by Jo Ann Brown

Created on: July 28, 2008   Last Updated: July 31, 2008

Caberete Dominican Republic is a famous windsurfing village. It's the home to the Caribbean, Pablito Guzman's Classic Windsurf Competition. The Azzuro Club Cabarete Hotel, right on the golden beach of Cabarete Bay, houses the kite-surfing and wind-surfing world competitions annually in July.

Star ratings assigned to the hotels have little resemblance of what you can expect. People expect safety as a minimum no matter how many stars are assigned to the facility. Yet, safety can't be expected if you sleep with your doors open. People on vacation tend to forget these precautionary measures and are surprised when they get robbed. They extend an invitation for someone to rummage through their belongings when they're sleep and then act surprised when items are missing. You have to take the same safety precautions abroad as you would at home. You're in a different city, the problems are the same.

It goes without saying you get what you pay for. In America you know what to expect from a 3 star hotel. It's not the best, it was never intended to be the best and that's why it only has 3 stars. The traveler shouldn't expect more when going to the Dominican Republic. If anything, they can expect less. Tropical Casa Laguna is a 3 star hotel renovated in 2002 directly across from the Beach Club. Even though you don't expect luxury accommodations, you don't expect a machete wielding robber either. But, this can also happen at home if you're walking in a dark area late at night. As a final precautionary word, be careful.

The 5 star hotels may not change your linen, may have a small half empty pool, and be a 30 minute walk away from the beach. But, they will give you a great evening show. Every beach will be filled with Lucky men trying to sell you something. These Lucky men may become your friend.

When you're ready go grab a bite to eat in Caberete and you want to try something different, eat the goat served at Sandro's and the schnitzel served at Bayerischer Hof. Both are extremely tasty. Casanova is very popular for casual dining and drinks. The house specialty is called Champagne Foreplay. The nightlife is great throughout Cabarete. My friend said "If you are not having fun, you must be dead". Pomodoro has jazz every Thursday night. If you happen to be in town during a big play off game like the super bowl, enjoy it with friends at Eddie's bar. Eddie likes to mingle with the patrons and will accommodate any reasonable request.

After partying and drinking the night before, get ready for your trip to Iguana Mama ecological adventure. There, you can accept the real challenge and climb Pico Duarte, the highest mountain in the Caribbean or you can book a week long multi adventure excursion. Iguana Mama has an excursion for everyone.

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