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In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Juan Dolio Beach

Dominican Republic

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Map showing the Dominican Republic and our flight route

Map showing the Dominican Republic and our flight route

We had never been to the Dominican Republic before and decided to check it out from our location in Panajachel, Guatemala. Our flight route took us from Guatemala to Panama and then to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

 

 

 

 

Juan Dolio Beach

Juan Dolio Beach

One of the best things about Juan Dolio beach is that it is about 50 km from the country capitol of Santo Domingo. This means that for city dwellers, they can get to the beach in just over an hour and enjoy a day seaside. Boca Chica is another beach to the west of Juan Dolio, about 30 km. The beach above is considered a local hangout, whereas Boca Chica is more built up for tourists.

The airport is a 15 minute drive to Juan Dolio.

The turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea

The turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea

The former fishing village of Juan Dolio is located on the Caribbean Sea and extends over a length of about 7 km along this coast. In the center of the community, this beach is publicly accessible and also provides parking spaces for visitors.

Tables, chairs, umbrellas and boats

Tables, chairs, umbrellas and boats

The beach is cleaned daily of seaweed by the workers. This helps keep the beach clear and desirable by those who frequent. Waves are gentle and rolling.

In the pre-Columbian era, Juan Dolio was the site of an indigenous settlement of the Taino people known as El Corral. This natural bay is protected by a coral reef in front and was used as a harbor for their canoes. Occasionally, archaeological findings are made in the center area of the town.

Billy with the President

Billy with the President

 

 

 

 

Presidente beer is the national beer of the Dominican Republic. It was served ice cold, right to our table.

Akaisha enjoying the sea

Akaisha enjoying the sea

Waves were gentle and relaxing, water was warm.

Juan Dolio became one of the first tourist resorts in the country in the late 1980s, and an exclusive destination for mostly European tourists. But Hurricane Georges devastated this town in 1998, and many of the hotel chains moved their business further east to the new tourist destination, Punto Cana, which was built from the ground up.

Now, the owners of the damaged resorts in Juan Dolio still have problems attracting new business partners and most of the beach hotels are closed. Some of the older hotels were demolished and became development sites for real estate projects and living areas for Expats.

A Yaniqueque or fried circle of dough

A Yaniqueque or fried circle of dough

Yaniqueque or sometimes called Johnny Cake is a crunchy, flakey, deep fried fast food. The circles of dough (in a pile on the left of the photo) are poked with a fork and fried until they are brown, then sprinkled with salt and served. This treat is very commonly found throughout the Dominican Republic.

Vendors selling swimming floats and wooden items

Vendors selling swimming floats and wooden items

Bright, colorful balloon floats are available for purchase here on the beach as well as wooden carvings. We have read where the vendors can be relentless to sunbathers, but we were not bothered at all.

 

 

 

 

Fried whole fish

Fried whole fish

In Latin America, fish are customarily served whole. This one was fried and weighed nearly 1.5 pounds. Squeeze some fresh lime on the fish and then the flakey meat is picked off with a fork or with your fingers.

Picturesque white sand beach

Picturesque white sand beach

The waves are created by the coral reef out in the sea not too far from shore. Beautiful azure waters, white sand, and just enough shade for a day at the beach.

For more stories and photos of the Dominican Republic, click here

About the Authors

 
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website bookstore or on Amazon.com.

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