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Juan Dolio, in San Pedro de Macoris province, is another touristic area in the DR, but the area isn´t popular with international tourists.
That looks so run-of-the-mill touristy.
As an aside, I was just thinking how anytime DR and Cuba are on the same thread, Cuba always wins out as the substantially more interesting one. There hasn't been one person who has denied that Cuba is the much more attractive/cooler/more interesting place.
Because Cuba looks like a time travel, just like visiting Rome 60 years after the Ostrogoths sacked and destroyed the city. Eusebio Leal is trying to restore Old Havana, which is a magnificent place, so is Centro Habana. Miramar, former residential place, appalling, la Vibora, appalling, not comparable to anything in America.
Last edited by CHESTER MANIFOLD; 10-05-2018 at 09:37 AM..
Constanza is another popular destination among Dominicans, especially in the winter months when the air in this valley is crisp and cold.
This town is in the highest valley that´s inhabited in the Caribbean. During the winter months many of the small rivers freeze at night and many morning arrive with a layer of frost on the trees, grass, and cars. There are a few mountain resorts that cater mostly to Dominicans. Given that its not very common to have such cold weather in the Caribbean, I don´t know why they don´t turn this valley into a vacation spot for people from all over the Caribbean. Many Dominican families have vacation homes scattered in the pine studded mountains surrounding the valley. These homes are usually built in Alpine architectural styles and all have chimneys, which is a rarity in the Caribbean.
There are very few palm trees and an over abundance of pine trees. Many areas look more like New England than the Caribbean. This is the only place in the Caribbean where fruits and vegetables from cold climates are grown (such as apples). It has never snowed, but flurries do fall from time to time during the winter months, especially during the night and early mornings. There´s another valley nearby that is at a higher elevation, but it´s uninhabited. Its official name is La Nevera (The Fridge). The name says it all. lol
There are very few 360 degree photos of the town and even of most of the mountain resorts. I´ll show images mostly of the Constanza valley, Altocerro Hotel, and of neighboring Valle Nuevo National Park. The first few photos are of the town.
As an aside, I was just thinking how anytime DR and Cuba are on the same thread, Cuba always wins out as the substantially more interesting one. There hasn't been one person who has denied that Cuba is the much more attractive/cooler/more interesting place.
You keep comparing those two countries when they don't have anything in common. Even less with Haiti, Cubans are still horrified by their slave revolt and many in the government fear a large slave revolt in the near future. Not joking.
Last edited by CHESTER MANIFOLD; 10-06-2018 at 04:14 AM..
Cabarete, on the north coast, is an interesting tourist town. Its informally known as the windsurf capital of the Western Hemisphere and every June it host the international windsurfing championship with participants from all over the world. The beach is perfect for all sorts of watersports such as surfing, kitesurfing and other types.
The town itself is very new. It started to sprang up in the 1980´s when a group of Canadian surfers discovered the beach. Until then it was nothing more than a rural stretch of highway with nothing else except cattle ranches. Today its a sort of one road town. It has a nice vibe with many young people from many parts of world. The hotels tend to be small to medium size, mostly independently run. Nightlife is mostly right on the beach.
Overall its a very cool place. Photos don´t capture the ambiance and the overall vibe.
Cabarete, on the north coast, is an interesting tourist town. Its informally known as the windsurf capital of the Western Hemisphere and every June it host the international windsurfing championship with participants from all over the world. The beach is perfect for all sorts of watersports such as surfing, kitesurfing and other types.
The town itself is very new. It started to sprang up in the 1980´s when a group of Canadian surfers discovered the beach. Until then it was nothing more than a rural stretch of highway with nothing else except cattle ranches. Today its a sort of one road town. It has a nice vibe with many young people from many parts of world. The hotels tend to be small to medium size, mostly independently run. Nightlife is mostly right on the beach.
That's the feel I get when I look at many of the DR towns, they seem more centered on recent tourism...
I find it ironic that on the day I posted something on Cabarete, The New York Times decides to publish an article on real estate on the north coast and specifically in Cabarete.
While the article is focused on foreign buyers, it does mention that the DR wasn’t affected by the 2008 financial crisis as much as other Caribbean markets. What it doesn’t mention is the reason DR touristic real estate was among the least affected. Local Dominican buyers make up most of the buyers of such real estate. The local element is what’s missing in most Caribbean islands because they don’t have sizable middle/upper middle class and upper class to sustain vacation real estate markets. There are some touristic real estate developments that are dominated by foreign buyers, but in most such developments the buyers are a healthy mix of Dominicans and foreigners, while a sizable amount of developments are dominated by Dominican buyers.
Also, the DR economy was well shielded from the international crisis due to a more stringent debts market (unlike what happen in the US where many people that shouldn’t had been given debt received them only to later default and face forclosure).
Quote:
On the island’s less-trafficked northern coast, where “everything is on a smaller scale,” a stable economy and increased tourism are driving a slow market uptrend.
Quote:
Although the Dominican Republic’s housing market slowed after the 2008 global financial crisis, “it never fell as much as other parts of the Caribbean and the world,” said William Holden, the broker-owner of Holden Sotheby’s International Realty.
Quote:
“Everything is on a smaller scale” in the Puerto Plata region, said Sabine A. Mertes-Urbahn, the broker-owner of Select Caribbean Properties. “But you have a very nice international, cosmopolitan community here, with many families from all over the world.”
Quote:
Americans and Canadians looking for vacation or retirement homes make up a large portion of the foreign buyers in the Dominican Republic, real estate professionals said, noting that there is also strong interest from Europeans, particularly those in France, Italy, Spain and Germany.
Mr. Holden said he has also seen a growing number of Russian buyers, as well as a recent influx of Venezuelans. “It’s very stable politically, and property rights are very secure,” he said of the Dominican Republic.
Quote:
“If you’re looking to make a growth on your investment, the northern coast is the way to go,” said Juan Manuel Suero, a senior partner at the law firm Aaron Suero & Pedersini, in Santo Domingo.
Other buyers are lured by the diverse terrain. “In the north coast we have mountains, and rivers where you can go rafting,” Ms. Mertes-Urbahn said. “The area is also famous for surfing. And there’s snorkeling. It’s more diverse here.”
As an aside, I was just thinking how anytime DR and Cuba are on the same thread, Cuba always wins out as the substantially more interesting one. There hasn't been one person who has denied that Cuba is the much more attractive/cooler/more interesting place.
nah, Historically SD is more interesting, it is older, and has the first university, cathedral, post office ect ect and SD is just huge compared to Havana, havana is not that big and very run down.
nah, Historically SD is more interesting, it is older, and has the first university, cathedral, post office ect ect and SD is just huge compared to Havana, havana is not that big and very run down.
Ahm...you do know that Havana has a university called the University of Havana that has 24,000 students, right?
When Obama visited Cuba, he was rather critic, and the official press answered: 'Negro, ¿tú eres sueco?'. The n-word, are you Swedish?
...
Interesting comment in 2018. Trump wishes he can openly display this attitude.
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