Tourfolio

A few weeks after graduating college in May 2005, my two college friends (Anthony and Brandon) decided that we should all go on a trip to the Dominican Republic during the summer. This was also good considering that Anthony had some family members living in Puerto Plata, a port town located on the north side of the Caribbean island. A vacation that involved lots of fun and relaxation after four years of studying seemed to be the perfect remedy.

This is what I remember from my trip with my college friends Anthony and Brandon.


We arrived at Playa Naco Resort & Spa after a few hours of flying and Anthony’s aunt driving us to the resort. It appeared that we almost needed to tip the ‘luggage handlers’ at the airport as they won’t give us our bags. I don’t know if that is how it came across to me or typical protocol, but just wanted to make sure anyone visiting had that warning. I felt right in with my car driving style, as like most of the Caribbean islands, was a bit crazy and sporadic.

Most people will argue that the best time to go to the Dominican Republic is between January and May to avoid the hotter weather and hurricane season. I know from my personal experience that going in June the weather can get pretty hot but thankfully we did experience any massive storms. The other thing that I noted was that the hotel and surround hotels were basically empty. So, if you do travel between January and May just remember that American college students on spring-break (usually in March) know that Puerto Plata and Punta Cana are the places to go on this island.

We took outside of the resort area to visit Anthony’s aunt, allowing us to see how life on the island really is outside of the glamor of these Caribbean resorts. Immediately upon arrival, I realized I should have paid a bit more attention in my Spanish classes as everyone was speaking so quickly. I was only able to pick up on a few words such as cervezas(”beer”, but I hope all you readers know that key word). We all nodded as his aunt quickly ran to the phone to call the local store. Within a few minutes, a young boy walked in carrying two 40 ounce beers which we proceeded to pour into small disposable cups. The three of us told Anthony’s aunt how much fun we were having and what we’ve been up to on the island, such as snorkeling outside of the resort property. She started speaking Spanish, but I was able to pick up on the fact that a few swimmers have died in the same area we were snorkeling. This made me dramatically respond with “muerta!?” which showed my ill ability to speak Spanish in full sentences.


During our trip, we also ventured to a local bar that Anthony’s cousin brought us too late at night. This was a fun experience considering that we all felt so out of place but that was the exciting part.

The rest of our time was mostly just spent relaxing at the resort beach or the pool while drinking down some drinks at the all-inclusive bar. We started running out of suntan lotion near the end of the trip which forced me to go buy some at a local store which basically cost triple the price I should have paid for it normally. I highly recommend all visitors bring enough suntan lotion with you instead of buying it at the resort or island stores.