Dominican Republic Base Camps

POP The Puerto Plata Report News from Puerto Plata & the Dominican Republic north coast

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Dominican Republic eco-tourism & adventure travel

Dominican Repub

Eco-lodge operator dispenses free cell phones and trip advice to independentminded travelers

Canadian ex-pat Tim Hall developed the DR Base Camp Network after opening his Tubagua Plantation Eco-Lodge at an abandoned plantation near Puerto Plata

blic Base Camps PUERTO PLATA, DOMINICAN for them.”

REPUBLIC— Lodge owners in the This is the most logical way to Dominican Republic are encourcustomize a trip through the DR,, aging travelers to step beyond he says. this Caribbean country’s tony “Guide books give you overbeach resorts by offering free trip view but they can never be planning and a local cell phone to up-to-the-minute.. And it’s hard help them along their way. to micro-plan a trip from your What’s the gimmick? desktop —you never really know “All you have to do is stay at our base camp near Puerto Plata for a couple of days, “ says Tim Hall, an ex-Montrealer who relocated here twenty-five years ago.

He bought an abandoned plantation and built a rustic lodge commanding panLost your way? Phone the lodge! They oramic views of Puerto give you a free cell phone to call in when Plata. you need help, especially handy if your “As people explore Spanish is spare the base camp zone around Puerto Plata, I am able you get there.” to assess their travel experience, Hall provides a selection of likes and dislikes, their language pre-inspected small hotels locatskills. With this I can help them ed around the country and fills to make final decisions on a dehis customers in on local lore. tailed itinerary that really works “What traveler doesn’t want

an inside track from a local?””

The cell phone idea happened by accident, he says. One day as a visiting friend was leaving to Santo Domingo. Hall decided to loan him a cell phone he had lying around so he could call in if he got lost.

“He didn’t speak Spanish and crossing the big cities can be challenging”, says Hall. “With the cell phone I was able to stay in touch and help him along the way. Since then it’s become an important part of our service.

People really like being connected this way; they no longer have to travel on guided tours if they don’t want to.”

Planning a Base Camp holidayThe Dominican Republic Base Camp Network is organized around seven different “base

camp zones” along with several proposed road trips, each of seven days; time enough to visit three or four different zones, says Hall.

Any one of the proposed seven-day trips is easy to customize into a 14- or 21-day trek, simply by adding a few days layover in any zone, or additional zones to your route.

It is never more than a threehour drive from one zone to the next. This means the trip between base camps can be done as a passenger in the (slow) public guaguas, while in a rented car it can be either a quick hop or an easy-going daytrip with plenty of time for stops along the way.

For more information about The Dominican Republic Base Camp Network,visit www.Travel-Dominican-Republic.com

Breathtaking scenery: an endless feature of the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic Situated between Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, The Dominican Republic is a Spanish-speaking democratic country that occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, sharing the island with Haiti. Well-known for its beautiful beaches and all-inclusive beach resorts, the Dominican Republic also boasts an unsung wealth of ecologocal attractions and diverse terrain, ranging from a below-sea-level lake to the

Caribbean’s highest mountain. A recently opened toll highway connects the north eastern region with Santo Dominogo, creating a convenientto-explore highway loop around the central regions of the country. It is a three-hou r direct flight f rom New York City and less than two hours from Miami. Direct flights are also available from Europe, Canada and Latin America.

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POP The Puerto Plata Report News from Puerto Plata & the Dominican Republic north coast

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