Hamaca terror stories/gen. info on Boca Chica/Ham. *PIC*

Hello and a nice afternoon,

We are leaving in 5 weeks for the Coral Hamaca in Boca Chica. Looking forward going there to enjoy the sun, sea and the village with all its ups and downs. I am looking forward to speaking somewhat more Spanish...

But what frightens me is the contradictionary stories I am hearing. Seems that half the people think its great and the other half of the Hamaca's visitors seems to say they wouldn't even send there worst enemies to it???

This seems a bit strange to me? I am not a five star boy (normally I can only afford 2/3 stars (European, Curacao, Aruba standards) and never done AI but am looking forward not paying $8 a cocktail (at this USD-Euro rate that isnt a healthy hobby for an European)....but reading these stories from both sides makes me think half of you must be wrong

What could cause this huge difference?

Also I have some additional questions:
-the sailing: how often/long can you do that a day/week (considering we are going the 1st two weeks of May).
-also for the surfing etc.
-I read you have to pay insurence. How much is it and is it real or a scam? I'd like to pay for tips but I don't like to have them presented as a scam. I prefer to tip voluntarly (spelling???)
-How much does the water ski-ing cost? Is the bananaride really free?
-Is there a barbeque-like place something, somewhere on the resort?

Also we like to explore some beaches but I am a bit discouraged on renting a car (what I did in Curacao, Aruba, Crete-Greece etc). Is this doable by taxi? Is it worth it? (can we find nice other beaches worthwhile going for the snorkeling or the beautifull view?)
-What is Isla Saona like and is it worth going there taking an excursion or so?
-All other hints and tips are very welcome!!!

Love reading this board.... I am following you for a while but I do not read a lot on Boca Chica / Hamaca. But love the bb. My own experience with bb's (with Aruba) is that it's very helpful.

See my website for my other Caribbean adventures and pictures at http://www.djhein.nl

Kind regards,

Hein van der Wielen
The Netherlands

Hey...Good Afternoon. Just wanted to tell you that Boca Chica is one of the more "local" beaches its not one of the more beautiful places to go but certainly its very nice. I grew up going to Boca Chica as a kid and wouldn't trade that beach for anything in the world...but truth be told its not one of the more amazing places. If you really want to go to some nice beaches you should check out the eastern part of the island...punta cana, bavaro. I mean I get the impression that you're a regular down to earth kind a guy so will probably have a great time, but if you had a chance to visit the Dominican Republic...I would go to Samana or some place like that...that's AMAZING!!!!! Well that's my opinion...but the Dominican Republic is a beautiful country nonetheless with beautiful warm people..you'll be ok.

Enjoy!!!

See www.BocaChicaBeach.net for lots of info on the surrounding town and a good overall description of the Hamaca Resort from a frequent visitor.

I stayed at the Hamaca recently as a "secret guest", whereby they gave me a free stay in order to evaluate the resort and I must say, it has greatly improved over just a few years ago. It really is a nice place, especially for the money. There have been lots of recent improvements so if the review isn't recent, then they might not be so complementary, as some of my older reviews of this property might indicate.

Water skiing depends on what boat you ski behind. The best boat on the beach for water skiing, which I did as recently as 2 days ago, can be seen at www.geocities.com/waterskibocachica. The cost is US$60/hr for that boat and it is powerful enough for a very good slalom skier to completely enjoy it. The smaller boats or good enough for beginners on two skis and charge as little as US$40/hr. You get what you pay for.

See the transportation section on www.BocaChicaBeach.net for information on getting around once you arrive.

Dear Hein,

It has been my experience that, in the face of contradictory information, the negative stuff probably came from someone who had a bad experience and they want to share this information so that others do not have the same. Often times the positive stuff is, shall we say, biased. There may be some profit motive behind it. The fact that people have different tastes can account for the remainder, I suppose.