Dominican Republic, January 2015

Well, I've been feeling the travel itch again after about 7 months in the U.S. during which I've only taken some road trips. I've been helping out as a caregiver for my parents and over the last two months in New Jersey have been getting a little stir crazy. So where to go? Well, it's winter so someplace warm, a place where January is prime season to visit because it's unpleasantly hot there much of the year, a real country with some real sights, a country I've never been to before, one I can cover reasonably well in not too lengthy a period of time, and one neither too far nor too expensive to get to. I've got it - the Dominican Republic. The Caribbean is a part of the world of which I've seen rather little. The only place I've been in the region is Puerto Rico where I went for a week in May 2002, enticed by a good deal on airfare. The Caribbean is close to home, and I've tended to go farther away, at least if the travel involves flying somewhere. Many of the Caribbean islands also seem very resort and quite expensive. Puerto Rico had some nice parts like Old San Juan and the Ruta Panoramica in the mountains, but it was also quite Americanized and not very exotic. The Dominican Republic, though, is a real country with significant size and diversity and not just a resort island. In some ways it's a little familiar because I lived in the mostly Dominican Inwood neighborhood in upper Manhattan in New York until I was six years old. My plan for the Dominican Republic is to rent a car and tour many parts of the island rather than stay in a beach resort and take package trips from there. Maybe someday I'll head back for a timeshare trade week at the beach at Punta Cana or Bavaro, but now I'm in the mood to see more of the country.

Planned Dates

Jan 06, 2015 to Jan 21, 2015

Countries

2