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Dominican Republic Information

Dominican Republic Excursions and Adventure Tours

The Dominican Republic offers white, sandy beaches and waterfalls throughout the island - and a variety of adventure tours and excursions to enhance your holiday. With an abundance of local shops, food and activities that convey local culture the location has been growing in popularity as a vacation destination throughout the last ten years. Located in the Caribbean Sea, this popular vacation destination sees thousands of tourists per year. This island of over eight million people is the ultimate vacation destination to soak up the sun!

Where should you book your vacation to the Dominican Republic? The internet is full of hundreds of websites offering travel deals to the Dominican. Often, good deals can be found by shopping around. The average price is between $800.00 and $1,200.00 per person ­ based on double accommodations. As an alternative, travel agents always have their ear to the ground and can offer generous discounts and payment options when booking your vacation to the Dominican Republic. Whilst on your vacation, why not book an adventure tour with Outback Safari? They have three excursions, a full-day North Coast adventure tour, a full-day East Coast adventure tour and a half-day East Coast adventure tour.

A little Spanish may come in handy when visiting the Island to interact with the locals. Of course, if you are staying on a resort than English is more than likely going to be the chief language.

The currency of the island is the Dominican Peso, which is used widely in the businesses scattered throughout the island but the American dollar is accepted. The rich cultural history is evident in the ancient Spanish settlements scattered throughout the island.

Remember, when entering the Island, the border ports are usually open between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:00 pm. Coming too late may result in a denied entering to the country, so it's best to plan your vacation accordingly and allow for things like finding luggage, transportation and directions to the resort or border.

There are several ports throughout the Island, as popular cruise lines have several stops on Caribbean cruises. These ports are one of the second most popular ways to travel to the island. First most popular, is air travel. Air travel allows the travelers to book their vacation at one time, as an all inclusive package.

Where to Stay

Many hotels on the Island of the Dominican Republic are resort types that offer all inclusive packages for hotel and food for competitive prices. If booking through a travel agency, valuable deals can be obtained that could saved over a hundred dollars per night for accommodations. Often, travelers prefer the all inclusive accommodations as food is quite expensive on the island, as the majority must be imported.

If a resort isn't your style than you can take advantage of the competitively priced hotels which range in price from twenty to fifty dollars per night. This compared to the average price of two to three hundred dollars a night for a hotel room at a resort can be a viable alternative. These budget accommodations can be hard to find ­ and can be a risky accommodation.

When to Go

The Dominican Republic is a popular winter and spring break vacation getaway and is therefore on the high season from November to March. February is the best time to go, or November as this is when the seasons are just beginning for tourists. You will be able to explore without having hoards of crowds accompanying you to the beach, the resort and to the markets.

When should you not venture to the Dominican Republic? Throughout the summer months, The Dominican has come to be known as sort of the Hurricane Season, for this reason, it is best avoided. Although, travel experts recommend that the chances of a Hurricane occurring while you are vacationing on the island, it is important to remember that there is a chance of this happening ­ even a small hurricane could ruin your vacation, so an island vacation is best to be avoided through this season.

When planning your Dominican vacation, it is important to realize the rain seasons that occur throughout the north and south of the island. During the months of October through May, the winter season ­ the Northern coast of the island receives high levels of rain. Through the summer season, from May to October ­ the Southern coast of the Island is entering the rainy season. Sometimes these rainfalls can last from two days to a week. These are important aspects to take into account when planning a beach vacation.

What to See

When visiting the Dominican Republic, there are many things to see and do on the island. There are a variety of Museums on the island that display the history and culture. The beaches are filled with white sands, clear water and sparkling sea-bottoms.

The Manati theme park is a spectacle within the Island. This nature inspired theme park offers up the opportunity to swim with dolphins, see flamingos, tropical birds and even the odd sea-lion. Be prepared to pay the cost to swim with Dolphins, typically at about $100.00 USD.

With over a million square meters of area, the natural park zoo is not like a zoo anywhere else in the world. This is not the place that you will find traditional caged animals, but animals closest to their natural habitat. Over 200 species of animals reside at the astounding zoo includes more than 8 Km of roads through the site. Be sure to put on your walking shoes, or take advantage of the transportation offered throughout the habitat. Be sure to check out the real, live Anaconda while you are visiting the nature habitat.

Caves and lagoons more your thing? The three eyes of water caves include natural caves and lakes. The underground rivers are said to be some of the most translucent in the world and take on a turquoise color because of the high sodium and calcium carbonate levels of the water. For a ride into the cave, consider boarding a raft ­ but beware, it can be slippery!

So, now you know where to stay, what to do ­ and where to find and take part in the local culture. Everything else that you would like to know about the Dominican Republic can be solved with a visit to this wonderful island.

For more information, visit the official Dominican Republic website - click here.