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travelbear

New member
May 8, 2012
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Hi All

After reading many posts here over the last few months, I decided to join here as some of the info that and topics that have been discussed are quite informative.

My wife and Itravel to the DR a few times a year and will be planning to retire there.

In late May we are flying into Santiago (never flown in there before) at 2AM and want to get to Sosua. I know there are no buses running at that time of night. How relaible are taxis at that time of night to get to Sosua?
 

latitude19

Active member
May 29, 2011
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You need to always think of safety here to reduce your odds of becoming a victim. Driving at night can be dangerous, especially when roads are deserted, which would be the case at 2AM. Spend your 2AM cab fare on a hotel and take the bus. Metro bus is the best bus line.
 

juant

New member
May 9, 2012
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Hi All

After reading many posts here over the last few months, I decided to join here as some of the info that and topics that have been discussed are quite informative.

My wife and Itravel to the DR a few times a year and will be planning to retire there.

In late May we are flying into Santiago (never flown in there before) at 2AM and want to get to Sosua. I know there are no buses running at that time of night. How relaible are taxis at that time of night to get to Sosua?
For your own safety, your best bet is to stay in a cheap hotel in Santiago for that morning and then wait until the Metro or Caribe Tours buses are running that morning. A taxi from Santiago to Sosua will run you a lot of money and it is not safe at that time of the morning. Plus the roads are deserted at that time.
 

Sohrab

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Oct 1, 2010
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Welcome to DR1 Bear.
I am a little wild. I suggest to stay overnight in a motel and rent a car in the morning and enjoy your trip to sosua.
 

travelbear

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May 8, 2012
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Thanks. Can you recommend a dwecent hotel that is easy to get to from the airport and near the bus depot.
 

latitude19

Active member
May 29, 2011
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Hodelpa Garden Court is close to the airport, but about 25 or so min. to the bus terminal. Hodelpa Gran Almirante, which I have stayed in quite a bit, (good hotel) is quite close to the Metro terminal, but a longer ride at night. Close to Hodelpa Almirante is Hotel Los Jardines, which will save you money over the other two, I believe. Has a lot of recommendations by DR1 folks, I've seen.

These are all expensive hotels for Santiago. (Gran Almirante is around $200/nite w/all taxes.) If these are more expensive than you are looking for, maybe someone else can chime in on a good budget hotel.

The safest is Hotel Garden Court, closer to the airport. Safest = less driving at nite.
 
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travelbear

New member
May 8, 2012
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Thanks for the recommendations, we will certainly check into this. Usually we fly to POP or out to Punta Cana. This will be our first time flying into STI.
 

travelbear

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May 8, 2012
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I am curious to know how many people on here live fulltime in the DR as opposed to how many are frequent travellers or those like myself planning to retire in the DR sometime in the next few years.

Why I am asking is that I am hoping to get a clear picture of how people see life here as opposed to tainted judgements that may or not be appearing here.
 

beastwood

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Jun 30, 2011
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I am curious to know how many people on here live fulltime in the DR as opposed to how many are frequent travellers or those like myself planning to retire in the DR sometime in the next few years.

Why I am asking is that I am hoping to get a clear picture of how people see life here as opposed to tainted judgements that may or not be appearing here.

Develope a network of folks you can break bread with or share a jumbo with at the corner colmado with preferably a combination of expats and locals on the ground in the area you hope to live. They will be invaluable as you progress towards your move date.
 

belgiank

Silver
Jun 13, 2009
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I am curious to know how many people on here live fulltime in the DR as opposed to how many are frequent travellers or those like myself planning to retire in the DR sometime in the next few years.

Why I am asking is that I am hoping to get a clear picture of how people see life here as opposed to tainted judgements that may or not be appearing here.

I live here full time, in the region between Sosua and Cabarete.

Personally I think you should rephrase your question a bit. There are people on this board who live here full time, but in a highly secured gated community. In other words, they live here, but do not really live here. Nothing wrong with that, but if that is not your thing, you could get some wrong ideas about life here.

We live in a safe area, but not gated. Totally different.

So give us your plans, and the right people will be able to advice.

Kind regards,

BelgianK
 

CocoBoy

New member
Feb 23, 2012
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I am curious to know how many people on here live fulltime in the DR as opposed to how many are frequent travellers or those like myself planning to retire in the DR sometime in the next few years.

Why I am asking is that I am hoping to get a clear picture of how people see life here as opposed to tainted judgements that may or not be appearing here.

You have hit on an important issue and won't be able to determine that easily. Wise to ask the question and far wiser to consider the source of information that is posted here. Some is excellent, some is far from that.

Even with those that live here, as belgiank pointed out, full time living varies greatly. No gated community for us either and we've been safe and happy for years.

Also, getting from STI to the Sosua/ Cabarete area from that flight isn't dangerous if done properly with the right people.
 

travelbear

New member
May 8, 2012
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Thanks BelgiaK. We will be i nte Sosua area and are hoping to explore a lot of the area and get a feel for the culture of hte North Coast.
 

drstock

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Oct 29, 2010
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Thanks BelgiaK. We will be i nte Sosua area and are hoping to explore a lot of the area and get a feel for the culture of hte North Coast.

There's a nice change. You don't very often see the words "Sosua" and "culture" in the same sentence!;)