Customer Reviews

Rum & Reggae's Dominican Republic (Rum & Reggae series)

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My wife and me are planning a trip to Puerto Plata in June so I purchased this book hoping to gain some useful information. What a disappointment! In fact, the author doesn't cover Puerto Plata (or Playa Dorado and the other nearby tourist areas) at all, saying only that the city was ugly and should be avoided by everyone. This will probably come as a bit of a suprise to the many people who enjoy vacationing there. It is, after all, the second most visited location in the country after Punta Cana.

The other problem is that the author comes across as an elitist snob of the worst kind. The book starts off with him whining about how tough it is to be a travel writer because he has to drive around to different cities and visit different hotels instead of being able to just lounge by the pool. But, of course, he does enjoy getting to brag about his travels later on at the fabulous cocktail parties he attends. He then goes on to complain about how corrupt and poverty stricken the Dominican Republic is, at one point referring to the country as a "banana republic." Hey, if you think so badly of the place then just go home instead of trying to make money by writing a travel guide. There are practically no recommendations for backpackers or others on a tight budget and he refers to all-inclusive hotels as "the bane of the Caribbean". Basically, he just discounts the vast majority of travellers as being too "low class" and instead focuses on the small number of luxury resorts he considers worthy of his "high class" tastes.

This guy is a joke and his lousy book isn't even worth the mere 6 cents (plus $3.99 shipping and handling) that I paid for it. Avoid!