Advice on Area/Neighborhoods

Get a cheap place in cabarete while you search, they have some advertised on here I think, but you can also get apts in cabarete itself for around the same price. Don't book long term over net, will be a let down, don't move to Pop will be s let down especially for the kid, if you move to sosua then live within a gated and well secured place, I doubt you will be really comfy in sosua though. Personally it sounds like cabarete would be better for both of you.

Pop is probably the most boring place on earth.

We spent a month on the North Coast this past August with our 2 children. We stayed between Sosua & Cabarete. I would recommend either between the 2 towns or Cabarete. I would also recommend renting a car. We went into Puerto Plata a couple times but didn't really enjoy it. Kids liked the smaller places better. Ocean Village is a great place to take kids for a day. Super cheap ($3.00) and has water park, beach and restaurant.

There are lot's of things to do, both for you and the kids between POP, Cabarete, and Sosua. POP has the go-kart park, Cabarete has several different attractions (which you look up on Google), and Sosua also has a wide selection of attractions.

I honestly suggest you try out all three towns, and choose the best of each, according to your own preferences.

The North Coast is a diverse and interesting stretch of geography, with many different sites appealing to various tastes.

I love it here, and so do many others.

Without knowing much about you it is very hard to give you a lot of advice. I do not know how others can do that! THey know nothing about you. Tell us much more and then we can give you some information on which you can make your own decision.

1300 US a month is not a lot of money. Can we assume that is your whole budget? If it is you likely cannot afford cabarete. You mentioned Sosua and Puerto Plata. Sosua is more expensive and smaller. POP has more options and yes there are many safe neighbourhoods. You just need some good advice on how to live below the radar.

Perla Marina, between Sosua and Cabarete is a gated community with lots of families and kids, although depending on the dates you come, the children may be in school. Perla Marina is safe for kids to walk to the beach and be on the streets. Unless there are introductions, it may be difficult for your son to make friends, as most homes are walled. Kids get together to swim, play ball, or do other things. A person can hear them, but not see them, as they are inside the walled property.

Most homes for rent in Perla Marina are well within your budget. (If the amount you quoted is solely for the rental.) There are condos here as well, which I would guess are also affordable. You would need to rent a car.

Ocean Village also has condos for rent, but they are more than your budget allows. (By the way, a previous poster said that entry to the children's park is 3.00. I am a member, and to my knowledge, entry is $10.00 for an adult and the child is free. Perhaps now they charge for older children.)

I would hesitate to get a place on Cabarete Beach, even though the beach is right there for playing and restaurants are within walking distance. If I were a parent, I would want to keep my child within eyesight. My neighbors who have kids regularly take them to Cabarete Beach. The children-up through teens- are instructed not to speak to a single person they don't know. This is a vacation area, and like all vacation spots, you can't always trust strangers. Children (and some adults) cannot discriminate between a good stranger and one with bad intentions.

The best way to get a good price for a month long rental is to go through an agent. There are several good agents here in the North Coast. They, too, can give you advice about which areas are the most kid-friendly.

Best of luck. PM me if you want specific names and numbers of rental agents. I don't have any one who I believe is better than another.

Lindsey

If you have that as rental then you can live wherever you want, very nicely, will you adopt me!