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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Having a great vacation in the Dominican Republic might involve renting a private villa or condo for the conveniences it offers. Most travelers contact us requesting beach villas in Sosua and while there`s a lot of villas advertised as beach villas for rent or sale, the reality is that most of the rental ones are not really on the beach, except for a few ultra luxury properties set on the ocean front or in neighboring residential communities. Over 95% of the most demanded villa rentals in Sosua are set on gated communities as seen in the map below showing the main beaches numbered 1 to 6; to keep private villas as such, we`ll classify the villa locations from A to J:

Location A has the most villas below US$300.00 per day, a 20 min. walk or a 3 min. drive in a car, includes free daily shuttle 5 times per day to Sosua and Cabarete beach. Location B has some small villas too, mostly booked up.  The C has the SPC0575 /SPC0576 which is a top rental for groups, within walking distance to town and can offer a total of 7 bedrooms or rented as a 2, 5, 6 or 4 bedroom villa ( configured with 2 attached villas or 1 ). D has two oceanfront listings: spc0255  and spc0429 which could be available at a deal on low season.

THESE TWO ARE GREAT OCEANFRONT VILLAS FOR RENT IN SOSUA, IN THE LUXURY LISTINGS.

CLICK THE SOSUA MAP TO VIEW LARGER IMAGE

Location E has some condos and villas for rent, best if a rental car is at hand.  F has some of the finest villa rentals in Sosua, starting around US$850.00 per night and much higher for beach front properties. The I has luxury beachfront condos for a low deal, starting around US$145.00 per night, code SPC0591 and frequently used for bachelor parties because it`s a private area within walking distance to town and there`s good availability most of the year.

THESE ARE SOME OF THE VILLAS IN LOCATION A OF THE MAP ABOVE.

All the villas we list are certified to be good as a vacation rental, and testimonials attest our dedication for quality. If we ever face an issue with a villa not being up to our standards, we place it in a special list pending re-certification once the issues are corrected. Airport transfers are available for all the rental guests, the current cost is US$30.00 for a van that fits around 10 people.

Other locations such as H and G in the map below also offer excellent beach front villa rentals, one of them is spc0873 which has 3 bedrooms and located right on the beach. The distance from these two locations is about a 6 minute drive to Sosua`s main center, same for Cabarete beach. Quite easy just to rent a car, there`s drivers available and rates as low as US$34.00 per day. Location J in the map has a magnificent mountain view villa, code spc0661. which has 4 bedrooms and takes just 7 minutes from the center of town to the villa.

THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF LUXURY OCEAN FRONT AND BEACH VILLAS IS FOUND IN LOCATIONS F, H AND J.  - CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER SIZE

VILLA SPC0661 HAS AMAZING VISTAS OF THE MOUNTAINS, JUST MINUTES AWAY FROM ALL THE BEACHES.

There are many good deals available, specially with the one bedroom option rental club that applies to some properties that will let you rent one or two bedrooms for a fraction of the price, letting you rent a luxury villa and just use what you need. Just make sure you ask the rental agent before if you plan to host a bachelor party, so the proper vacation villa is booked, since there`s some properties not fit for parties due to neighbor`s proximity.

Call Golden Treasures Vacation Rentals for more information at 809-571-1001 / 809-377-2038 / 829-477-2038 or email us.

SOSUA BEACH, NUMBER 1 IN THE MAP

WATERFRONT BEACH, NUMBER 2 ON THE MAP

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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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Researcher Manuel Rodriguez urges control in coastal fishing. Starting with the results of research conducted on the North coast, marine biologist Manuel Alejandro Rodriguez has developed a program that includes the creation of governmental and voluntary teams to be responsible for mitigating short-and long-term damage to the Marine Sanctuary in Sosua, restore the environmental health and prepare for visitors.

"Joining forces with Tourism, local environmental office and the City hall can work to make the Sanctuary a great place for contemplative diving, a real deal for the community that has proven very profitable in other countries and would have much success in Sosua," believes Rodriguez. The project have teamed Elda Cantizano from the Superior Dive Center, Sosua`s City hall, the Municipal Heritage Community Unit (UMPC), the Ministry of Environment, volunteers and soon the Peace Corps will join. Sosua is a famous area for diving and snorkeling in the North coast of the Dominican Republic, and many resort and villa rental clients take tours in the diving boats and catamarans just to enjoy the beautiful flora and fauna that lives in the reefs and diving sites around Sosua Bay and nearby areas.

"This project aims to formally establish the first marine sanctuary in the northern coast, where fishing is strictly forbidden and also any kind of extraction or exploitation detrimental to marine ecosystems and forested area," says Rodriguez. Problems in the Sanctuary: intensive overfishing, imbalance in the ocean food chain, deforestation, soil erosion, sediment and continuous supply of land to sea, bacteria and fungi of land, increased marine algae and pathogenic organisms present in water sea, sewage extraction of marine organisms, the human contact with marine life, polluted river water inputs and rich in ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and phosphates, ocean acidification, waste, destruction of mangroves and seagrass beds.

Photos of marine life in Sosua courteasy of Northern Coast Diving in Sosua, Dominican Republic.

Volunteers who wish to cooperate, said Rodriguez may do so by attending reforestation projects (divers participating in underwater cleanups and coral nurseries), donating materials or funds. Since so many foreigners now live and own property in Sosua, it`s urgent to create awareness to protect the coastal marine sanctuary in order to preserve and further develop the ecologically friendly tourism that Sosua desperately needs. The participation of real estate companies, of which many have greatly benefited in Sosua, could be vital for educating new settlers into preserving nature`s valuable resources in the area.

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URGE REGULATIONS FOR FISHING IN THE SANCTUARY
Rodriguez says that nothing is worth the work of reforestation and recovery of marine ecosystems that are currently performed if no fishing is prohibited in the Sanctuary. "It's an outrage that is solved by placing a guard to watch.

The whole coast is destroyed and species are critically endangered, but unless we declare the area a protected area we can never recover, "he says. In the short term, he proposes to educate the people in the conservation issues involving people in ecotourism. Excerpted from Yaniris López in Sosua, Puerto Plata.

Sosua Diving Video:

Related Links:

Diving in Sosua

Sosua Beach

Northern Coast Diving

Sosua Villas

Tourists enjoying the natural beauty of Sosua beach, with catamaran sail, fishing boat and glass bottom boat in the background.

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