My dad has made many trips to the DR, and I can pass on to you what his opinions are.

He feels that a resort out of Santo Domingo is the best place to stay with your family, and that the countryside of the DR is beautiful and fascinating.

His first choice is the resort of Casa de Campo, but I hear it is expensive. Santo Domingo is reported to be not the nicest Caribbean city.... Crowded, poor, and sometimes dangerous.

I have never been to Haiti, but I am not sure that I would go there. I would like to hear others opinions on this. My reading tells me that Haiti is a very poor country, and that many of its citizens are horribly abused by their government. I can never forget the Village Voice series that graphically reported the mutilations of everyday Haitian citizens by their government. Although I am under the impression that terrorists like the Ton Ton Macutes are no longer as prevalent in this tortured nation, I am not sure that I would take the chance of going there.

If anyone has been to Haiti lately, I would love to hear a refutation of my somewhat dated impressions. Perhaps freedom, prosperity, and safety have come to Haiti, and I didn't hear about them.

Debbie in Pittsburgh