The Dominican Republic - The All-Inclusive Way

If you live in Canada, the UK, Germany, and lots of other countries all-inclusive holidays are available to you for a very reasonable price. I'm not sure about the US, but if you live close to the Canadian border and or a major Canadian Airport, you can participate with your American Passport.

If you want to plan you holiday months ahead of time you will not find a bargain. If you decide where you want to go, make plans to go and then check the web daily, you can get great last minute deals because the plane must be filled and the prices drop daily until the planes are full.

We decided where we wanted to go, checked out the info available for the area and went to selloffvacations.com. We filled in the blanks - Dominican Republic, Puerto Plata, all-inclusive, 4 star or better (our personal preference) beachfront, our dates and clicked the button to see what was available.

We had already been to CAA to pick up the books on resorts in the Dominican and else ware so we could look up the resorts that were cheap and read the reviews and make a decision.

We made a decision 2 weeks before we left.  An all-inclusive one-week holiday - 4 star resort averaged $800 per person for last minute deals. (That is everything including flights) Ours because we are old cost a bit more per week because we bought travel medical insurance.

Another web site we used was Bellairtravel.com

If you are not picky and would settle for a 2 or 3 star resort, the price drops to half of what we paid. We were in a 3 star resort one other time and enjoyed our stay - we would have liked better food (more choices) but that was our only complaint. The pools, the beach were fantastic and the service great, the room acceptable.

If you have never gone on an all-inclusive holiday, I highly recommend it. Baring any unforeseen disasters, your whole holiday is planned in advance, paid for and there is no real need to spend more money. (With a few minor exceptions - to follow)

All-inclusive means what it says. Your flight (charter) your room with air-condition, a fridge and a TV is included. All your meals and snacks (24/7), and all your drinks (9am-1am - depending on your resort) are included. Even tips are included in the one price. Your room is cleaned daily, the grounds are spotless and if you need anything all you have to do is ask. There is always entertainment of one kind or another happening and never a dull moment.

My husband and I have done this several times and we love it. All except the year in Mexico, when the staff tried to save the corporation some money and refilled empty water bottles. 300 of the 600 people at the resort got sick. I'll bet they don't do that anymore. My husband was sick but I stayed well and enjoyed the holiday. We were there with 4 other couples.

We often holiday in Florida and find we spend more money there because of flight costs, car rental, gas, 3 meals a day and hotel or condo costs plus entertainment. Things you don't need in a gated resort on an island in the sun.

Additional costs are - $15.oo per week for you safe in your room, a necessity and well worth the cash - our travel documents, my camera and battery charger lived in there along with our bag of cash and my belly pack and my husband's wallet.

$3 to $8 dollars for 15 minutes to 1-hour Internet access. It is suppose to be high speed and I was able to access our email but it didn't like Gather.com.

Lots of trips are available outside of the compound FOR A FEE. You can deep sea fish, snorkel on the coral reefs, horse back ride, go on a safari in the jungle, visit the local town and see the poverty up front and visit a museum and a rum factory, You can go to a private island called paradise Island for the day - to name just a few of the choices.  In the past we gone on the 3-hour horseback ride and loved it! ($50 bucks each) We also took the all day catamaran trip and snorkeled the coral reefs. That was a blast, a daylong party on a huge sailboat - food and drink are included - I don't remember the price but it was around $70 - $80 per person. There is golfing, all sorts of water play and entertainment - kyacks, sailing, and a lots more.  Non-motorized water play is free.

This year because of my health we stayed close to the resort. We walked for miles on the beach and through our area, visiting a few casinos and dinning out at two of our favorite American style restaurants near "the mall". Most of the time we just relaxed by the sea.

The last thing you should know about all-inclusive is that even though the staff gets a pittance of what we pay for the holiday, it is wise to take lots of American one dollar bills.

We tipped the maids daily and we got great service .
We tipped our waiters and waitresses and they remembered us.

We tipped the bell men and when we needed them they were tripping over each other to get to us first (lots of people carry their own luggage because they think tipping is silly)
Our bar people were tipped and as soon as we sat down or got near any of the bars, our drinks were waiting without us even asking. The tips were not big either - just one or two bucks each time.

The weather was fantastic, a bit of rain but nothing to dampen our spirits. The temps were hot and there was always a comfortable breeze off the Atlantic. In the late afternoon that breeze turned into a gale and by then we were by the pools instead.

It was a restful, fun and entertaining holiday. We were sorry to have to leave and I still miss that warmth.

If you know of any all-inclusive web sites from the US I would be interested in knowing about them. We live close to Buffalo and wonder if we could fly out of there.

I took a ton of photos so I hope you enjoy the ones I posted here.