Las Terrenas in the DR is like heaven

We've just returned from ten days in the Dominican Republic, including four days in beautiful Las Terrenas. Can you image a more heavenly spot? The picture above was taken at a beach club called "Paco Cabana". It's a relatively new restaurant, bar and beach club featuring fabulous French inspired food, a full bar with tropical drinks, and plenty of comfy spots for lounging and sun bathing.

In just five months since our last trip, there are new restaurants, new development projects under construction, and noticeable improvements to the municipal airport, El Portillo. There is almost no beachfront land available for development besides relatively small parcels.

Also worth mentioning, the newly opened El Catey, Samana International Airport is receiving flights from Canada and Europe, and soon there will be flights arriving from the US.

Buying Real Estate in Costa Rica

Many people have asked me if buying real estate in Costa Rica is the same as buying real estate in the US. My answer to them is in many ways yes but in some ways no. One of the main reasons why I am investing in Costa Rican real estate is because of some very key similarities that it has to buying real estate in the US. The most important similarity to me is that real estate is fee simple, where the owner has the right to control, use, and transfer the property at will without the use of a trust or trustee. You don't have to be a resident of Costa Rica to own property and you're entitled to the same ownership rights as citizens of Costa Rica. Ownership of real estate is fully guaranteed by their constitution to all including foreigners.

Below are my recommendations when buying real estate in Costa Rica and explains the basic process involved.

Make sure that you have a current and valid passport as this will be a necessary document in order to buy real estate in Costa Rica.

Hire a good real estate broker and real estate attorney. In Costa Rica, real estate brokers do not need to be licensed. That means anyone can set up shop and sell real estate which means there is little regulation and you do not need any qualifications, training or experience whatsoever to call yourself a "broker".

When you find a property you want to buy, work with your attorney to obtain a registered plot map (plano catastrado) from the National Registry (Registro Nacional). The National Registry is the government organization that it is responsible for receiving and recording all documents that relate to real estate transactions. The plot map should clearly show the details of the property so that you can confirm what you are buying matches what is recorded. It will indicate the property size and boundaries in relation to surrounding properties so you can see its exact location. It is also not a bad idea to spend a little extra money and hire a topographer to re-survey the property and have the new plot map recorded in the Map Registry (Catastro) department which is located in the National Registry.

It is highly recommended you use a reputable international title company like Stewart Title. They can help you obtain the registration number of the property in the National Registry and help do a complete title search which includes ownership, property location, boundary lines, recorded survey, liens, declared value of the property and any other issues that might be recorded on the property. We currently are using Stewart Title exclusively for all our clients buying in our developments. All our buyers obtain a title guaranty to protect them by guaranteeing the property is free from any liens that could affect the purchase and rights to the property from a fraudulent transfer of title.

Before closing on the property, the transfer deed (esctritura) is drawn up and signed by the seller, buyer and notary.

The deed is recorded in the notary's record book with a copy given to the National Registry for registration under the new owner's name.

Payment is made of all due taxes, stamps and notary fees.

After you close on a purchase of a property in Costa Rica, it is important to obtain a copy of the closing documents signed by the National Registry naming you, or your company, as legal owners. I recommend getting an Anonymous Corporation (SA), itself registered in the Costa Rican Registry of Corporations to hold title to your property. This will provide some form of privacy and, when selling the property, there are no capital gains tax paid in Costa Rica when selling a corporation that owns the property. Also, inheritance taxes in Costa Rica are high, but an anonymous corporation's assets are never included, and the corporation never dies. Most all of our clients purchasing properties in our developments purchase the property using a Costa Rican corporation that we help setup.

Feel free to comment about this post. I would love to hear from you!

Costa Rica Real Estate Transactions and Process

Real Estate Attorneys
Just like in many parts of the United States, in Costa Rica real estate transactions are through attorneys. Title companies may conduct the closing or may provide title insurance. Real Estate Attorneys perform the actual title research and coordinate the closing process.

Foreigners are welcome and encouraged to own titled land in Costa Rica (which is not the case in some other Latin American countries). Titled land in Costa Rica is similar to fee simple ownership in the United States.
Title insurance is available in Costa Rica and can be purchased through Latin American subsidiaries of well known companies such as Stewart Title.
All Costa Rica real estate properties are registered in the government centralized database at the "Registro Nacional". With a property's registration number or "folio real" you can look up a title over the internet if you know some Spanish.
Title is transfered through a transfer deed which in Costa Rica is called the "Escritura de Traspaso" which must be signed in the presence of a Notary Public. In Costa Rica the "Notary Public" is an attorney with an additional year of training to achieve this qualification.

When buying property in Costa Rica, you have several options to choose from on how you take title.
You can take title of the property in your own name individually, jointly with a spouse or other person or in the name of a corporation.
The most common practice in Costa Rica is to form a corporation and then hold title to your real estate in the name of the corporation. This is done for two primary reasons:
1- When properly structured, transferring ownership to the corporation can protect the property from liabilities which may be incurred by you in the future, as an individual. Costa Rican courts generally respect the corporate entity, as separate from the individual and with limited exceptions, will not pierce through the corporation to get at the individual.
2- When you sell property in Costa Rica, the transaction is subject to a transfer tax of 2.5% of the registered value of the real estate or sales price, whichever is greater. This tax becomes obsolete by simply selling your corporation which holds the property, to the the buyer. This will reduce your closing costs and increase your profits on the resale of your property.

Closing Costs

The actual costs to close a transaction will vary, depending on the specifics. Costs may include real estate transfer taxes, documentary stamps, notary fees, title registration, title insurance. If the transaction involves the formation of a corporation this involves additional costs.

Vacationing in Las Terrenas

Since I've highlighted travel in the Dominican Republic today, I thought I would also provide some resources and information about the Samana Peninsula, the area that I believe holds the most promise for real estate investors. I think from a due diligence standpoint, it's important to be aware of the whole country and what is happening there, which is the reason for posting the previous articles.

The market we are focusing on, Las Terrenas, is currently quite different from what is described in the New York Times articles. There are some all inclusive resorts in Las Terrenas; however, none yet that approach the price points you would find in Punta Cana. Instead, Las Terrenas has a good supply of smaller hotels and resorts that are mostly comprised of apartments (condos owned mostly by investors) as well as villas and bungalows that sleep as many as eight to ten people. Because Las Terrenas is not only a vacation destination–it is home to over 4,000 Europeans who have taken residency in the Dominican Republic–there are markets, shops, bakeries, and other resources that preclude the need for all inclusive resorts as the only option.

One of the best resources for information about Las Terrenas and the Samana Peninsula is Samana.Net. This site lists many of the accommodations available in Las Terrenas, Las Galeras, and Samana, the three major towns on the Samana Peninsula as well as a lot of other useful information.

dr1.com is about news and travel in the Dominican Republic. This site has a wealth of information and is worth exploring. There are several blogs associated with dr1.com, including the Green Team, a blog focused on sustainable tourism and preserving the environment.

The Dominican Republic Offers a New Place in the Sun

Here's another article about travel and vacationing in the DR published by the New York Times and reprinted in local papers. Again, the article focuses on the highest-end destinations. As the article indicates, there are in fact still bargains in the DR. The author mentions the improved access to the Samana Peninsula (see bold below). Vacation rental rates in the town of Las Terrenas, just 30 minutes from the newly opened El Catey International Airport, range from about $60 for a one-bedroom apartment, in an older, but still very pleasant resort, to $400 or so nightly for a 4-bedroom villa directly on the beach.

October 29, 2006
The Dominican Republic Offers a New Place in the Sun
By SETH KUGEL

Correction Appended

I WAKE up in my golden-yellow Oscar de la Renta-decorated, $650-a-night villa, throw off the 350-thread-count sheets, and pad over to open the balcony doors. In floods the Caribbean sunlight, nothing but a long-fronded palm and a patch of manicured grass between me and the sugary sand beach, which gives way to water a shade of aquamarine that I thought had existed only in Crayola boxes. It’s as if I had woken up in a travel brochure ... or a Corona commercial. But really, it’s just morning in Tortuga Bay, the new luxury resort on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic.

My old friend Jon is also up, already fantasizing about his golf game on the P. B. Dye-designed oceanfront course (and, yes, there’s the seventh hole, jutting out into the sea just to my left). It’s a significant change from his dusty jaunts through the public courses of eastern Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, I am preparing myself for the salt-scrubbing, Oriental-massaging experience of a $247 Energizing Day Package at the Six Senses Spa, the high-end Asian chain previously only available at destinations like Phuket and the Maldives, where it takes a $247 massage just to recover from your 20-plus hour flight. (Tortuga Bay is just a three-and-a-half-hour flight from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York).

But first, breakfast. Sure, just pressing “2” on our direct-to-butler cell phone would summon a feast to the aforementioned balcony, but we’re guys who prefer the high-end gluttony of the breakfast buffet combined with made-to-order omelets and pancakes at the poolside Bamboo Restaurant. It’s just a two-minute walk away. (Still, we take our golf cart.)

Just another day in paradise.

But great as Tortuga Bay might sound (and some service glitches over the course of our stay made me question just how great it was), this resort, with 50 suites in 15 villas, is just one of a number of high-end getaways that are beginning to call the Dominican Republic home. The Sanctuary Cap Cana, a boutique hotel with eight restaurants within a larger $500 million development, has a low-key opening scheduled for Feb. 1; before then, Jack Nicklaus will be flying in to open one of his Signature golf courses, with nine of the holes on the water. Farther up the east coast, through picturesque hills and small towns, the Sivory resort, with its 55 terra-cotta-colored suites built into jungle-worthy vegetation (lushness reduced near the suites to avoid bugs) — some right on the beach with their own private plunge pools — is gearing up for its first full winter season.

Time was the Dominican Republic was famous for its bargain getaways: $1,000 for a flight-included, all-inclusive resort where the food was passable, the drinks strong and the merengue music festive. (Actually, that time was only a year or two ago, and the bargains are still there.) But the country is increasingly becoming the five-star playground of the Caribbean, pulling in tourists that might otherwise have gone to Jamaica, Puerto Rico or St. Thomas and gearing up to give the glamour spots of Anguilla, St. Bart’s and Turks and Caicos a run for their money.

As the winter season approaches, the Dominican Republic has all but been anointed with “it-destination” status by celebrities, travel magazines and tour operators. It’s estimated that four million people will visit the country this year. That’s more than double the 1.9 million that came in 1996. And though Canadians and Europeans were the traditional visitors, Americans are fast taking over.

With thousands of pricey hotel rooms and luxury second homes planned for the next decade, and paparazzi-drawing celebrities like the Clintons, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Julio Iglesias, Vin Diesel and Brad Pitt popping in for work or play or both, this is only the beginning. The Roco Ki real estate venture will open the Westin Roco Ki Beach and Golf Resort in Punta Cana in winter 2007, and is planning at least seven high-end hotels, in a resort that gives a nod to the Taíno Indians who lived on the island before Columbus arrived. (It financed an archaeological dig on its land before beginning construction and is considering opening a museum nearby with the findings.) It is also a residential community: there was $100 million in sales the day those homes went on the market in April 2005, according to Nick Tawil Fernandez, the chief executive officer.

Cap Cana has about 30,000 acres south of Tortuga Bay, and villas are on sale from $750,000; in addition to the Sanctuary Cap Cana, its marina, whose debut is this December, will eventually have 1,000 slips. And it’s not just on the east coast that all this action is taking place: in Samaná, the paradisiacal peninsula on the north coast visited by humpback whales, the Gran Bahía Príncipe chain is opening no less than four five-star hotels for the winter season.

And there is much near-virgin beach still being scoured: Fernando Rainieri, a former tourism secretary and the brother of the Punta Cana pioneer Frank Rainieri, is part of a group of Dominican investors that includes the wealthy Najri family, that bought some beachfront land in 1997 in Miches, the largely undeveloped area between the resorts of Samaná and Punta Cana. They’ve recently been negotiating with a group of American and Canadian investors. (Howard Kerzner, whose company owns the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas and many others, recently died in a helicopter crash on his way to scout out land in the north.)

How did a country that three decades ago few people considered a beach destination become such an A-list destination?

BEACHES The hundreds of miles of sandy shore, much of it seemingly typecast for the role of Paradise, beats every other Caribbean nation but Cuba for length; especially on the east end, the fine white sand and turquoise waters match up for quality as well.

GOLF Fazio, Nicklaus, Dye, they’ve all been there, designed that. (There are more than 20 designer golf courses in use or planned.)

FLIGHTS With five international airports taking in more than a dozen daily nonstop flights from New York City and direct service being offered from an ever-increasing number of other American cities, it’s easy to get there. A contributing factor: New York’s enormous Dominican immigrant community flies back and forth regularly, creating year-round demand and thus increasing options.

THE COCOON EFFECT Tourism in the Dominican Republic has long been all-inclusive. And although many of the new high-end resorts are not, they do provide the same kind of get-away-from-it-all experience travelers in escape mode are often looking for.

POOR INFRASTRUCTURE The Dominican Republic’s notoriously bad (and badly marked) roads, dysfunctional power grid and dubious water system had a hand in driving the all-inclusive culture by making it necessary for resort owners to provide a self-sustaining community and thus a huge disincentive to explore the otherwise culturally rich island, home to everything from merengue to Christopher Columbus’s first settlement in the New World.

BASEBALL As Dominican baseball superstars like Pedro Martínez, Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramírez and Albert Pujols became household names in the United States over the last decade, their country of origin did too.

CELEBRITIES It’s hard to imagine anyone who has brought more boldface names to the Dominican Republic than the designer Oscar de la Renta. To cite one prominent example, he got Hillary Clinton to visit Punta Cana in 1998, and she and Bill have been going back every since. Producing a Miss Universe, Amelia Vega, in 2003, didn’t hurt either.

GOVERNMENT EFFORTS The government played a key role in providing tax breaks and other support for the first round of all-inclusive resorts that sprouted in the 1980’s. These days, the secretary of tourism, Félix Jiménez, has a $30 million promotional budget, and through the public relations firm BVK has been blitzing New York and other cities with its Republic of Colors campaign.

TERRORISM AND ANTI-AMERICANISM The Dominican Republic doesn’t have them — or tsunamis — making it an attractive substitute for those fearful of seeking luxury in Thailand, Indonesia, Egypt and the like. “Dominicans are not anti-anything,” said Ellis Pérez, a vice president of Cap Cana and a former secretary of tourism. “We are an open, simple people.”

According to Mr. Jiménez, tourists spent $14 millon in the country in 1974; in 2005 his government placed the figure at $3.5 billion. In 1986 just over half a million people visited the country. In 1996, it was over 1.5 million. And beyond the four million expected this year, the secretary nonchalantly predicts five million for 2007.

The Dominican Republic already takes in more tourism dollars than any other country in Latin America except Mexico and Brazil, according to World Tourism Organization statistics. In the meantime, the importance of sugar, coffee, cocoa and tobacco to the economy has declined. “Tourism has been the motor of the Dominican economy for the last 20 years,” said Fernando Rainieri, the former tourism secretary and current investor in Miches. “In 1980, nobody believed in it and no one wanted to invest in it.”

The tourism industry in the Dominican Republic is focused these days on Punta Cana, which many have compared to Cancún. For better or for worse, the comparison makes sense: like Cancún, in the 1960’s Punta Cana was not on the map. Then, in 1969, a young Frank Rainieri flew with a group of American investors over the isolated, lightly inhabited east coast of the country; by the early 70’s the land was theirs. A 1972 law made investing in tourism a nearly tax-free endeavor, and the government backed the first beach resort, Playa Dorada, which opened on the north coast simultaneously with the Puerto Plata airport in 1980.

The next year Club Med opened in Punta Cana, followed closely by the Spanish hotel company Barceló. The Punta Cana Airport, privately owned and operated by Mr. Rainieri and the Punta Cana Group, opened in 1985 and in 1988 the Puntacana Resort & Club opened. More followed, and through August of this year, according to official Central Bank statistics, 1.26 million foreigners not of Dominican origin (presumably tourists) entered the country through Punta Cana. That is nearly three times as many as flew into Santo Domingo, the capital and by far the country’s biggest city.

The country has also been investing in infrastructure. There is the Tourist Boulevard between Punta Cana and Uvero Alto. Late last month, the Dominican president, Leonel Fernández, was in Punta Cana to meet with hotel owners, and Frank Rainieri suggested they begin thinking about stretching the highway beyond Uvero Alto to Miches. (Which, coincidentally or not, is where his brother Fernando owns land). A highway from Santo Domingo to the beautiful Samaná peninsula is supposed to be completed in 2008, and the airport at Samaná, El Catey International Airport, is to open next month. Not coincidentally, the Gran Bahía Principe resort chain will open about a thousand luxury hotel rooms in the next two months, in four different complexes.

With the high-end hordes bearing down upon them, though, hotel operators face a problem: quality of service. Tourism officials and hotel executives all seem to read from the same talking points: the Dominican people are the country’s biggest asset, what with their warm hearts, friendly faces and big smiles. But hand-clapping, merengue-dancing Club Med smiles are one thing; boutique hotel “Let me explain our pillow menu to you” smiles quite another.

The flaws during my two days in Tortuga Bay made that all too clear.

Sometimes, they were funny: a welcome letter left for Jon and me in our bedroom (with two separate beds, I hasten to point out), read, “Mr. Kugel, thank you again for choosing us for your honeymoon vacation.” But more often they were annoying. Repeated dial-2 calls to our butler to help us reduce the air-conditioning level from Arctic freeze to Caribbean cooldown produced fruitless advice; we would have shivered through two nights if the comforters Oscar de la Renta chose for us weren’t so cozy. Jon got charged the outside guest rate for a round of golf ($50 extra) even though our butler had made the tee time and it had been confirmed with a letter from management. (And some things even the best of service couldn’t have helped. That pristine view from our balcony covered up a secret: just beyond the shoreline, the precious sand gave way to a bottom so rocky and slippery as to make taking a dip genuinely unpleasant.)

Haydée Palmieri, the vice president of hospitality and human resources at Punta Cana (and Frank Rainieri’s wife), acknowledged the flaws in service, though she did point out that Leading Hotels of the World had approved their application in September, making them the second member from the Dominican Republic (along with the Paradisus Palma Real).

André Gerondeau, executive vice president for Sol Meliá, which owns the Paradisus, acknowledges that raising the level of service will take time. “Anywhere in the world,” he said, “especially in Latin America, there is a huge gap between people that have resources and those who don’t,” which makes high-end service a problem. The Dominican Republic is quickly catching up, he said. But still, “if someone has been to Bali, Seychelles, St. Bart’s and then comes to the D.R.,” he said, “they will certainly see a difference. You need to connect with your team members. The overall perception of us versus them is a killer.”

Will the Dominican Republic dominate the Caribbean for years to come? Puerto Rico is feeling the heat, having fallen behind it in tourism receipts, if not absolute numbers, in 2004, and is fighting back with a new Tourism and Transportation Strategic Plan. And the stress on beaches, golf, beaches and golf — the themes that dominate the Web site, godominicanrepublic.com and its Republic of Colors campaign, may leave the country open to competition with places like Jamaica, whose advertising and Web site (visitjamaica.com) also stresses people, culture, art, music, food and ecotourism.

This much is safe to say: The secretary of tourism’s prediction of five million visitors in 2007 will very likely come true. Or there will be a lot of really expensive hotel rooms, villas and bungalows lying empty.

VISITOR INFORMATION

The rates are for double occupancy in mid-January, including a 16 percent tax and 10 percent service charge. All in the Punta Cana area unless otherwise noted.

Tortuga Bay, (888) 442-2262; puntacana.com. From $773 per night.

Sivory Punta Cana, (809) 552-0500; sivorypuntacana.com. From $617 per night or $995 per night all-inclusive.

Sanctuary Cap Cana, (809) 562-7555; capcana.com. Opening Feb. 1.; rooms from $347.

Paradisus Palma Real, (866) 436-3542; paradisuspalmareal.com. From $471 per night, all inclusive.

Gran Bahía Príncipe Cayo Levantado (in Samaná), (866) 282-2442; bahia-principe.com. From $672 per night, all inclusive.

SETH KUGEL is a frequent contributor to the Travel section.

Correction: Nov. 12, 2006

An article on Oct. 29 about new resorts in the Dominican Republic misstated the designer of the golf course at Tortuga Bay, a new resort there. It was designed by P. B. Dye — not by his father, the golfer and course designer Pete Dye.

Family Destination of the Year: Dominican Republic

This article about vacationing in the Dominican Republic was printed in the New York Times a year ago. The places mentioned are still the most developed tourist destinations on the island. The Dominican government is putting $5 billion into tourism development between now and 2008. Media coverage in the US, Canada and Europe is also adding to the increased interest in the DR as a vacation destination.

January 22, 2006
Family Destination of the Year: Dominican Republic
By CAREN OSTEN GERSZBERG

THE variables involved in planning a Caribbean family vacation can be daunting enough to send the weak scurrying back to a condo in Sarasota. Ideal for honeymooners or stressed-out grown-ups, many Caribbean resorts are designed for those who need to get away from it all. Yet children seem to need something to do other than lounging on sunny beaches. Picky teenage travelers need something to do other than sneaking into casinos. (At least, their parents think so.) And the deal-breaker is that many remote Caribbean destinations require changing planes.

The Dominican Republic, known as the D.R., is gaining traction as a family destination. One reason is a growing number of family-centered resorts with activities ranging from windsurfing to world-class golf to snorkeling to teenage-only lounges. Another lure is that there are now numerous nonstop flights from the New York area.

Emily Greenberg, a mother of three and a nursery school teacher from Mamaroneck, N.Y., just spent her fifth consecutive winter holiday in the Dominican Republic and finds it the ideal place for a yearly family reunion. "Our extended family includes 16 children, ranging in age from 7 to 25, and we've found that the Dominican Republic has something for everyone. The younger kids enjoy a busy day of sports and beach activities and for the older kids, the night life of nearby casinos and discos is most important," Ms. Greenberg said.

At 19,000 square miles, the Dominican Republic is not a pipsqueak island with one airport, so picking the right spot takes some thought. Most of the Dominican Republic's resorts and white sandy beaches lie along the southern coast to the east of the capital, Santo Domingo, and stretch to the country's eastern tip at Punta Cana.

For families who like to stay put, there is an array of all-inclusive resorts to choose from. Largest among them, the 7,000-acre Casa de Campo resort in La Romana, www.casadecampo.com.do, 809-523-3333, is the site of the famous Teeth of the Dog golf course and two additional courses. An elaborate equestrian center, 13 tennis courts (with lights for night play), skeet shooting, water sports, children's programs for all ages and a marina with shops and restaurants are among the amenities here. Double rooms start at $353 a night in the winter season (packages including meals and activities are additional). Two-bedroom villas start at $840 a night; three-and four-bedroom villas come with breakfast and maid and butler service and start at $1,057 and $1,253, respectively.

Teenagers are catered to at the recently renovated Club Med Punta Cana, 809-686-5500, www.clubmed.com. There are programs for children aged 2 to 13, to be sure, but only guests between the ages of 14 and 17 are allowed entry into the Ramp, a new two-story open-air lounge (to make sure, each is given a special red bracelet upon check-in). The Ramp has an area for inline skating, skateboarding and playing foosball, telescopes for star gazing and plenty of places to just hang out. Seven-night all-inclusive rates start at $840 an adult, $385 a child ages 4 to 15, and $231 a child ages 2 to 3.

There is plenty of space to wander at the brand-new Paradisus Palma Real in Playa de Bavaro, Punta Cana, 809-686-7499, www.solmelia.com, a 554-room all-suite, all-inclusive resort that opened last month and provides a family concierge to coordinate activities, a children's camp for ages 5 to 12, six restaurants, and three swimming pools. All-inclusive rates for two start at $1,100 and at $337 for children ages 4 to 12 in the winter high season. And for the child who dreams of becoming the next Sammy Sosa, an action park with batting cages, archery and a climbing wall awaits at the nearby sister resort, Paradisus Punta Cana, Playa de Bavaro, Higüey, 809-687-9923, www.solmelia.com. All-inclusive rates for two start at $750; $187 for children ages 4 to 12.

Plans are under way for the new 315-room Westin Roco Ki Beach and Golf Resort, Punta Macao, 305-792-1500, on the Web at www.westin.com/rocoki , set to open in 2007. Aside from its 18-hole championship golf course, two-mile beach and Westin Kids Club, the draw here is likely to be the 20 Jungle Luxe Bungalows, which will look as if they are floating over man-made lakes and will have panoramic views of the ocean.

Families seeking smaller hotels and closer access to adventure may prefer the northern coast near Puerto Plata. Also known as the Amber Coast because of its large amber deposits, the north attracts avid mountain bikers and is one of the world's top windsurfing destinations. Set at the base of a mountain range on a private beach, Casa Colonial Beach and Spa, Playa Dorada, Puerto Plata; 809-320-3232; www.slh.com, is an all-suite hotel with Spanish colonial architecture. Hotel guests have access to the Playa Dorada Golf Course, ranked in 2005 by Golf Digest as one of the best 100 courses outside the United States. Although there are no organized programs, children are welcome. Doubles from $350.

Perched on a cliff above Sosua Bay and recently renovated, the 190-room, all-inclusive Victoria Resort Golf and Beach Resort, also on Playa Dorada, Puerto Plata, 809-320-1200, www.vhhr.com, looks like a Victorian gingerbread house. Mountain biking, kayaking, snorkeling, windsurfing and fishing are just some of the activities offered, and there is a children's program for ages 4 to 12. All-inclusive winter rates start at $110 an adult and $55 a child from age 2 to 12.

If the desire to touch, pet and feed a shark strikes, take the family to Ocean World, Cofresi, 809-291-1000; www.oceanworld.net. Just minutes from Puerto Plata, this park has interactive dolphin programs, sea lions, snorkel reef tours, and swimming tigers. Call ahead to reserve for various activities.

There are five airports in the Dominican Republic, four of which can be reached by nonstop flights from the New York area. If you are traveling to the eastern tip, fly nonstop into the Punta Cana International Airport on American or Continental; rates start at $148. To get to the north, Puerto Plata International is a 15-minute drive from the Playa Dorada resorts and has nonstop flights on American and Continental starting at $208. Travelers going to the south coast can fly into Santo Domingo, served by American, Continental and Delta; high season rates start at $174. La Romana has its own airport on Casa de Campo's property, and American Airlines flies there with a change of planes in Miami or San Juan; rates start at $308. Jet Blue, American, Delta and Continental fly nonstop into Santiago, a 90-minute drive to Puerto Plata; rates start at $158. Fares do not include taxes and fees, which come to about $100 more.

Costa Rica - How to get there ?

By Plane

It takes between 3 and 7 hours to fly to Costa Rica from most U.S. cities, and as Costa Rica becomes more popular with North American travelers, more flights are available into San José's Juan Santamaria International Airport. In addition, Delta, American, U.S. Airways, United, and Continental all have regular nonstop commercial flights to the International Airpot in Liberia from their hubs in Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston, respectively. Liberia is the gateway to the beaches of the Guanacaste region and the Nicoya Peninsula, and a direct flight here eliminates the need for a separate commuter flight in a small aircraft or roughly 5 hours in a car or bus.

The Major Airlines--There are numerous airlines flying into Costa Rica. Be warned that the smaller Latin American carriers tend to make several stops (sometimes unscheduled) en route to San José, thus increasing flying time.

The following airlines currently serve Costa Rica from the United States, using the gateway cities listed. American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300 in the U.S. and Canada or tel. 248-9010 in Costa Rica; www.aa.com) has daily flights from Los Angeles, Miami, JFK in New York, and Dallas-Fort Worth. America West (tel. 800/363-2957; www.americawest.com) has one daily direct flight from Phoenix. Continental (tel. 800/525-0280; www.continental.com) offers flights daily from Houston and Newark. Delta (tel. 800/241-4141; www.delta.com) offers two daily flights from Atlanta. Mexicana (tel. 800/531-7921; www.mexicana.com) offers flights from numerous North American cities, most connecting through the hub in Mexico City. United Airlines (tel. 800/538-2929; www.united.com) has daily flights direct from Washington, D.C., and from Los Angeles, and biweekly flights from Chicago O'Hare to Liberia. US Airways (tel. 800/622-1015; www.usairways.com) has direct flights from Charlotte. Grupo Taca (tel. 800/535-8780; www.grupotaca.com) is a conglomeration of the Central American airlines, with direct flights or connections to and from Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, New Orleans, New York, Miami, and Washington.

From Europe, you can take any major carrier to a hub city such as Miami or New York and then make connections to Costa Rica. Alternately, Air Canada (www.aircanada.com) from Toronto, Iberia (www.iberia.com) or Air Madrid (www.airmadrid.com) from Spain, and Martin Air (www.martinairusa.com) from Holland have established routes to San José, some direct and others with one connection.

By Bus

Bus service runs regularly from Panama City, Panama, and Managua, Nicaragua. If at all possible, it's worth the splurge for a deluxe or express bus. In terms of travel time and convenience, it's always better to get a direct bus rather than one that stops along the way -- and you've got a better chance of getting a working restroom in a direct/express or deluxe bus. Some even have television sets showing video movies.

There are several bus lines with regular daily departures connecting the major capital cities of Central America. Call Panaline (tel. 255-1205), Transnica (tel. 223-4242), or Tica Bus Company (tel. 221-8954; www.ticabus.com) for further information. All of these lines service Costa Rica directly from Panama City and Managua, with connections to the other principal cities of Central America. None of them will reserve a seat by telephone, and schedules change frequently according to season and demand, so buy your ticket in advance -- several days in advance, if you plan to travel on weekends or holidays. From Panama City, it's a 20-hour, 900km (558-mile) trip. The one-way fare is around $20. From Managua, it's 11 hours and 450km (279 miles) to San José, and the one-way fare is around $12.

By Car

It's possible to travel to Costa Rica by car, but it can be difficult, especially for U.S. citizens. After leaving Mexico, the Interamerican Highway (Carretera Interamericana, also known as the Pan-American Hwy.) passes through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua before reaching Costa Rica. All of these countries can be problematic for travelers for a variety of reasons, including internal violence, crime, corrupt border crossings, and visa formalities. If you do decide to undertake this adventure, take the Gulf Coast route from the border crossing at Brownsville, Texas, because it involves traveling the fewest miles through Mexico. Those planning to travel this route should look through Driving the Pan-Am Highway to Mexico and Central America, by Audrey and Raymond Pritchard (Costa Rica Books, 1997), or You Can Drive to Costa Rica in 8 Days!, by Dawn Rae Lessler (Harmony Gardens Publishing, 1998).

Car Documents -- You will need a current driver's license, as well as your vehicle's registration and the original title (no photocopies), to enter the country.

By Cruise Ship

More than 150 cruise ships stop each year in Costa Rica, calling at Limón on the Caribbean coast, and at Puerto Caldera and Puntarenas on the Pacific coast. Many are part of routes that cruise through the Panama Canal. Cruise lines that offer stops in Costa Rica include Crystal Cruises (tel. 800/804-1500; www.crystalcruises.com), Celebrity Cruises (tel. 800/722-5941; www.celebritycruises.com), Holland America (tel. 877/724-5425; www.hollandamerica.com), Princess Cruises (tel. 800/421-0522; www.princess.com), Royal Caribbean (tel. 800/398-9819; www.rccl.com), and Radisson Seven Seas Cruises (tel. 877/505-5370; www.rssc.com).

It might pay off to book through a travel agency that specializes in cruises; these companies buy in bulk and stay on top of the latest specials and promotions. Try the Cruise Company (tel. 800/289-5505; www.thecruisecompany.com) or World Wide Cruises (tel. 800/882-9000; www.wwcruises.com).