Hi sequenci,

It has to be Jamaica for me, I've been to both and Jamaica is by far the best place I've been and I've travelled quite well!

We stayed in a resort called Runaway Bay, the hotel was Gran Bahia Principe. View Hotel

We couldn't have asked for anything more, food is excellent and the people/culture are the best in my opinion.

If you need to know anything in particular then let me know, I also have quite a few images of Jamaica which I can post, I have already posted a couple of two excursions which can be found via this link.

Hope this helps.

David

I think it will depend on whether you have a limited budget. from what I've seen it's cheaper to book a holiday to the Dom rep than Jamaica. We've been twice to the dom Rep (North and South East) and loved it. Although the beach was nicer in the south East, we preferred the resort we stayed at in the North. I've been pricing up hols for Jamaica and they do seem more expensive.

I've found a couple of great deals for Jamaica, staying around the Montego Bay area. Also, the flight leaves from my local airport whereas we would have to take a 120 mile round trip for the airport that serves the Dom Rep.

Arrgh! Decisions, decisions!

Hi,

Jamaica is a more expensive holiday than the Dom Rep, but I'm a great believer in that you pay for what you get.

We roughly paid an extra £1000 to go to Jamaica.

320 miles round trip for me to be able to fly to Jamaica...worth it!

David

I have been to both, and both I loved but must admit i'm with duffnufc on this and would say Jamaica wins for me too. The holiday was more expensive than Dom Rep but I picked a wonderful Hotel and wanted the dates, and the extra's so I didn't mind paying for exactly what I got.

You could always do both, one this year and one next year

Not been to the DR so a bit difficult to be objective, but Jamaica is Caribbean central for me, it has such a terrific vibe and plenty to see and do.
It does have it's troubles and if you've been looking at the Kingston crime rate it can be unsettling, but the resorts are a long way away and in the main the people are wonderfully friendly.

As you've done the DR before it would be nice to try a non-hispanic island to see the differences.

As a general heads-up, I notice the first episode of The Secret Tourist on BBC 1 this Thursday (29th July) features the DR.

I have been to both and loved them both. The beach in the south east of Dom Rep is stunning, but Jamaica hits the spot for me though. The people and culture are amazing. The people are always happy and smiling and very friendly. If you are a football fan then you have them in the palm of your hand, they can talk premiership football for hours Plus there is no language problem. The sea is also calmer in Jamaica than it is in Dom Rep. The North coast of DR is Atlantic (quite rough), the South East is part Caribbean part Atlantic (smoother but not calm). It is only the South coast which is pure Caribbean.

At the end of the day there is actually very little to choose between them as holiday destinations so look at price and hotel facilities, location etc. and don't forget to read the hotel reviews before you book.

Cheers

Keith

I am going against the grain of the thread here.

We have been to Dom Rep 3 times and just come back from our first trip to Jamaica, we won't be going back there.

I really base this on the fact that having done the Grand Palladium resorts in Dom Rep twice and loved them, the Palladium in Jamaica is a poor relation. Other resorts and outside the resorts may be a different story, but we found Dom Rep cleaner, better quality and the staff much friendlier not always angling for the tip like some do in Jamaica.

That coupled with the fact we had to wait 2.5 hrs to get through immigration going in, being made to feel like a criminal and the security guard that searched my bag trying to pinch my camera going out, made me feel glad to get on the plane home.

We had far worse weather this year than in Dom Rep and Cuba at the same time in previous years, as you are going in September you might be better looking at islands further south like Aruba, the weather should be less prone to hurricanes.

Joe.

Regarding the weather, unfortunately this year is an "El Nino" year so the weather is unpredictable all over the Caribbean (and other places as well) so I wouldn't let this put you off. We were in Dom Rep in February and it was very variable and one day was actually cold !!

We've been to both Islands several times and have never really had any great differences in weather apart from Dom Rep seemed to have more rain showers. Not that they affected the holiday overall, they were more of an irritation that a "holiday spoiler"

Keith

Hi guys, (me again)

I have been planning our next holiday for November/December 2011 to the Dominican Republic, however, I've been talking to a few people about DR and received some not so good comments. People generally say the resorts are fantastic and beaches are amazing but it isn't really safe to leave the resorts. A few people have told me of bad experiences they have had when driving around with people trying to climb onto Jeeps and trying to get money etc. Has anyone else experienced this?

This has slightly put me off a little bit as we like to leave the resort, even if its just for a little walk around. So I've started to think about Jamaica instead. Has anyone been to both and how do they compare?

I'm assuming weather is going to be pretty similar that time of year, prices aren't too different either. Any advice?

Thanks,
Tammy