A Caribbean Week Under $1,000

If you’re like me, you’ll spend your first hours in the Dominican Republic in a happy daze. Having paid at least 30% to 40% less for your vacation there than to other Caribbean locales, you discover to your delight that the island’s large resort hotels are more or less identical to others in the tropics--no better, no worse.

For less than $1,000 per person in summer, including round-trip air fare from Southern California, lodgings for a week and three meals a day, you lie on beaches just as pleasant, enjoy sea sports just as extensive and eat meals just as tasty as those sold at far higher rates in Jamaica, the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico.

It is commonly acknowledged that vacations in the Dominican Republic are today the cheapest in all the Caribbean--lower even than those of Mexico. The weak Dominican currency ($1 buys about 14.33 Dominican pesos), the low wages and poor economic prospects of its people and the troubled image of Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, have combined to create a treasure trove of bargains for the beach-loving traveler.

And while those reasons may raise disquieting political, philosophical and ethical questions, they have created a massive tourist industry that helps to alleviate the island’s problems, at least to some extent.

British and German tourists were the first to take advantage of bargain-priced air-and-hotel packages to the Dominican Republic. The Canadians came next. This year, it is already clear that an upsurge in U.S. tourism to the Dominican Republic has taken place and should continue to grow in the months ahead.

For Americans, the lure of low prices has been aided by a general feeling that the island is now politically stable after years of troubles with dictators, coups, a civil war and invasion by the U.S. Marines.

From whom do you buy a bargain-priced vacation to the Dominican Republic?

Interisland Tours, telephone (800) 245-3434, is one leading source. A major wholesaler to the Dominican Republic since 1990, it more than doubled its business this past winter over previous seasons. It is running summer packages from various American cities to 18 mostly all-inclusive resorts (meaning that for one price they provide three meals daily, unlimited beverages, and sports and entertainment) starting at $320 for six nights (with air fare, it adds up to about $963 from Los Angeles). That’s an excellent rate.

A second firm, active in the area since the 1980s, is Travel Impressions, tel. (800) 284-0044, which has just expanded its offerings by more than 25%. It now handles 23 all-inclusive properties, with five-night packages starting at $315 (adding air, that means $938 from California). Book through your travel agent.

The Dominican Republic has 1,000 miles of beaches and gracious, open-hearted people. The ambience is very Latin-flavored, with Dominican warmth and friendliness contrasting markedly with certain other Caribbean islands.

The greatest concentration of resorts is on the north coast, in the so-called Playa Dorada area between the towns of Sosua and Puerto Plata. One dividend of this district is the option to visit Puerto Plata--which has an amber museum and shop--quaint Sosua or other local towns.

But Punta Cana, on the south coast, is coming up strong, with lovely, palm-fringed white sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters. Most of its hotels are big and resort-style. Its only drawback (to me) is a comparative lack of local contact. Hotels are pretty much the only thing going, and many people just stay on the premises. Some, though, do take day trips to the interior to see waterfalls and nature-oriented sights.

Finally, there’s Juan Dolio, east of Santo Domingo, with hotels on a lovely beach and a wider variety of hotels (some not always so lovely) than in Punta Cana. It’s easy to make day trips from here to Santo Domingo for culture and history. Also not too far away is the town of San Pedro de Macoris, with its beautiful Victorian and neoclassical mansions and training camps for baseball teams (see tomorrow’s stars today!).

The chief attribute of all three major areas: growth, with new resorts sprouting everywhere. Five centuries after Columbus waded ashore, Republica Dominicana is being rediscovered big-time--and with eight or 10 new hotels being built annually, the trend is likely to yield still more and better bargains in the coming years.

This new column from Frommer, the longtime budget travel expert, appears weekly in the Travel section.