 pre-Columbian paintings.

The caves of Las Maravillas in La Romana, Dominican Republic have an impressive set of high ceilings and light reflections that might be almost unique in the world.

In the beach towns of Sosua and Cabarete there`s El Choco National Park with its caves and the Cabarete Lagoon.

Sosua beach in the Northern Province of Puerto Plata offers some of the best spots for tourists and locals to relax.

Dominican Republic Real Estate and Vacation Villa Rentals

           809-377-2038 / 829-477-2038

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Carnival Corporation announced the construction of a modern cruise ship terminal in the community of Maimon, Puerto Plata, at a cost of $65 million and will generate about $ 30 million in the first year of operation. The announcement was made by Giora Israel, senior vice president of this world leader in cruise ship tours,  in a ceremony which was led by Dominican Republic Minister of Tourism Francisco Javier Garcia.  The tourism executive described the work as a high-impact tourism project for the province, which will be ready to receive two ships simultaneously for at least four thousand passengers and crew of one thousand, and will begin construction on October of 2011 and be completed by 2013. The terminal at Bahía de Maimón will be equipped to dock two 4,000-plus-passenger, 1,000-crew cruiseships simultaneously. Although it will be built and operated by Carnival, other cruiselines will be able to dock at the new facilities.

Cruise Port Layout shown by local authorities and Carnival Cruises representatives

"This project has a future and guarantees success for Carnival Corporation in addition to an investment of $65 million there`s a guaranteed massive presence of cruise ships and passengers, as opposed to that terminal's being built by the Dominican goverment," said Tourism Minister. Javier Garcia said Carnival Corporation unites all sectors of the region working in one direction, and that according to preliminary studies in the first year would reach 250,000 cruise passengers, and the following would reach 600,000 vacationers on cruises, a number far larger than the ones received in the country today via cruise ships.

Carnival Cruise Lines is the world`s largest ship cruise tour operator, here the Carnival Pride.

"In its heyday Puerto Plata received 174,000 passenger cruise ship that touched its port, Carnival says the first year 250 thousand, and in the coming years, this amount may increase to 600 thousand, which means that Puerto Plata will receive more than all received across the country today, "he said. The terminal will be built in a tourist area of 50,000 square meters in the Bay of Maimon, for a period of two years, will have shops, market, park area, aquatic environment, amenities and public area, creating about 800 jobs.

Executives of the company highlighted the qualities of the area and the beautiful surroundings, the facilities for passengers to move to the city of Puerto Plata and other parts of the region, but especially the environmental impact and respect for the International Code for Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS). The speed of the work is mainly due to the investment does not require any funding and the facilities offered by the Dominican government to investors, bringing together all sectors involved in the planning and construction of the project from the initial permit until the end will have the backing of President Leonel Fernandez.

The Carnival Magic is the latest ship added to the fleet, now also coming to Puerto Plata.

CONSTRUCTION AND MOTIVATION
The study submitted by the investor plans to increase spending by cruise passengers $ 43 to $ 95 per day, assuming that the average cost is $ 97 per passenger and the terminal will have all the facilities for passengers. The terminal will be built and operated by Carnival Corporation, but other cruise lines will play Puerto Plata tourist destination. The doors were also open to investors who want to be part of the terminal in the complementary offer for visitors. Giora Israel revealed that although Puerto Plata has conditions as the target aspect was the motivation of the Minister of Tourism Francisco Javier Garcia, during the celebration of the XVII Cruise held last October in Santo Domingo.

The news of the construction of the new cruise ship port is having a very positive impact on the beach towns of Sosua, Cabarete, Cofresi, Costambar and Puerto Plata which have seen a decline in tourism in the past few years due to low investment and efforts by the goverment. Despite all this, real estate, villa and condo rentals have kept tourists coming to the North coast because of its natural beauty and scenery. The cruise ship travel industry has highlighted this as one of the most important announcements in the industry this year.

VIDEO: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

                DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REAL ESTATE

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