Travel Reports & Pictures

Travel, Holiday and Vacation Reviews and Photos from Bars, Restaurants, Hotels, Resorts and Destinations around the World.

America Reviews.

Samana – Dominican Republic – Caribbean

My Jeep

My Jeep

In the end of 2004 i was with my family in the Dominican Republic in Central America. We fly with a local Airline from Punta Cana to Samana. This flight took us about one hour. We arrived on the small jungle Airport on Samana. Here we did a round trip with a jeep to explore Samana on a jeep safari. The 4wd Jeep was in a good condition. Our first stop was at Samana Town where we was on a nice Caribbean market. If you want to stay read the Lonely Planet for hotels and guesthouses. Than we leave from the main road to explore the nature on Samana in the Caribbean sea. We drive on small sand roads inside the Caribbean jungle. This part of Central America is famous for whale watching in January till the beginning of February. Many whales comes here to born their babys in the bay of Samana. The quiet sea and the warm water are perfect conditions for this big animals. Try as well the Diving here, it’s amaizing!

Locals on Samana

Locals on Samana

The locals live a easy life in small villages at wooden self made huts. For Hotels, Resorts and guesthouses read your Lonely Planet Dominican Republic. Once we had a puncture on our safari. Some habitats of the DomRep, who pass by on a donkey, help me to repair the crossroad car. It´s amazing to see how happy people can be without anything. Many people have nothing instead of some clothes, food and a small chalet for sleep. We was invited by a family who produced their own coffee. The fresh coffee with sugar was strong but good.

Locals on a River.

Locals on a River.

Than we was travel to the island from the Bacardi commercial. The Bacardi island is one of the most visit sights on Samana. In the late afternoon we traveling back to our Hotel to relax. This trip was really nice. At most I enjoyed the beautiful tropical landscapes of the DomRep. Here you will find Banana- Cocos Palms and tight tropical Forrest everywhere. The tropical paradise in the Caribbean is a good alternative to the busy tourist city’s somewhere else. The most beaches here at the north of the Dominican Republic are not white like for example the beach at Punta Cana. But still Samana offer many more than just resort holidays on the beach. On Samana you will find many romantic lonely beaches to read a book or just enjoy yourself while traveling.

Bacardi Island

Bacardi Island

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Punta Cana – Dominican Republic – Central America

2004 I was with some friends for holidays in the Republic of Dominican at Punta Cana Beach. This trip was my first time in Central America. I had a direct flight from Frankfurt in Germany to Punta Cana International Airport with the German LTU Airline. I was staying at the Riu Naiboa Hotel in the Riu Resort at Punta Cana. This Hotel was clean and has everything what you need on vacation: air-condition, minibar, TV and a balcony with swimming pool view. The all inclusive of this Riu Hotel was perfect. Cocktails, Beers, mini bar fill up 24 hours, fresh fruit juices, all you can eat buffets and as well snorkeling gear was all inclusive. Just in the Pacha Discotheque witch belongs to the Resort you have to pay your drinks.

International Airport

International Airport

Our favorite drink was Cuba Libre (rum and coke) and Coco Loco (crazy coconut) witch is a fresh coconut with Brugal Rum inside. You can ask the gardeners for a fresh coconut. For one dollar tip the locals from the Caribbean climb up a palm to take a nut. The Brugal Rum you can take out of your all inclusive minibar at your room. My beer recommendation is the local Presidente beer from the DomRep. If you want to go snorkeling don´t forget bananas to feed the fishes! Many scuba diving schools offer wreck diving on the wreck near the coast of this spot in the Caribbean’s. I don’t hat a scuba license when I stayed in the Dominican Republic, but the snorkeling here is as well good in front of the white hotel beach.

Punta Cana Beach

Punta Cana Beach

The booking office in the walking street of the Riu resort offers nearly all kind of daytrips. We was sailing once with a catamaran boat to the beautiful island Saona. Don’t forget sun crème on this trip! The white beach of this island in the Caribbean is perfect, some palms spent you shadow while you watch the turquoise blue water of the Caribbean Sea.

Saona

Saona

If you get hot you can refresh yourself by a Cuba libre from a small beach bar or just jump inside the warm water of the sea. I think if we had a Lonely Planet travel guide we where traveling more around. So we did just two daytrips and the rest of the holidays we spent on a cocktail bar or in the Pacha Discotheque of Punta Cana. The second daytrip was to a mangrove forest. Some fisherman’s was fishing crabs. A beautiful travel highlight!

Mangrove Forest

Mangrove Forest

If you take a walk on the perfect Caribbean beach of the Dominican Republic, You will recognize the beautiful souvenir shops under the palms. Here you can buy cigarettes, t-shirts, towels and rum. But be careful, originals are rare. The most, when not all t-shirts and textiles are copies and maybe you get in trouble if you take it back to your home. As well the beach shop names are copies like Aldi Nord which is actually a supermarket in Germany.

Shops at Punta Cana

Shops at Punta Cana

I like the Caribbean’s because of the perfect beaches like in a picture book and the tropical and friendly weather. The Riu Resort at Punta Cana direct on the Caribbean Sea offer a good all inclusive service. The Republic of Dominican in America is a good travel destination for singles, couples and families.

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Yucatan – Mexico – Central America

In 2005 i was with my sister and my mother on Yucatan in central America. All in all this holiday was two weeks, one week at Playa del Carmen and one week at Cancun in Mexico. Yucatan belongs to the east coast of Mexico. Both cities are on the Caribbean sea. In the north of the peninsula are the Gulf of Mexico. Our hotel in Playa del Carmen was the “Hotel Riu Yucatan” witch belongs to the Riu Resort with 5 other Riu hotels. The beach at Playa del Carmen is beautiful, white sand and crystal clear water and with about 29C watertemperature perfect for swimming. We saw alot iguanas and pelicans while flighing over the sea and fishing.

Pelican in Mexico

Pelican in Mexico

Nearly every evening we was with a taxi in the center for dinner, shopping and walking in this nice village. The walking street are decorate with old trees witch goes sometimes true the roofs and the floors of the wooden small pubs and restaurants. The All inclusive of “Riu Yucatan” was good but always to much :) . By around 45C in the shadow you can refresh yourself with a “cuba libre” (rum and coke) or some cocktails from the cocktail bar. The spoken language was Spanish but english speaken people are widespread in the tourist areas.

iguana at playa del carmen

iguana at playa del carmen

We had a direct flight from Düsseldorf Germany to Cancun Mexico with LTU airlines. The locals are friendly and try to help where they can. Most of the time the Mexicans have a smile in their faces witch say something like: when you let me in peace, i let you. The most used word of the Mexicans should be “manjana manjana” witch means tomorrow tomorrow. The locals are relax and a bit lazy in positive mean. It seems that nothing bring them out of control instead of trouble and the stress of the European and north American tourists. From Playa del carmen in central America i booked a minibus traveltour to Chichen Itza witch is one of the important maya staetten in Mexico. The tour start i the morning and the trip needs about 3 houers thrue the jungle of Yucatan. Our travel group arrived at first the maya remains. It was nice because there don´t was the tourist masses than usual. First we was going to the old observatory ruins of the mayas. The highlight for me was the stone pyramid and the “ball game field” where the mayas was playing for death or allive, the looser of this game become a oblation to the mayagods. On the oplationtable they take out the heart of the losers of this game and of prisoners by full awareness. Chitzen Itza was the most interesting sight for me on this vacation.

Chitzen Itza Yucatan

Chitzen Itza Yucatan

After one week we change the place to Cancun witch is about 150 km north of Playa del Carmen. ass well at Cancun the beach is white and the water of the Caribbean sea is perfect. In this “party and pleasure” city you can have everything: restaurants, discotheques, shopping center, pubs and much more of entertainment stuff. I call Cancun the “Pattaya” of Mexico. We was staying at the Riu Palace Las Americas” hotel direct in town with a beautiful beach and some corals near the white sands for snorkeling in the Caribbean sea. The snorkeling gear was as well included in the all inclusive packet of the resort.

Riu Palace Las Americas

Riu Palace Las Americas

Two weeks holiday is to less in general but sure to less for a country with culture like Mexico. I miss allot of sights and places in Mexico because of the time and the fact that we booked resort holidays and don´t go on travel tour. But i can´t say that i´m not enjoy, central America is great and more than a small brother of north or Latin America. I like the food the people and last but not least the beach and the turquoise warm sea. I think that this was not the last visit for me to Mexico but i think next time i bring more time and a Lonely Planet travel guide!

Sunset at Cancun Beach

Sunset at Cancun Beach

I hope i have the possibilities to come again to central America again to see more of this beautiful part of the world. Viva Mexico!

Travel Reports and Pictures.

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