Dominican Republic Safe?
 

We are going to the Dominican Republic in late Feb. Is it safe to rent a car and drive around the island ourselves or should we just stick to tours? What should we see? How would we get from airport at Santo Domingo to La Romana? Thanks.

We went to Puerta Plata, All-inclusive Riu Merengue Resort last Feb. and we had a wonderful time. The food was excellent and abundant. The rooms were small but very clean. The staff were always smiling "Hola!!" whenever they saw you. The beach was very clean and about 1/2 mile long. Couldn't have found a nicer place on the island. <BR><BR>You definitely would not want to rent a car and travel this part of the island. You need to remember that this is a 3rd world country and you do not want to travel off the resort without a tour guide. There were armed guards at the entrance to our resort which was a little unsettling but we knew about this before we booked the trip.<BR><BR>We took a snorkeling trip that was a lot of fun but there were not many fish to see. If you like snorkeling do not spend any money for tours on this island. You are better off on St. Thomas, St. John or Grand Cayman.<BR><BR>We would not hesitate to return to the Dominican but would never plan to leave the resort.<BR><BR>Good luck and have fun!

I would recommend San Juan instead.

Why would you spend that amount of money to visit an Island and all you do si stay within the walls of a hotel? When you go on vacation it is good to get out and explore,not spend all day eating and drinking on a beach.

Armed guards at the entrance to the resort??? It doesn't appeal to me at all if I have to be held captive at a resort and safety is such a concern that armed guards are needed. And this is supposed to be a vacation spot?

Janice,<BR> Some people may enjoy "spending all day eating and drinking on a beach" when on vacation. Everyone has a different idea of what a vacation should be - just because you like to get out and explore doesn't mean everyone should like that too.