Costambar
Less a traveler's destination than an expat hideaway, Costambar is still worth a look - it's got a beautiful, secluded beach with a view of the ships leaving harbor to the east , and a couple of good restaurants. It's finding a hotel that's the challenge - this is a private community see www.apc-costambar.com that consists entirely of time-share units and vacation homes, many occupied for six months of the year by Canadians on the run from winter. Some of the condo associations will rent by the...
Malecn
Less appealing than you might otherwise expect considering its waterfront Caribbean setting, Santo Domingo's Malec n, a long expanse of baking concrete, has several high-rise hotels. The upside is that many rooms have views, all have pools and health clubs, and most have casinos and nightclubs. The downside is you'll have to take a taxi almost everywhere you go - you'll sweat just walking from the street to the hotel entrance - and the accommodation is very much bland interna-tional-chain...
Drinking Oun
Social life in Jarabacoa revolves around Parque Central. The church, the casino and restaurants are all here, and at night the numerous colmados pump loud merengue and beery customers onto the sidewalk, where the party really gets going. El Viejo Jack 809-574-7536 cnr Mario N Gal n amp Mella S 10 30am-10 30pmSun-Thu, to midnight Fri amp Sat This liquor-store -cum-bar is full of enormous glass cases of dust-free premium booze, which Jarabacoa's elite quaff by the bottleful. Balloon wine glasses...
Eating
Caf Restaurant Fernando 809-523-4939 Calle Pedro Mella near Av Duarte mains US 5-11 S lunch amp dinner Mon-Sat The food here is unremarkable - the typical menu of Italian-style and international standards and sandwiches - but it's a more organized and reliable choice than other similar restaurants in town. Restaurant Buxceda II 809-527-5320 cnr Av Duarte amp Calle Hungr a mains USS7-10 S breakfast, lunch amp dinner This simple and unpretentious restaurant is willing to please any fish, any...
Sleeping Eating Jbf
Casita Mariposa 809-325-2378 s d ind breakfast USS15 24 A German-French couple runs this, the best lodging in Punta Rusia. Set on a bluff overlooking the ocean, it has great sea views, and it's just a short walk to a remote beach. Accommodation is in a handful of rustic cabins. To get there, just as you enter town look for a gomero tire-repair shop on your left, and turn right on the small road leading uphill just opposite. El Paraiso Tours r US 35 has a few rooms for rent in the large...
WhaleWatching
From mid-January to mid-March the Samana Bay becomes the whale-watching capital of the Caribbean. In fact, they come in such high numbers and with such regularity that the DR is considered one of the best places in the world to observe humpbacks see pl45 . Most tours depart from the town of Saman , and guests are treated to numerous sightings, sometimes at very close range. Reservations are a good idea - the tours are very popular and the season overlaps with Carnival and Independence Day.
Sleeping Tnr
1.1111 Rahia Blanca Hotel 809-589-2563 Calle Deligne bahia.blanca.dr codetel.net.do r USS15-35 Jutting out over turquoise blue waters, the Bah a Blanca has one of the best ocean views on the north coast. Rooms are decent -clean, tile-floored and with private bathroom - but are showing their age. All but two have at least partial ocean views and wide balconies on each of the three floors provide plenty of opportunities to enjoy the beauty. Rooms on the 3rd floor are the most spacious and have...
Eiffel Tower Or White Elephant
The idea of commemorating Columbus' landing with a lighthouse wasn't Balaguer's the Faro a Col n see below was suggested as early as the middle of the 18th century and later revived at the Fifth International American conference in Santiago, Chile, in 1923. The site of the memorial was always Santo Domingo. An international design competition was launched in 1929 and after sorting through hundreds of submissions from dozens of countries, the reward of US 10,000 eventually went to JL Gleave, a...
Motoconcho
Cheaper and easier to find than taxis, moto-conchos motorcycle taxis are the best and sometimes only way, to get around in many towns. An average ride should set you back no more than US 1.50. However, a high number of riders have been injured or killed in motoconcho accidents ask the driver to slow down M s despacio por favor if you think he's driving dangerously. Avoid two passengers on a bike since not only is the price the same as taking separate bikes but the extra weight makes most...
Haiti Food Drink
Haitians love to eat. Everywhere you go in Haiti you can see food being prepared and eaten, from quick snacks cooked on the street and heaped plates of rice and beans being carried onto buses by hungry passengers, to liveried waiters serving high cuisine in the capital's swankiest restaurants. Haitian - that is to say Creole - cuisine is fairly simple, with a heavy reliance on starches, such as rice and plantains, and a selection of hearty sauces, complemented by the local catch from the...
Southern Haiti 1
Oasis Cybercafe Ave de la Libert per hr US 0.85 S 10am-10pm
Medical Services Vbe
Centro de Obsetetria'a y Ginoecolog a Map p77 809-221-7100 cnr Av Independencia amp Jos Joaquin P rez S 24hr This hospital specializes in gynecology and obstetrics, but is equipped to handle all emergencies. Cl nica Abreu Map p77 809-688-4411 cnr Av Independencia amp Burgos S 24hr Widely regarded as the best hospital in the city, this is where members of many of the embassies go. Farmacia San Judas Map pp80-1 s 809-685-8165 cnr Av Independencia amp Pichardo S 24hr Free delivery. Farmax Map p77...
Gay Lesbian Venues
Much like the straight scene, gay and lesbian venues in Santo Domingo don't tend to last for too long. The following were open at the time of research. Amazonia g 809-412-7629 DrDelgado71 S 8pm-late Frl-Sun A mostly lesbian bar in Gazcue. CHA Av George Washington 165 S 6pm-3am Fri amp Sat, 6pm-1am Sun A fun place with good music, shows and strippers. Esedeku Mappp80-1 g 809-869-6322 Las Mercedes 341 S Tue-Sun 8pm-late Only a block from Calle El Conde, Esedeku is an intimate bar, with a huge...
Papadocracy Haiti The Duvaliers
Economic disarray continued into the 1940s. The elite squashed the attempts of progressive black president Dumarais Estim to redress Haiti's inequalities, and corrupt military-backed rule remained the order of the day. In 1957, however, a black country doctor named Fran ois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier swept national elections on a Noiriste platform. The masses thought salvation lay ahead, while the elite saw another potential front man to do their bidding. Both were cruelly mistaken. Power was...
Trillo de la Hispaniola
The Hispaniola Trail is reputedly the one used by Columbus to walk from the north coast to the interior. This may or may not be true, but a former environment minister - in a moment of political narcissism - announced the trail with great fanfare but little to no funding. The trail runs from here in Mata Grande to Rio Limpio in the west. The trek takes about eight days, on foot and by mule, and there are no cabins or support of any kind, although you do pass through a number of small villages....
Parc National Macaya
The 5500-hectare Pare National Macaya contains Haiti's last region of cloud forest, spread across the mountain ridges of the Massif de la Hotte. It has an extremely rich biodiversity, particularly birds and amphibians, with a high number of endemic species. One in every 10 plants is only found inside the park, with orchids notably represented. The near-permanent cloud cover brings around 4000mm of rain per year, which goes on to water the Plaine des Cayes, Haiti's most productive agricultural...
Sleeping Eating Ayu
Hotels are listed in order of their distance from Cap-Ha tien. Cormier Plage Resort 3528-1110 cormier hughes.net Route de Labadie s d USS106 168 half-board P K O One of the loveliest resorts in Haiti, Cormier Plage has 36 big and airy rooms dotted amid palm trees looking out to sea, all with terrace and wi-fi, and meters from the gendy shelving golden beach. The restaurant is one of the best seafood places in the country, and worth making a detour to from Cap-Ha tien. Belli Beach Bar 2262-2338...
Drinking Entertainment
IB Irish Tavern 809-708-5205 irish. tavern comcast.com Calie 12 de Julio 22 S 8am-8pm Mon-Sat This friendly Irish-owned bar does the best US 2.50 Dominican lunch in town. It also does fish and chips and shepherd's pie. A Guinness will set you back a mere US 4, and there's sometimes Bushmill's behind the bar. It has one of the best book swaps in the country. Terraza Las Almendras 809-854-0092 www .puertoplatalasalmendras.info cnrMalecon amp Calle A Brugal Montanez S 8am-late With pleasant...