By HookedCabarete - Ybo , 23-05-2008

Now cheap flights from europe - Chantal, my partner at HookedCabarete was searching a flight for one of our clients from Europe. She found a very affordable flight from Brussels (Belgium) for 350Euro incl tax etc.
For example from 14 May until 14 June. The surrounding dates are the same prices. :-)

Company is www.jetairfly.com
Brussels - Puerto Plata (POP)

See you here in paradise.
Ybo (HookedCabarete.com)

By guy mark , 15-02-2008

Hey everyone - hey there, is sounds like a magic place, can i find cheap accommodation? what's the names of the hostels? and how do i actully get the from airport? would love to have some help to guy747mt@yahoo.com thanks a lot.
Guy

By Anonymous , 03-01-2008

Caberete - I am going to caberete end of april.. will be there be any waves there? or is there a spot with waves there?......

By herbert j. greenleaf , 28-12-2007

far out mon' - there will be some wavez for both the travellers and locals. bring the crazy dope for smoking - we love tha green green herb.

By Anonymous , 14-12-2007

playa dorada? - hey kids,
I will be at playa dorada, early january and I know encuentro is about 40 mins away, Sosua rarely breaks... are there any other breaks closer to dorada? I'm surf starved so I will surf pretty much anything. I know Jan. is the season so I would be curshed if I didn't take my board and there was a breaking wave within walking distance... any help is much appreciated!

By Anonymous , 24-09-2007

encuentro - encuentro
one of the best break in puerto plata your find five different types of waves in the same spot, just got to leave your live and try to help others, people is different every were even in the same town. Live and let died.........................

By sharkbite@gmx.net , 24-07-2007

Encuentro - To 'The truth hurts'

sorry to hear about your experience....seems that the place deteriorated. what a shame. it wasn't that bad about a year ago and i just thought of going back there in september.

i am a female surfer and didn't have any problems with the guys there. would do my tai chi morning sessions on the empty beach which was beautiful.
what you say about the greedy people and the money: i have travelled to many places and found it everywhere the same. not just at Encuentro. when well-off people go to a third world country, this is what they have to put up with. it's sad and i am tired of it as well, but that's the way it goes. maybe just not going to these 'poor' (in economic aspects) countries anymore, but then that's their income: tourism...
and let me ask you a question: what would you do if you where on the other side??

By El Encanto , 17-07-2007

Come to Puerto Rico - Hi there-
Sorry to hear you had such a bad time in DR.
Locals sound pretty uncool man-
next time come to Puerto Rico and we will show you some honest hospitality.
Peace Bro!

By The truth hurts , 15-07-2007

Beware of Encuentro - This goes to the Water Patrol Bunch at Encuentro- who do you think you are? Where do you think you are? hawaii? I have lived in Hawaii for many years and locals have sincere- down to earth attitudes.. not small guy- want to suck off money from a gringo complexes like you... Why don't you all get a REAL job and stop taking yourselves so seriously- it is pathetic. The ocean belongs to everyone... if you had a serene attitude then the spot would be serene and beautiful as it is meant to be. Instead you have jealous pathetic surf schools competing with each other and little kids that should be in school- parading their surf fashion and newly found surf punk- replacement for personality- attitudes- and the WHOLE place is full of dirty dogs and smells like dog shit- I would not be surprised if someone got really sick one day... It is also the last time I recommend any girls going there- as my girlfriend found out the hard way- she could not stay alone for one second without having some ridiculous dwarf- like local harassing her because he thinks he is God's gift to humanity. Encuentro locals are the type of people you can be super polite with- invite them to your house, dinner and start what you think will be the beginning of a great surfing friedship- Yeah that's right in a NORMAL place= as soon as the money runs out they act like they do not even know you. Not to mention the lack of general education that is grossly apparent. To all you greedy locals- Keep your shit beach- there are hundreds of better and less depressing places on earth with better waves. To all travellers-Spend your money and go somewhere COOL in the Caribbean- where people are genuinely friendly ( not because you have a wallet) and actually have a COLLECTIVE ocean spirit and warm island vibe.

By jebshred@mac.com , 07-02-2007

Domincan Surf Log - My quest to find surf in the Dominican Republic was not off to a good start... having endured a 24-hour delay on my flight out of Miami, I arrived to the town of Cabarete to find small, blown out crowded surf. It was close to dark and I was tired, hungry, and stressed out. My traveling buddy, John had his bag lost by American Airlines, so he was missing several vital items. We were not happy travelers... But somehow, despite an eventful night spent with el Presidente, I found myself in a taxi the following morning on my way to Playa Grande to seek my fortune...

There is no hotel on or near Playa Grande, just a few shacks on the beach where the locals cook food and serve drinks to tourists. When you walk up, they all argue over who gets to serve you. Basically, the beach is the restaurant. You tell them how many and they set you up with a table and chairs in a spot you choose... pretty cool. The surf breaks in turquoise water over coral reef, and you eat like a king on the beach. We had heard a lot about this hidden treasure... Still, there was no real town there, so we had to seek accommodation elsewhere. As far as towns nearby, we had two choices: Rio San Juan to the west or Cabrera to the east, both towns equal distance apart from Playa Grande.

We chose Rio San Juan because it was closer to the airport and when we arrived we found only one hotel, named cleverly, El Hotel Rio San Juan. It looked pretty sweet, right on the water, but as our luck to that point would have it, there was no vacancy. We asked the taxi driver if he knew of another hotel and after he made a few phone calls he said he had found a place.

As the cab driver pulled up, I noticed the it had no hotel name and no sign out front. The place closely resembled that cabin lodge in the movie Vacation but without Aunt Edna and a mountain view. It had a mosquito larvae experiment going on in the back area in what I can only guess use to be a pool. My spanish was bad but I was pretty sure the hotel attendant was telling me that the water was broken but that he would come with a bucket whenever i needed. He made a swishing water sound and he was motioning like he had a bucket and was dumping it on me. I looked at Johnny and I'm not sure he understood what the guy was saying. When we got into the room, my fears were confirmed. There was in fact, no water.

BUT, Johnny and I really wanted to surf and even though the place was bad, it did look relatively safe and the doors did have a real lock.... so we reluctantly put our stuff in this room and took the taxi to Playa Grande. From this point the trip really started to progress into a positive. While we were out surfing La Preciosa, we ended up meeting this dude from Nantucket who completely hooked us up. Tucker, who works only 7 months of the year lucky bastard, was staying in the next town over in Cabrera. He boasted how he had AC and Satellite TV, and before we knew it his friend Francisco was offering us sanctuary from Camp Mosquito. We did not hesitate to accept.

Francisco's place was EPIC. On the side of a cliff with waves crashing, ocean spray, tame horses wandering the street. It truly was like no other place I have ever been, and I am well traveled through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, Puerto Rico, etc...

Tucker, John and I were pretty much the only white dudes in the entire town of Cabrera. But, the locals were super friendly and happy to have us there. I extremely enjoyed eating dinner with a local family on Three Kings Day. Tucker invited us to eat with him and a family he knew in town and we graciously accepted. For Latin American countries, the Dia de Los Tres Reyes is more of a cultural than religious date, and a second Christmas for children. That night Santa Claus comes and puts presents under the kids beds. Pretty cool. We gorged ourselves on seafood and rice and a few other things i didnt know. It was really awesome to be accepted into a stranger's home like that. I was truly grateful for th experience.

From the town of Cabrera it was a short bus ride to Playa Grande where we found a few good reef breaks to play on. On the main road, you simply wait for a white bus. It's not really a bus, its more like a van with bench seats. It costs 20 pesos (70 cents about) to get from each town to the next. So every morning, we would just catch this little white van in Cabrera and take it to Playa Grande. You don't share this bus with other tourists either, its the regular people that rely on these buses to get around. It was always interesting and sometimes uncomfortable to see how the people reacted to two white guys and their surfboards.

It is a nice ride to Playa Grande and as you approach you get a clear view of all the breaks for the last 1/2 mile stretch. Right in front on the main beach is a shifty, but fun, reef break that unfolds right on the beach. The waves were better on a lower to mid tide and the crowd factor was high, but still very manageable. Also, the locals were pretty friendly. One local pro who goes by "Junior", completely rips this place. He is definitely Mr. Playa Grande. He is very down to earth and happy to share his gear with the local groms... and there is a crew of them. Really cool kids who are living the life surfing uncrowded reef break in their backyard. All these kids ride his boards and wear his rash guards taking turns and trading off.

Some of the other breaks include El Barco, an insane rope climb off a cliff holding your board, and La Preciosa a really fun reef break where nicely shaped a-frames wrap around the outside reef. It was a pretty far paddle out to La Preciosa, about equal to the Monster Hole paddle at Sebastian Inlet, Florida. But, once you are out there, it is well worth it. No one is ever out, and the wave quality is very high. You literally surf until you can't paddle anymore!

By the time 5 days had passed, I was so submerged in this place that it was difficult to pull myself out. Aside from the surfing, the friendly vibe cultural experience made it such an enticing place. Another place worth mentioning is El Dudu. We heard it was a rock quarry rope swing type place, so we thought we'd check it out. After an hour-long walk, we finally made it and to our surprise, we found this neat little spring with a rope swing and a few platform jumps. It was a great way to spend my last few hours in Dominican Republic. I can't wait to go back!

I just want to say thanks to John, el Presidente, for being a cool travel mate and for putting up with my back-aching ass. Also, it goes without saying, that our man Tucker made this trip what it was by hooking us up with all the local knowledge, so I just wanted to say thanks bro for being so cool...

myspace.com/jebshred