Frugalityisthenewblack
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2008
- Messages
- 129
I love warm beaches (I live in cold Canada) and getting away from the snow. I have been to Mexico, the Dominican Republic ,Cuba, Barbados, and the Bahamas. I wont be returning to the first two, I have had negative experiences with the aggresive people who grab your bags and bully you/follow you/harrass you for tips (you know you must give them money when they grab your bag to take it to the bus...or you wont see the suitcase again!) What is the word...hmmm extortion. I went to Cuba for the first time three years ago and many times since. Say what you like about the Castro brothers...they know that tourists should not be harassed. Totally different experience when I first landed at the Havana airport. It is not that the people don't appreciate tips like porters/wait staff in Canada and elsewhere...but they are polite and not aggressive. When I left the airport in Havana all bags had "complimentary" (and compulsary) bag wrap (you know the stretchy cellophane wrap that you use to make sure your suitcase doesn't split open)...someone told me the Cuban government enacted this policy when they received complaints from tourists that their bags had been opened and items removed from Havana airport.
I just returned from a four day cruise Florida to Mexico. I enjoyed the day at the Key West cruise stop and enjoyed the eclectic , colourful community and had a nice excurision. We landed in Mexico the next day and I read that a group of cruise ship tourists on a one-day excusion were robbed of money and passports a few days earlier . My DH and I stayed on board , enjoyed the warm air and the pool that was not busy (I even went down the water slide!). I would have liked to take an excurision to see the Mayan ruins as I love history, but decided it best to stay aboard. In Cuba, if you are interested in history and cultural experiences, it is all around you in Havana...and you can get the sun and beach as well...for the same price or less than Mexico or the Dominican Republic. So I am off to Cuba again next month!
I just returned from a four day cruise Florida to Mexico. I enjoyed the day at the Key West cruise stop and enjoyed the eclectic , colourful community and had a nice excurision. We landed in Mexico the next day and I read that a group of cruise ship tourists on a one-day excusion were robbed of money and passports a few days earlier . My DH and I stayed on board , enjoyed the warm air and the pool that was not busy (I even went down the water slide!). I would have liked to take an excurision to see the Mayan ruins as I love history, but decided it best to stay aboard. In Cuba, if you are interested in history and cultural experiences, it is all around you in Havana...and you can get the sun and beach as well...for the same price or less than Mexico or the Dominican Republic. So I am off to Cuba again next month!